Tag: productivity

Categories
Blog

Are you a workaholic? Tips to organize your way to less stress and more peace

Are you trying to ease your work stress while still being productive? I’m sharing some things I’m doing that have helped.

Non-stop work has been my only vice for my entire life. I often worked 7 days a week. I was proud of this until a few months ago. I had a major health scare and ended up in the Emergency Room. The doctor gave it to me straight – get rid of the stress and learn to relax, or I was likely to die sooner rather than later.

With that incentive, I looked at my life to figure out how and where to make effective changes. I worked to create a system that I could (and would) follow.

Here are the changes I have made:

Quitting time: I end my days at 3 pm or earlier every day. I have insomnia and start work when I get up for the day, sometimes as early as 2 am.

Take all breaks: I used to sit for hours without a break. Now, I use the Pomodoro Method and take breaks after 25 minutes.

Walk regularly: I diligently try to walk at least 5 minutes out of every 30 minutes. Basically, after each Pomodoro Break.

Sabbath Day: It’s not just for Christians. We all need a weekly day of rest.

Artist’s Date: This comes from author Julia Cameron, who advises taking an Artist’s Date each week. Rules are: be alone, for at least an hour, doing anything that sparks your curiosity.

Practice Heart-Centered Breathing: I do this at least 3x each day for at least 3 minutes.

Done List: I write down every task as I finish it on a sticky note on my computer.

Daily Wrap-up: At the end of every day, in a designated notebook, I note all my finished tasks for the day. I then write what went well, what could have gone better, and what I want to do next time, or the next day. This puts a nice successful period on the end of my day.

There are a few more things I do daily, but I find these are key. I’m still tweaking my system, but I’ve noticed a definite difference in my blood pressure and how I feel. You will too.

Categories
Blog

The Power of a “Done” List

If you, like me, regularly forget the 8 of 10 tasks you have finished while brooding on the two you didn’t, this essay is for you. I have always been productive. However, I consistently focused on the unfinished tasks of the day. I finally came up with a solution that works for me. I’m sharing it because it might work for others.

How to begin

Create a page for the day, week, or month in a notes app on your phone or computer. Any kind of list that works for you is fine. I like to list mine daily, because that is where I have focused my attention.

It can be helpful to move your completed daily items to the weekly list and your weekly completed items to your monthly lists during your review. Some of us (looks around and raises hand) need to visually see the cumulative effect of what we have done and accomplished.

Keeping track

This can happen in several ways. Please don’t trust that you can do a wrap-up from memory at the end of the day. Trust me. Those who are wired like this will always forget to acknowledge something we have finished.

It’s best to keep track incrementally during the day. Tie your recording of finished tasks to something else that is timed.

Use whatever works for you. I use the Pomodoro method, and at the end of each focus period, before my break, I write down what I have accomplished. I also use Toggl to track and time my tasks.

You can also use interstitial journaling, a calendar, a time log, or sticky notes on the computer. Whatever works is fine.

The Payoff

Track your progress and finished tasks daily. Soon, you’ll acknowledge how much you do. I promise, it’s a game-changer.

Categories
Blog

The Power of a Tolerations List

What are you tolerating in your business? In your life? Think of the things that irritate you, that could be eliminated, but you continue to put up with them.

Because we are wired to look for the negativity, a survivor skill left over from the earliest days of humans, this may be a very easy list for some of you to create.

If you are having trouble, try mentally walking through your day from the time you get up: bare feet on a cold floor, maybe a throw rug would be helpful. No brown belt to go with your brown pants? Put it on the list. You get the idea.

Take a walk through each room in your house, and note all the things you have been putting up with. It could be too much stuff, too much mess, or things in places that don’t make sense. Write it all down.

At work, things you tolerate could be as small as never having a pen with ink when you need one, not having a pencil sharpener, or a larger issue, such as not having enough training for the tasks you are expected to do. Maybe your job is not a good fit. Write them all on the list.

Once you have your master list, you can simply begin eliminating the problem. If you want to get more detailed, you can divide the list by time or money needed, or by linking items. The new throw rug and a brown belt can go on the next shopping list, along with new pens for your desk.

The power of a tolerations list is that issues move from irritations to solvable problems. I promise more energy, clarity of mind, and relief as you take care of each item.

Categories
Blog

The Power of Inputs

Many of us have learned to maximize our outputs. We pride ourselves on how much we can produce, how many projects we have, and how productive we are. What some of us don’t acknowledge until we are forced to do so is how important inputs are. If we don’t refresh our energy, ideas, and inspiration with outside inputs, eventually we will lose our effectiveness, at the minimum. Or worse, we lose our health (speaking from experience here).

Inputs provide creative ideas, inspiration to take our work further or expand our scope, and emotional satisfaction, and may give us a bigger future to work towards.

3 ways to give ourselves more inputs?

Expose yourself to different experiences. Only listen to rock and roll? Try bluegrass, classical, or African shamanic. Read fiction from other countries. Join a hiking or kayaking club. Think of things you haven’t tried, but might be curious about.

Deliberately look for and read industry publications from one different than yours. See if a method they use in that industry might offer some ideas for yours.

Follow The Artist’s Way author, Julia Cameron’s recommendation, and take yourself on an ‘Artist’s Date’ once a week. The rules are simple. You have to go or be by yourself, and it must take at least one hour. Examples might be as diverse as whale-watching, visiting a museum or bookstore, or listening to a different music genre.

By consciously ensuring you have plenty of inputs into your life, you will likely be more productive than before. You will be more creative, more inspired, and certainly more prolific.

Categories
Blog

The ‘Take Five’ Payoff

If you don’t have two seconds to rub together, and your brain is freaking out at the length of your ‘to-do’ list, that’s the time to ‘take five’. Taking five focused minutes will reset your brain, regulate your body, and give you new energy.

Here’s what you can do in 5 minutes:
  1. Quickly list your top three priorities for the day. Now, list the top three actions for each priority.
  2. Take a walk around the block or down the hall. If possible, outside is best. Pause and stretch at the beginning and end of your walk.
  3. Plan the rest of your day, week, month, or year – obviously the more detailed plans will be those closest to now.
  4. Go get a glass of water. Drink it slowly. Most of us don’t get enough water, and we are often dehydrated.
  5. Feeling stressed? Muscles tight? Set the timer for 5 minutes. Focus on a nearby object (or close your eyes if you can comfortably do so), and begin taking deep, slow breaths. You will likely feel your body relax and your mind quiet down.

It may seem counterintuitive to take time if you feel like you have no time, but it works. Taking 5 minutes as needed during the day will ease your stress, sharpen your focus, and make you more productive. It is a healthier way to move through your day, which may also help you live longer.

There are many benefits and no drawbacks to this method. It’s free, and anyone can do it. That’s the “Take Five” Payoff.