How to be more productive…
What would you do with an hour for yourself?
Can you imagine having a full 60 minutes to do whatever you want to do? Just picture yourself at the beach relaxing. Or maybe you can sip your Jazzy Java coffee without interruption. Whether you spend an hour alone or with others, life seems to move so fast that we cannot get a minute to ourselves, let alone an hour.
If I gave you three tips to use this week that freed an hour of your day, would you give it a chance? Let me know with a thumb up/like if you need more hours in the day.
To do list binge…You are familiar with making a to do list. Jotting down all the things that you need or want to get done. Well the first tip is just that, set a timer for five minutes and write down everything you need or want to do today or this week.
This free writing helps to declutter your mind. If the timer goes off, and you still have more to write, keep going. This exercise is about freeing yourself of thinking about what you have to do and capturing it in one place.
Boxes, boxes, boxes…With your list created, go to a blank piece of paper and divide the entire sheet into four quadrants. Draw a line from top to bottom, and from left to write, create four equal boxes. At the top of the box (a), write “urgent”, box (b), write “non-urgent”. On row one, write “important”. Row two, write “not important”.
You have just created an Eisenhower Box, used to determine what is and is not important. (Eisenhower quote). Look back at your list and determine where items fit on the Eisenhower Box. It is important to identify what is both urgent/important, and not urgent/important.
Eisenhower box
Timebox – 90m (Do), 60m (Set a time)
Eliminate distractions…Let’s be honest, distractions happen internally (ex. FOMO) and externally (ex. Instagram). Gaining time for what matters to you is about removing those things that distract you. What are the things that you do to “pass time”? In the book Indistractable, author Nir Eyal gives techniques to lessen distractions and increase traction, actions that move us towards what we really want.
Consider what you would do with that precious hour to yourself. Make it important enough that eliminating your distractions for a period is worth it to you. If you want an added tip, schedule the time that you mindlessly scroll social media or binge a show.
Productivity…comes with a decision of the type of person you want to be – productive or procrastinator extraordinaire – the choice is yours. Adding time to your day begins with addressing the tasks that are necessary and lessening the distractions. Find ways to timebox what is important to you, and even those things that help you to unwind. Leave a You’ve got this! In the comments if you are going to crush your list.