Productivity Is Calling … Pick Up

Urgh … so much to do … Where is the time …

We talked about procrastination for the last two weeks and you’re ready to get stuff done, so now let’s talk productivity, to help you get stuff done.

Get to Know Yourself

It’s funny because people make it seem like being productive is so hard. 

Sure, being productive can be hard when you're fighting procrastination.

Yes, productivity can be hard if you're working against yourself. 

Why work against yourself if you’re trying to be productive? Because, you don’t realize that you’re working against yourself. 

Now that you know it’s a thing … Let’s talk about it, identify it, and overcome that.

The best way to be productive is to know yourself. Then, you can use what you know about yourself to be productive. 

Ask yourself these questions as they will help with productivity:

• When are your energy levels highest?

• When are your energy levels lowest?

• When are you most alert?

• When are you most sluggish?

• What boosts your energy?

• What saps your energy?

Do you know when your energy levels are the highest? 

If you work when you have the most energy, don’t you think that you would be more likely to be more productive and to get more things done? 

For example, I’m a morning person. I naturally wake up early. 

So, when I do things in the morning, my brain is the freshest and it's the happiest. That's also why I workout in the morning because it starts my day off right, by waking me up physically and mentally.

Now, think about any given day … Generally speaking, when do you find yourself having the most energy naturally? Write it down.

Do you know when you’re most alert or more sluggish?

Alertness and energy levels can go hand in hand. But, for some people, when you’re most alert doesn’t mean that you have the most energy.

So, it’s time to assess yourself again … Do you know when you’re most alert or when you’re most sluggish? Think about your day … Write it down.

And, once you do know … Can you boost your alertness or lessen your sluggishness? 

Let’s look at me again … For me, my alertness and energy levels mostly go hand in hand. I know that I get a little sluggish around lunch time … Probably because of energy levels dropping since food is fuel. So, I also get sluggish around lunch time … I get a little sluggish, I eat lunch, and then after eating I normally go for a walk. 

Do you know what affects your energy?

What boosts or saps your energy? 

For me … It’s hunger. When I'm hungry, I don't have the most energy because I'm thinking about food. Now, does that mean that I can't work through being hungry?!? No, I’m not saying that … But, a lack of food, hunger, and the distractions caused by it are going to drain my energy more because my energy is already depleted. 

Like I mentioned above, I normally go for a walk after lunch. This boosts my alertness and lessens the sluggishness. Getting out of the cold office and the lighting, out in the sunlight light and warmth, they wake me up, get me re-energized, and get my creative juices back flowing.

I love getting out for my walks because this is when I get a lot of ideas … They come to me without me trying to create them. During my walk, I often have a lot of ideas flowing but that doesn't mean that I’m in the headspace to implement and actually work on those ideas.

Take What You Know … Use What You Know

So, now that you know this information you have to take the time to put the information to use to allow you to be most productive. 

Go back and look at those notes that you wrote down … And, if you didn’t write them down or reflect on them, go back now and do that … NOW! 

Take this time to know what boosts your energy, what drains your energy, and when you are most alert … Then, do tasks during that time of day that will be most beneficial. 

Do things when you're at peak energy … Do the things that will boost your energy … Avoid things that drain your energy … Avoid the things that make you sluggish. 

Now that you have the knowledge and you’re ready to use that knowledge to be productive … 

We’re going to talk about productivity tips like time blocking, setting timers, and making to do lists.

So, let’s talk timing ...

Time Blocking

Since you know when you're most productive during the day, when your energy level tends to be at the most high, block your time off to do those things that require the most focus and the most energy. 

There are things that we can do in our sleep, with our eyes closed, and that require essentially no brain power or focus on our part … Save those activities for your lower energy or lower productivity times. 

And during your peak energy or alertness, do the activities that require that level of peak focus and attention.

By utilizing time blocking, you're not only one taking control of your schedule to ensure that you're in control of what is happening on any given day, but you also are controlling your schedule to allow for the things that must be done to get done during the time when you're most focused.

Comment below what’s one way that you can start utilizing time blocking this week.

The Countdown is On! 

Using timers is also beneficial to protecting your energy. 

If you can set a timer, or set an alarm, or look at the time and give yourself a deadline within which you're going to focus on a task that's helpful. 

Knowing that you have a limited amount of time within which to get things done can help to trick your brain because while you know that you have to do this task for this amount of time, it puts the pressure on. The funny thing is, sometimes when you're not motivated and you set that timer to give yourself the motivation you need to get the work done, when the timer goes off, you're in such a mood and you're so deeply focused that you've now got that motivation you need and you're able to keep working despite the fact the time is up. 

So, using a timer when you're not really in the mood to work is a great option and it's also a good way to make sure that you take a break and that you don't sit for indefinite periods of time. 

Just like children, as adults we too have short attention spans. Use this to your advantage … By knowing that we have these short bursts and blocks of time within which we have to focus on a task by using a timer it's beneficial. 

We know the reward that when that timer goes off, we have the ability to stop doing the task. Now, this doesn't mean that when the timer goes off the task is perfect, but at least you have a draft within when you can later go back and edit and/or continue to work.

What to Do and When?

I think we all know that I'm a fan of tools that can help you stay organized and making a to do list is one thing that really keeps me organized. Having that brain dump of things, which you can turn into a to do list, will help prevent us from sitting around, killing time, wondering what you should or need to be doing. 

We all have a lot going on in our personal  and professional lives … So, having this to do list, whether it be isolated by area of your life or a master to do list that covers all the areas of your life, is great. 

You can't be productive and get things done if you don't know what you need to get done.

Prioritize It!

You've done the brain dump and made the to do list … But, you still don't know where to start. 

Prioritize. Prioritize the list.

Prioritizing is looking at what needs to get done, what must get done, and the things you want to get done and figuring out what the priority level is for them. By prioritizing and categorizing your items in this manner it hopes to be productive because it will give you somewhere to focus first.

Will You Answer the Call?

Productivity is calling … But will you answer?!?

Productivity doesn’t have to be hard. I’ve shown you that through this blog. It’s about knowing yourself and then working with yourself instead of against yourself.

Utilizing time blocking, to do lists, and prioritizing in conjunction with this … You are ready to set yourself up for success and to get things done!

But, you don’t have to ever go at it alone, if you’re not ready to.

You know that you can book a call … We can talk through discovering your energy levels, your alertness levels, we can work on time blocking, creating you to do lists, and then prioritizing those lists to get things done. 

It’s time … Productivity is calling … Will you answer?

-Alesha

The “Lee” Behind Legal.Lee