I love lists. Not only are they handy little suckers to remember what you need to do, organize your thoughts, and create a plan of action, but there is immense satisfaction in crossing something off a to-do list. I get to feel accomplished and know that I have done what I can to move a project forward. I am a big believer in doing something every day that moves you in the direction of achieving your goals. It can be 20 things if you’re feeling energetic and on top of the world, or it can be a single, solitary act of defiance when you feel like garbage, but do something every day and it’s amazing how much you can accomplish over time.
I think we often feel like if we can’t go whole hog at something - tackling cleaning out the basement, painting the shed, doing your taxes - what’s the point? Might as well wait until a day/time that you feel more like doing it. The problem with that mindset is that a year can pass and you haven’t ‘felt like it’. Waiting until you ‘feel ready’ or ‘want to’ can often mean nothing gets done, but forcing yourself to do things when you really don’t want to can also increase your stress levels and make you sick in the long run. So where’s the happy balance?
Well, first, recognizing that you feel crappy enough to not want to do things and figuring out why would be step one. You need to take care of yourself first, otherwise, you’re useless to everyone else. So any good to-do list should include self-care, which means getting enough good quality sleep, eating a diet that promotes energy and focus, and seeing health care practitioners to get to the underlying root cause of why you feel too tired to be productive should all be high on your list. Once you have those things figured out, getting work done is easy.
So, let's assume that you are starting from a place where you’ve done all the self-care already. How do you get the most out of your productive time?
- Work in chunks - it’s said the human brain works best in 45-minute intervals. After 45 minutes of sustained focus on a task, productivity goes down. There are those that argue that focus starts to drift after as little as 5 - 20 minutes these days. So work with your physiology and take frequent breaks.
- Make your breaks count - One way to easily increase productivity is to have one main project of the day, and then have your ‘breaks’ be other things on your to-do list. That way you always come back to whatever you’re working on refreshed and ready to dive back in, but your break time is also productive.
- Multi-task - How can you combine tasks so that your time is used more efficiently? A great example is taking a walk on the beach with a friend or spouse - you get exercise, social fun time, bonding, and the decompressing effects from spending time in nature. It’s win-win-win.
- Add in time for fun - since self-care is the foundation of maintaining your energy levels so that you can be more productive, having your needs met for social engagement and de-stressing time is just as important as the time you spend working. So making sure that some of your ‘work breaks’ are actual breaks and not just sneakily-disguised-other-work-so-your-brain-stays-focused-breaks is also important. If you feel like your physical and emotional needs are being met, you’re more likely to stay focused on the task at hand.
- Mindfulness training - mindfulness training is the art of staying focused on the present moment. It can help you to learn to thoroughly enjoy whatever task you’re doing right now for the sheer joy of doing it. And when you’re thoroughly enjoying what you’re doing, you’re more likely to stick with it and get more from it than forcing yourself to do a job you hate.
- Remind yourself why you’re doing it - remembering the bigger picture and that crossing this thing off your to-do list brings you that much closer to your goals can give you the extra boost you need when you find your attention starting to drift.
- Make it a game - for those of you with a competitive streak, making a game out of seeing how much you can accomplish, and then trying to beat your own score tomorrow can also give you that added boost to get more done.
- Delegate - there's only one of you, after all. Asking others to do things for you means more gets done. Just make sure to always be grateful for the help and to ensure you're not overloading others. Delegation is a great skill to practice and knowing where the line between asking others for help and taking advantage of someone's kindness or work ethic can be the difference between being a great boss (or parent, or coach, whatever the case may be) that challenges others to grow by meeting and overcoming difficult tasks versus the evil mega beast everyone hates. A little gratitude and support go a long way. Be gracious.
Again, it’s important to remember that taking care of yourself and meeting your needs means that you’ll be better able to focus on getting your work done. It’s amazing what a good night sleep and great food that nourishes your body can do for your focus. So when you find yourself lacking the energy to get more done, ensuring the basics are well covered first is a great place to start.
Now get out there and start crossing things off your list!