September 2020 – Productivity Success Cake

How to start when you don’t know where to start

In my last blog we talked about how to stop worrying and start doing – and we covered some techniques to remove the paralysis caused by overwhelm and fear, an aspect that is all too real for some of us.

In this blog, we’re going to break it down a bit further because sometimes, we just don’t know where to begin.

Often, getting started is the hardest part. Once we have a clear idea of what we need to do and how we’re going to do it, we can begin and then momentum and progress help us stay motivated and on track.

But, where do you start? I’m glad you asked. Here goes:

FIRST: Begin beforehand.

Before you start your day at 8 or 9, have a plan for your day before that. Wait, what? NO…. NOT IN TINY DETAIL. But PLEASE know what you’re doing – at least in terms of “theme” or “larger chunks.” So for example, if it’s Monday, you know you will need time to catch up from the weekend (right?), assuming you take time on the weekends to enjoy your life. Some of my colleagues recommend starting Sunday night to plan for the week and Monday. For me, I listen to my favorite podcast each Monday morning as it sets the tone for my week. I do not set client appointments on Mondays. I call Monday “marketing Monday.” That’s why I hold Wisdom Warriors then. I am giving (through Wisdom Warriors) to you all, so that you can come to know and like and trust me (this is part of Marketing). Down the line, you may choose to take the work deeper, and buy a program. Or tell a friend. Thanks for that, by the way. I’m so happy you are finding a better life…but I digress.

Contrast this idea of beginning beforehand with sort of just “email-responding your way into your day.” Yes, I’m talking about YOU. I know you “work from your inbox.” What does that mean, anyhow (a workshop participant told me this one time). Well….your inbox is full of other people’s requests. Hmmmmmmm…….love me some overwhelm <NOT> – and “working from your inbox” is a great recipe to get there (the land of overwhelm). Personally, I like WHELM!

SECOND: Pay yourself first.

What?

Each minute could be like a dollar. Or many. You would not throw your money into the air, would you? This is what we do when we are unfocused. Thousands, out the window. And then we don’t have money to invest in our business. Right?

When you PAY YOURSELF FIRST, you look at your HIGHEST ENERGY PARTS OF THE DAY and schedule your MOST IMPORTANT PRIORITIES then. For example, if you are a morning person, don’t schedule meetings in your high energy time (say before 10:30 am) Save this for later. Don’t do your Task List during this time. What do you do, then? Do YOUR BIG PICTURE STUFF. You spend time on that stuff that “you never seem to have time to do.” Yup. Leave the “list”: do the right stuff. NOTE: If you do this, it will seem really hard. And, if you do this, your whole world will be blown wide open.

>>Potential Pitfall: You start at 8 am, doing your “most important stuff.” Then you realize, you have absolutely no idea what that is. So, you answer some email. Right? Ok that’s another blog……

THIRD: Perform housekeeping on your brain.

When there is So Much To Do….it’s easy to spin. To take a bite out of this or that. You launch at something as you “don’t want to forget about it.” Your whole day is kind of like “poison dart thought triage” between scheduled appointments. Yes?

The Housekeeping Solution: The brain dump.

Grab a big sketch book or notepad and brain dump. Get everything out, and I mean EVERYTHING. You will feel better so that poison dart thoughts are not circling anymore. You will start to see themes. Maybe you will now take some index cards, write each thing on a card, and start to make piles. Now things feel organized.

Then, you can do this. First put a rubber band around each pile. Take each pile (now this is a theme-pile) and ask yourself -what is most important? You pick up the most important and turn it upside down. Then choose the next most important pile. Turn it upside down on top of the first. Continue this process until you have turned all the piles upside down in a BIG pile. Turn the whole thing over, right side up. What do you have?

Your list. In priority order. Hot damn!

Now. Take your first pile. Estimate how long it will take. Add that time chunk into your calendar, adding a bit of extra time since we almost always underestimate…

So, how are you gonna get through this?

The Pomodoro Technique

The premise is that you manage your time in 25-minute chunks. First you choose a task you want to complete. Set the timer for 25 minutes. Work on that task until your timer rings. Then you check it off your list and take a short 5 minute break (grab a coffee or go for a short walk) to reset and re-center. Then for every 4 ‘pomodoros’, you take a longer break (20-30 mins).

This technique is great for those of us who have lots of different things to do because switching context can be one of the biggest triggers of feeling overwhelmed. The Pomodoro Technique eliminates context switching within the timeframe you’re working on each individual task. Checking it off your list will activate the reward center in your brain and you’ll feel a sense of achievement which will help you to feel more motivated. It’s an awesome technique to battle overwhelm and increase your productivity – win/win!

So, that’s a good start…to get started. Right? What’s the part you intend to do? Write a comment.

Our Wisdom Warriors meeting this month will cover the above and more. Sometimes we just need to take a deep breath and re-center but that’s easier said than done. So let’s look at these techniques together and uncover ways in which we can progress without overwhelm as a constant companion!

How to stop worrying and start doing

For those of us who struggle with procrastination, learning how to stop worrying, and start doing seems like the holy grail.

Most of us have busy lives, whether that’s running a business or running a home – or often both! There are usually things that we naturally tackle, like getting the kids ready for school for example, or checking our emails, but sometimes the other tasks we know we have to do just pile up and become like a mountain we must climb.

When you have so much to do but don’t know where to begin, say hello to overwhelm.

Overwhelm is much like fear and both have a peculiar effect in that they can paralyze us completely. When you have business work and/or ‘life admin’ to combat, it can all just seem too much and this stress, overwhelm, and fear will trigger your brain into fight, flight, or freeze mode.

When fight mode is triggered, you may become a productivity machine and find you’re able to naturally tackle tasks with zest and efficiency. Your brain is fighting to keep you alive in this instance and you get a rush of the hormones and chemicals that gear you up to face things head on.

When flight mode is triggered, your brain and body are attempting to flee a perceived threat. You may even physically feel the fear, overwhelm, and stress through tightness of the chest or a faster heartbeat, for example. This can often manifest as seeking distraction, avoiding the ‘problem’, trying to escape.

And then we have freeze mode. Your mind will be completely overwhelmed, and you become indecisive, inactive, and on shut down. You might catch yourself staring off into space or repeating the same phrase over and over in your mind.

If that sounds familiar, you’re really not alone. There has been a vast amount of studies done on this subject and the results show that this biological response can have real negative impacts on our mental and physical health.

So, what do we do?

We find ways to adjust our behaviors and habits so that we can best manage our responsibilities without having to face the fear and overwhelm.

Snack size tasks

I always recommend breaking tasks down into smaller tasks. Divide, and divide again. Try to break the tasks down into such small sub-tasks that they appear ridiculously simple to achieve. Then check them off the list as you go. This action of checking things off your list will release some happy hormones and you will feel a sense of achievement knowing that you’re on the right track.

Tracking

And talking of tracks, tracking your progress can be really useful. You need to look back at what you have achieved and acknowledge your progress. If you keep note of what you’re achieving each day, you’ll also be able to analyze what the most productive actions were, meaning you have a better picture of where to focus your efforts the following day.

Talking

Something that can be hugely beneficial is talking it out. Vent. Whether it be with a friend or coach, just discussing the feelings you’re experiencing and releasing some of that pent-up frustration will have a positive impact. Often, just having the conversation will allow you to gain clarity and help you to feel more motivated and stronger and ready to face whatever it is that’s causing the stress.

In my next blog we’ll be looking at HOW to start when you don’t know WHERE to start. I’ll continue on the theme of overwhelm and we’ll cover more techniques on how to handle the heat without having to get out of the kitchen.