It’s the million-dollar question, how do we create order without a plan? What traits or habits can we develop to be as productive as possible? Can an unorganized person become productive and what are the key factors to being successful in creating order?
When we talk about being productive, we don’t mean being as busy as possible or becoming a workhorse. This is a reason for someone, especially a Creative Entrepreneur, a spiritual person, someone with ad/hd…a rebel…etc….to RUN AND HIDE.
So, what if you turned YOUR idea of “productivity” on its head?
What if Productivity meant YOU GET TO LIVE YOUR LIFE, YOUR WAY?
Great news. In my community, it means precisely that.
Remember, YOU are in the driver’s seat of your life, always. Every in-breath is to some degree, your choice! You have far more choices than you may realize. That said, check ou this list and respond – which of these do you wish to incorporate right away?
- Know your priorities (aka…your Why): it’s absolutely crucial that you take time to understand what YOU WANT and that you stick to it. Knowing your priorities will help you set boundaries. And these boundaries will protect your time, allowing you to keep distance between the people or things that zap your time and your energy and decrease your productivity.
- Focus and limit: Focus your attention on a task or project for a fixed amount of time. Set that timer and love up your task. Do it for the “right” reasons, like…”I am in charge of my time!” and not “I should be really productive right now.”
- Arm yourself with the right tools: having everything you need at hand will increase productivity in ways you couldn’t even imagine possible. Starting a task with everything close by will save time and energy and will create headspace to focus on what you are doing. Look after the minutes and time will look after itself.
- Be organized, just ONE step ahead: Ever tried baking a cake without all the ingredients? Make a checklist each evening of what you need for the day ahead to avoid potential setbacks. Those setbacks will send you off into shiny squirrel land pretty quickly so take 5 and get it together – It can be as easy as a quick sticky note near the coffee pot!
- Be consistent: Consistency is Queen (or king!) so….as UnFun as you might think it to be to “not be in the creative spirit of each moment” – give it a shot. Go easy on yourself. Just start super simple like, Have a Morning Ritual. I guarantee that you have one now, anyhow. (It just might not be workin’ for ya!) Just try out a Ritual, have fun with it, and be okay when you forget or it all goes to pieces sometimes…the next day provides a fresh opportunity.
- Be collaborative, ask for help and outsource what you need: somewhere along the line, we’ve trained ourselves to be self-efficient, to not need help from anyone and asking for help can sometimes be perceived as failure. Time to rip that script up and accept this one: Real Leaders allow help. LOTS of it!
- Don’t make yourself too accessible: in one of my recent blogs, I talked about how it’s okay to say no and how to do it without feeling guilty. Saying no from time to time is perfectly acceptable and is a common trait in highly productive people. Saying no will reinforce your boundaries that you set at the beginning of this article and will also stop you from committing to tasks that take way too long for too little outcome.
OK, your turn. Hit reply and tell me which one is talking to you!
I’ll leave you with this quote from David Allen “If you don’t pay appropriate attention to what has your attention, it will take more of your attention than it deserves.”