Author: Carol Williams

In our last blog, we focussed on how to stop our time-saving routine from working against us.  In this blog, we’re going to discover how we can maximize our natural energy cycle and how to work with it, rather than against it.

How are productivity, time management, and energy cycles related?

If you’ve ever started work super-busy and energized only to find that by mid-afternoon you’ve crashed, then you’ll know that not all hours of the day are created equal as far as work is concerned. Our bodies all have what is known as a “productivity curve” – times when our energy, focus and motivation are at a high and other times when they drop.  Take for example, energy.  Our Circadian rhythm runs in the back of our brains, like a 24-hour clock and governs when we are alert or sleepy. Our stress levels are also key here in dictating alertness, focus and productivity. 

The marathon as a series of sprints

Research shows that we work best in bursts of 90 minutes duration, (Ultradian Rhythms) before our brains need a break.  Our bodies will signal this request by becoming hungry, sleepy, fidgeting or losing focus.  When you ignore these signals, your body uses its’ reserves of energy to keep going and releases stress hormones to give you the extra “shot” of energy that you need. Instead of ignoring these signals, try setting a time for 90-minute intervals and see how this affects your focus and productivity in general. I find this strategy works especially well with my AD/HD clients. Sprints are way more fun. They help us focus our attention and maintain our motivation. And they feel unique; all critical components of productivity when you have AD/HD.

Work with your energy – not against it

So, what does all this mean? Well, fundamentally this acts as a great reminder that you can’t do it all and need to be strategic in how you plan your day.

If you approach your working day, knowing that you won’t have a break until much later, then your body will try and conserve energy and distribute it evenly throughout the day.  This prevents you from not only reaching your full productivity, but also taking a restorative break.

Instead, what we all should try and achieve is to ensure as much of our work time corresponds with as much of our individual productivity as possible.

In order to do this, you need to be more self-aware. Try keeping a journal of when you feel motivated, as opposed to the times in your day when that motivation drops.  When are you at your most productive?  Is this first thing in the morning, or maybe you’re a night-owl and find your brain works best in the twilight hours? Once you have this information, plan your day so that the tasks requiring the most focus are scheduled within your most productive times.  Build in regular breaks and, when you experience energy slumps, instead of powering through, try switching to something that requires less concentration.  Switching up high-energy moments, with lower energy ones will allow you to maintain prolonged productivity throughout your day.

Remember, productivity isn’t always about doing more; it’s about using your time in the optimal way.

If you could have the proverbial three wishes, I’m guessing one of those would be to gain more time in some form or another; more family- time, for the kids to not grow up so quickly, for more “me-time”. But, have you considered just how much time is wasted in the everyday things we do?

For most of us, routine is what gets us through the day.  We wake up at the same time, we follow the same routine of grabbing a coffee, maybe heading along the same route to the same gym class. We head to work and do the same tasks, grab lunch from the same place and our evening activity is par for the course.

But, have you considered that there could be time-sucking habits which have crept into your routine that you don’t even notice or question?

Whatever your routine, when you first established it, the driving force would no doubt have been that the string of steps was an effort to time-save.  That, if you got up at 6am, you’d have time for an hour in the gym, before heading out the door to drop the kids at school, arriving at your desk ready for the day to unfold. 

Sound familiar? 

These steps may have been effective when you started out, but when was the last time you reviewed them?  Questioned whether that schedule is still as effective as it once was?  Are you sure that little “time-sucks” haven’t crept in somewhere?  Perhaps, instead of getting the kid’s stuff ready the night before, for them to “grab and go” in the morning, you’re now spending time searching for that elusive sports kit, or packing their lunch when you really should be heading out of the door?  Maybe you agreed somewhere along the line to car share and now have to pick up a colleague on the way to work?  Have you considered the minutes spent waiting at their house?  If this is you, then it’s time to review your routine and reclaim some time! 

Here are three top timewasters and how you can minimize the stress and maximize the time:

Meetings

So, you head into work for the regular Monday morning team get-together.  Except no one’s on top form at 9am on a Monday morning.  Everyone’s aware they have an in-box to tame, tasks to complete and this weekly meeting is just a pain.  My first tip is to always have an agenda. Get everyone on the same page (excuse the pun) in advance by noting what’s up for discussion.  Ensure there’s a moderator on board – someone who will ensure that everyone stays on topic.  If you suffer from someone always wanting to take the discussion off-track, then be firm and bring them back to the matter in hand. Does that person really need to be in the meeting, anyway?  By including only essential people, you’ll side-step all the unnecessary and ensure discussions are dealt with efficiently.  Put a time-limit on the meeting. Maybe adjust the time to when everyone is back into work mode and more willing to engage.

Social media/internet surfing

The biggest procrastination of all!  We’re probably all guilty of thinking we’ll have a quick look at our profile and then realizing that an hour has passed!  To combat this, identify where you spend most of your time and block access during your busy times.  Turn off notifications, so you’re not distracted and hold yourself accountable for the time you spend – make it a conscious decision to spend an hour on a platform, rather than time running away with you.  Maybe set an alarm when your allotted time is up. 

Multitasking

We’ve all been conditioned to believe that busy is good and that multi-tasking is the only way.  However, when you’re trying to accomplish several tasks at once you’re opening yourself up to the possibility of more mistakes happening as you switch your attention between each.  Research has found that switching between tasks can cause us to lose as much as 40% of productive time.  Instead, try switching off your cell phone and going “off-grid”.  When planning your day, leave blank space, or processing time to enable your brains to process information and use your time more productively.

In our next blog, we’ll look at how we can use creative time management to capitalize on our natural energy cycles and how to work with our energy, rather than against it!

It’s the same every year. After the holiday rush, many of us are now reflecting on last year’s gains and losses and making plans for the year ahead. But this sort of reflection can lead to uncomfortable questions on why things maybe didn’t go as planned? Why, when you were adamant a few weeks back that you would go to the gym every day, has that resolution fallen by the wayside? And how will you ensure that the things you resolve to do this year will stick?

The problem with ‘Just Do It’

If we believe everything we’re told, all we need to lose those pounds, get that promotion or achieve epic greatness is willpower. Period.  Except, real life isn’t that simple. The “Just Do It” attitude of ploughing through, with relentless determination doesn’t account for the hurdles that daily life puts in our way. We get so consumed by everything we should “just be doing” that we forget to do the things now that will lead to a clear path and relaxed mind later.  The result is the antithesis of motivation. Somewhere this advice just stops being useful. It stops meaning anything and certainly doesn’t motivate us. It causes us to look at how much we have left to achieve in order to reach our goal and that’s just discouraging. Instead, maybe our mantra should be, “Do what only you can do”?

When willpower does not work

Think of willpower like a muscle in your body.  You can use it, but sooner or later it’s going to run out of steam and become exhausted.  What then?  What do you do when will power is in short supply or Just. Doesn’t. Work? How else can we reach our goals?

The most powerful resource we have in our arsenal is our imagination.  Our mind. Instead of relying on willpower, try, instead envisioning your future.  What will it look, feel, taste like?  Having a clear picture in mind will help you plan and pre-empt the choices you may have to make in order to attain your goal. In the case of losing weight, what might stop you from meeting your objective?  Might it be the junk food stop after a busy day at work? So, what do you need to do?  Perhaps ensure you have a healthy meal prepared for when you get home.  Get rid of every obstacle that stands in your way. Additionally, instead of focusing your personal efforts to overcome a situation or environment, try concentrating instead on designing environments that help you reach your goals.  For example, if you resolve to drink less alcohol, don’t put yourself in an environment where alcohol is the focus – a bar or a party for example. If you want to increase your personal fitness, surround yourself with others who are committed to the same goal – a gym for example, rather than a coffee shop!

Foundational Habits, Big Why, and Consistency as the Key to Success

If you’ve ever tried to change a habit, you’ll know it’s a big ask. Although we know that changing our habits for good is worthwhile, it can be hard.

The trick with any change is to start small. Instead of setting yourself up for failure, break each task into smaller, more manageable chunks. Try replacing a bad habit with a positive habit in its stead.  Take, for example, a person who orders a salad for lunch rather than a burger.  The difference in calories doesn’t make that much immediate difference, but when you consider this change over the course of days, weeks and months, the results could be astounding. Committing to change and consistently working towards it in small steps is the way to go. As the saying goes, small changes equal big results.

In our next blog, we’ll be delving deeper into the magic of manufactured motivation and how to get motivated when you just can’t do it.

There are always those tasks that we really don’t want to do.  But whereas most of us can see the benefit of completing these jobs and will therefore just “suck it up” and get the job done, for people with AD/HD, these tasks can become impossible to achieve.

AD/HD and manufactured motivation

In my last blog, we looked at how to motivate ourselves when willpower has taken a hike. For those with AD/HD, feeling bad about yourself and your abilities can manifest in a lack of motivation, making carrying out even simple tasks a painful experience. But there are ways to manufacture that motivation.

1. Plan to do something that feels rewarding several times a day.  By making sure you have little successes every day, you’ll recharge your batteries for when you need them.
2. Realize that you don’t have to do everything.  Give yourself permission to let go of what you don’t do well and let someone else do it who will enjoy it.
3. Reframe tasks by asking yourself how you can complete them in a way that works for you.  Consider what might make it feel more worthwhile. Think – Rewards and Fun!

Of course, correct medication can help alleviate or minimize the effects of AD/HD and enable you to sustain focus on a task that is either overwhelming or boring.  Other ways that can help with de-motivation include exercise. The increased dopamine produced can help improve attention and focus.  Exercise also produces endorphins, the “feel good” chemical in the brain. With sleep disorders extremely common in AD/HD sufferers, a lack of good sleep can exacerbate any symptoms.  Try to maintain a good night-time routine and make the bedroom a relaxing place, free from visual distractions.

Practicing mindfulness can help with awareness of attention and with choosing appropriate actions. As a tool, mindfulness is always available and can be incorporated into daily activities easily. By noticing how you feel when undertaking various activities, you can effectively plan those that cause difficulty or demotivate you and plan a reward, for example around these. This doesn’t mean that you must practice mindfulness for hours at a time!  The key is to start small and build from maybe five or ten minutes a day to make it an attainable goal.

Finally, take advantage of the community surrounding you.  Ask others for help and even for accountability, to help you stick to your timetable and avoid procrastination.  If you lack organization, for example, a fresh set of eyes on a plan of action can help you iron out any blocks before you start.

If you would like additional support, then why not tune in to my January Lunch Club.  We’ll look at 3 ways you can catapult your success for the New Year by getting the best motivation through the power of habit, forgetting about willpower (or the lack of it) and why and how your ‘Why’ can directly relate to your motivation.

See you there?

How many times have you caught yourself saying “I can’t do “this” task right now, without knowing how it fits into the bigger picture” or “I just need a plan”? Procrastination seems justified at that moment. Why would you wish to “waste” time if “It does not matter?”

Ask yourself this: Is this really the need for the circumstances to be perfect; for all the pieces of the jigsaw to be in place, before we can move on and complete the task? Or, is it something else…is there a tool you can put into place so that the big picture is clearer?

To more easily see the bigger picture and stop delaying (progress can be defined as incemental daily steps…) do these 3 things.

1. Use a capture tool.  This doesn’t have to be anything complicated.  Maybe just a pen and paper but start your day by undertaking a brain dump onto a sheet of paper.  List everything that you need to do, together with any deadlines. These tasks can be work, family or personal must-dos. Then group tasks together, where possible, and schedule time in your diary to get each done.  You may find it easier to use a memo app on your phone, or maybe even a voice recorder app – whatever works for you.
2. Allow white space. When scheduling your tasks, it’s easy to cram every waking moment with something to do, only to then be frustrated and off-roaded by an urgent or unforeseen something that crops up at the last minute.  Often…things take much longer than they “should.” (read: “than we allow or realize.”) Don’t let these circumstances get the better of you.  Instead, ensure that you allow for unforeseen events by leaving plenty of white space in your calendar – Worst case scenario, you’ll be able to easily pencil something urgent in, best case scenario, you’ll have extra time to dedicate to other tasks or for that coffee with a friend.
3. Focus on the end result.  Make sure that you keep your end goals in view.  It can be easy to become side-tracked by unforeseen events but bear in mind the bigger picture and ensure that whatever you are doing is leading you towards your end result.  It may be necessary to sometimes stop, take stock and to reposition to align with your goals.  This is okay and perfectly normal.  Just keep those end results in mind.

It’s surprising what a difference an extra 30 minutes can make to your productivity and your day as a whole.  That’s not to say that it’s easy to discipline yourself to getting up 30 minutes earlier.  If you find it a struggle, then try doing it gradually.  Set your alarm a few minutes earlier every day and start counting the ways that you can harness morning success into lasting success.

It’s amazing to think that one small tweak in your routine can change the outlook of your day. We’ve all heard that if we “wake up earlier, we’ll be more productive” and that can be true.  There’s something relieving in starting your day before everyone else and amazing how much more you can achieve in those rare, precious minutes of quiet before the household stirs.

But, setting the alarm thirty minutes earlier is only the beginning of the story.  If you’re going to sacrifice thirty minutes of precious rest time, then you owe it to yourself to maximize those minutes.  Here’s how:

1. Hydration – One of the best things you can do as soon as you wake is to drink at least 16oz of water.  This fires up your metabolism and gets you wide awake and ready to face the day ahead.  By hydrating your body, you’ll flush out toxins, give your brain fuel as well as curbing your appetite.  There’s probably no other time in the day when you’d go 7-8 hours without a drink, so your body will thank you for giving it some fluids.
2. Meditation – Although your instinct upon waking may be to jump out of bed and get moving (after all, why wake up early otherwise?) a few minutes spent meditating is a great way to start your day.  Even a few minutes of sitting quietly, practicing mindfulness can make a positive difference. While you sit peacefully, silently, your body is revitalized through mindful breathing. While this might seem counterintuitive, (after all, why wake early to then sit in a Zen-like state for 30 minutes?), you’ll find that this time spent in meditation will not only help you start your day in a calm state but will also help you to become more conscious when you wake up and less zombie-like.
3. Stretching – there is no better way to energize your body and get the blood flowing than to start your day with a full-body stretch.  The good news is that this can be done while you’re still in bed! A good stretch will help the blood flow to your muscles, get them engaged and ready to start their day.  Your muscles have stiffened overnight from lack of movement, so a good stretch first thing is just what they need. The brain and body are closely intertwined too, so this stretch allows your brain to operate more efficiently.

A few minutes dedicated to self-care will set you up for the day ahead and help with both physical and mental wellbeing. 

Once the self-care is taken care of, you’ll want to make those precious few minutes count.  It’s important that you not only focus on a routine that will allow you to make the most of your extra time, but also to plan effectively. This means taking a strategic look at your weekly, monthly and annual goals and needs.

For example, when you have your week effectively planned out, it’s easy to see what you need to achieve and by when.  Similarly, with monthly and yearly goals, you’ll be able to factor these into your schedule and, by working backwards, allocate enough time to plan, prepare and execute.  For example, planning that every October 1, “I’ll set up a time to have my car winterized” – (no being blind-sided by snow for you!) or “Every February 1 I will set aside time to get my tax stuff done and off to the accountant, so I don’t need to file an extension” – you see the kind of thing?

Of course, if you’re adding to your daily activity, you’ll need to make sure that you have enough energy to stay the course. Make sure to take frequent breaks to maintain your attention span.  Also ensure that you don’t become a slave to your to-dos.  Move, stretch and breathe throughout the day.  The effectiveness of your early start will be totally lost if you end up working harder for longer! Try and block out time each day to get out in the fresh air for a few minutes.  A walk around the block can help clear your brain, relieve anxiety and focus your mind.

In our next blog, we’ll be looking at the excuses we make and how not to get distracted by “shiny object syndrome”.