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Welcome to Day 1 of 7 Days To Better Productivity & Time Management.
Today’s task will take about 1 hour.
We’re going to begin by identifying your very best way to work. We’ll uncover your ideal productivity style so that you’ll be able to get more done, with more natural motivation, and without willpower or tricks.
Let’s start!
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I think I have a smaller productivity brain space than I thought. I have a multi tasking life as self employed free lance graphic designer and an oil painter….so too many things to do, never enough time and in the end, I procrastinate and am paralyzed. My main goal is to spend more time painting. Support myself from painting and less from the graphic work.
I like routine but spend my day reacting…keeping the plates, spinning.
I have tried to take a week off per month to focus on painting, my “painting staycation and do the design jobs very early and late in the day. I see NOW I just need to make that my EVERY DAY plan!
I used to think I was a morning person, but now I see I should PLAN creative things then and actually do them later in the day, after my midday lunch break.
Ok, I’m already behind, but better late than never, Right? I prefer few projects at a time. Like having a routine, don’t like surprises to much. Motivated in the morning when it’s quiet, then take a nap in the afternoon and go again. I like a little noise, good music. Need to make a list. Would help keep my mind from wandering, then forgetting, and it doesn’t get done, then I’m starting all over again. Open for more suggestions… 🙂
I’m a late starter thus catching up on task one now. I think I know my preferences well and being a large productivity person I often choose to work with people who are opposite to help me finish tasks. My problem is I am a master of self sabotage. I know what I have to do, the barriers to doing it but effectively choose not to by procrastination and a myriad of excuses. So frustrating!!
Definitely I am a late morning, middle of the day and early afternoon person!! Those are my most productive and motivated hours!!!
WIth the nature of my job spontaneity is almost a given. I can and have tried to plan out my day and one problem will make all the planning go out the window. Coupled with the fact that I have people in and out of my office constantly, it is actually a wonder I get anything done.
I prefer multiple projects and it’s actually needed with my work. We are working towards a much tighter structure or a level of organized chaos LOL.
I am a late afternoon to evening person I get a lot more done after 1 PM, in fact I can knock out a days worth of work in the the four hours in the afternoon, but I feel extremely unfocused in the mornings. I actually wish I could change m schedule to start at 12.
A mixture of both. There is always noise around me and I can focus when I really need to but I need music or an audiobook in the background as a baseline. Quiet is too noisy for me.
I need work on planning and checklist…. I know this will sound strange but I feel like I can’t even find the time to make a list of what I need to do. I want to have a daily to do list and make myself accountable to it. I am an visual person… I understand bette when when it is right in front of me. When it’s written I can’t miss it and I just flat out can’t remember it all. I have gotten better with my calendar I just need to remember to enter everything at the time I make the appointment.
I am disabled (recovering from a chronic illness) and also take care of my mother, besides doing some private teaching. So preserving energy for priorities is precious to me. I realized that for as much as I enjoy variety and outside stimulation in my work, I’m actually a small productivity worker. Late morning and early afternoon are the best times for me. By evening I’m wiped out and also have a hard time getting going in the morning. But I don’t have to feel guilty about that! I also like the 52 organizing missions and am trying that to help me work in 30 minute chunks on the projects I never get to (and in the past have seemed overwhelming). But the app keeps crashing for some of the features and I’m waiting to hear back from customer support for help….
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I prefer having a list of projects, but only a few that NEED to be worked on.
I use routine as opposed to a schedule and I can change as we see fit.
My productivity depends on my sleep and I don’t always have control of that. I tend to be more productive I late evening and mid morning. However if I go to bed by 9:30, I am productive at 7 and 12 and tired by 7 pm 🙂
My work environment depends on my sleep levels. With good rest, I love lots of interaction, with low sleep levels, I need lower distractions.
Because I am a stay at home, homeschooling mother with young kids, as my chosen job, I can change some things (sleep when I can instead of stay up) but other things, like my work hours (midnight -2 taking care of scared kiddos and sick kids )make it important to be flexible with my routine.
I like multiple projects, with a fairly strict routine I do like peace and quiet to do it though!
Running a little behind because I am doing this while on vacation.
A few projects at a time will probably work best – I tend to forget what all I am working on. Too many things going and I get overwhelmed.
I like routine with sponteneity. I often have several sets of plans: rainy weather plan (work in the house), rainy weather and babysitting, good weather/work outside, good weather babysitting work outside….
Sadly, my best time of day is 9 pm to 2 am. I work at school so I can’t take advantage of my best time very often.
I need relative quiet to work.
I have found that making a list of things I need to get done the next day before I go to bed has been a huge help. I even use my task organizer app to help me remember to take my medicine! I get busy, I forget.
Knowing I can only handle a few projects at a time will help me NOT start yet another project before I finish some others. Now, which ones should I finish first…
That’s a really good insight, Rose, to not start another project. On Day #2 we’ll start to do something with those priorities.
I prefer working on a few things at a time. I prefer not to be over-stimulated. On a vacation day, I prefer to only have a few things planned.
I don’t like surprises at work – so I definitely want to know what is coming. I like to have a plan and find schedules comforting. I LOVE STRUCTURE!
I’m a morning person and do my best work before 1 pm. I’m happiest in the a.m. because that’s when I feel most energized. I procrastinate in the afternoon.
I need quiet so that I can focus. But I don’t have that at all. I know in my next position I will look to make sure I have an office – that would so help to increase my productivity – constant distractions now.
I’m going to stop making lists with so many different things on them. It only makes me feel like I haven’t accomplished anything because so many items remain undone at the end of the day. I’m also going to try and work on my harder tasks in the morning and save the easier things like mail, email, messages for the afternoon.
welcome to the management world
I like your list of things you’ll do differently, Michele. 🙂
Sharon Cairns – Natural Therapies.
I have worked my whole life till recently as a Large Brain space, bringing up a large family & a full time business with many staff constantly juggling far too many balls very stressful! I now have a Home Studio business with just me self employed and love it, however the past months have beaten myself up a little feeling guilty because I have freedom & flexibility & structure. Are we allowed to have this? Am I productive enough? I have recently started losing motivation in my day and signed up for some extended study starting soon, wondering how I was going to fit study time in again (overwhelmed). Timing –
your course came up on facebook yesterday so I signed up for motivation reasons & YAH I discovered I am a Small Brain person and thank you I am feeling Ok about it! Society & the Media have a big impact on making us feel we have to be productive all the time, especially women. It is enlightening that you are giving us permission to feel ok about where our brain power sits & importantly now giving ourselves permission. How great is it that we are here & still learning better ways to live our lives! Starting with my To Do List & checking my power times as of today. Thank you Michele.
Once you give yourself permission to be yourself Sharon, you can use your preferences to your advantage. When you stop fighting yourself you’ll have more energy and motivation to get more done.
Just finished the first portion of Lesson One, productivity brain space. Would love to dialogue with people. I always had a HUGE productivity brain space. I mean, looking back, I even amaze myself of what I could handle all at one time. And, just like the author said, I thrived on it. Now, however, as I have gotten older (just turned fifty), I feel that my productivity brain space has gotten smaller and is continuing to shrink. I guess for people who start out with a smaller space and enjoy the fewer projects at once, that is great. But this summer I have found myself mourning the loss of the large productivity brain space. (I realize that one isn’t better than the other or doesn’t do more than the other, but I enjoyed it the way it was.) Comments or thoughts? Is it normal to change to the smaller and more focus on fewer projects as you get older? Is it normal to wish it were the other way? I don’t feel like I am accomplishing much this summer because of this (and summer is when I am not homeschooling and testing my books with one hundred homeschoolers every week, so I usually work like a work horse all summer and love it!), so it is funny that this is the first part of the first lesson. Thanks!
I think the absolute best thing you could do for your brain is to get in 15 minutes of deep breathing and relaxation. I know, I know…you’re incredibly busy….but you could do the relaxing and the breathing while you are reading. Just be very conscious of your breath and you’ll notice changes within days…maybe hours!
Donna, I think as we get older we know what we want more, we tolerate overwhelm less, we become more aware of the things that matter and the preciousness of our limited time.
Well I forgot about the class, so I’m a day behind. Not sure what that says about my organizational skills. 🙂
I defiantly lend more to the introvert side of all the questions, but part of me gets a rush from extroverted side of things like working late in the evening and having people and things moving thru like a speeding train. I wish I could just force myself into the introvert answers because that was makes sense and feels like something I can handle. But I gather this exercise isn’t about forcing anything. Left to my own devices I procrastinate terribly because I expect everything should work perfectly, and it’s literally gotten me no where.
I’m going to experiment like you suggest. I think it’s great that I don’t have to have all the answers right now. I think it’s important to me to have a foundation schedule for the day but feel it’s ok to break free if I feel inspired to do so and not feel guilty about it.
For now… my answers are:
few projects
routine
mid day and evening.
quiet room
But I’m open to learning more about myself.
Day one has been very enlightening. I teach college English part time (generally one class per semester), so I have a lot of time on my hands, yet I don’t seem to get anything accomplished at home. Working through the steps helped me see the why of that.
I didn’t even know about Productivity Brainspace. I have a small space. I get overwhelmed because I want to handle several projects at once, and end up not working on any of them.
When I was in college and into my first jobs, I could focus on work in front of the tv or in a busy room full of people. I now prefer quiet alone space when I’m working.
I also realized I am most productive in the afternoon and early evening, which due to my current schedule, doesn’t help for success on large projects.
I absolutely need a routine. My best job was when I had a fairly firm routine to the day with some interjections. Now, I have a very loose day except for the afternoon (when I’m in class), and nothing seems to get done.
So, I am working on setting up a schedule that will help me be more productive. I started by listing the things I have to get done each day or week. I realize I will have to keep it sort of loose at first, until I determine what works best with my true productivity.
It’s nice to have those ‘a-ha’ moments, Dawn! Enjoy working out your new productive schedule. 🙂 Kylie ~ Community Manager
I am constantly doing a million things at once. I am an air traffic controller, a law student starting my last year in August, and mom of seven (three of whom are still under 18 and two of the older ones have mental issues – one mild, one severe). The funny thing is that while I work VERY well doing this at work (and I LOVE it!) and pretty well with it at home, it’s not working out so well for me with school. Maybe it’s because I’ve been doing the others for so long (over 20 years at both) that now it’s just second nature. Maybe it will come for my new career? Maybe I’m just getting old. Either way, I think it is good for me to identify this.
I also forced myself to acknowledge that if I turn on the tv, nothing else will get done. I can have distractions – and sometimes Starbucks is the place I need to be – but the tv can’t be one of them. I’m going to try making a flexible list for the following day, and to get as much done before breakfast as possible. Once I sit down to eat, I want to turn on the tv and then I’m there for hours.
TV and computer do me like that too. Sometimes that’s all I do all day. Sigh. I need to tell myself no tv and computer for 30 minutes only in morning while I wake up, until everything I want accomplished for the day is done. It got much worse than before when I was so sick for 4 months. I didn’t work, and was so tired I could barely crawl out of bed. I’m better now, but I can’t find motivation in anything. I feel like everything bores me. I don’t even take pride in my house cleaning or cooking anymore. I do the bare minimum.
At some point I went cold turkey on the television when I was home alone. Now it never occurs to me to turn it on. I only get trapped when other people are watching. With all the kids around, I could see that being a problem for you!
The computer on the other hand…..
Apparently another thing I need to do is figure out how to not have this organizational thing post my things to FB! Lol. I’m glad you two agree with me, though. (I was only putting the stuff about me for the other people doing the class to see where I’m coming from. Everyone here already knows how crazy I am!)
Pamela, it’s interesting that you have different levels of comfort in your different environments. Perhaps you can experiment with fewer priorities in your study and spread your course over a longer period?
I went to sign up Pam, so I’m glad you posted it to your FB. I just can’t justify the expense right now. Maybe a few months in the future.
I can hear you. I gave up tv eons ago because it I could get the news in a tenth of the time other places and it didn’t add much else to my life. It was a mind candy I couldn’t afford.
I prefer multiple projects (yet, I have so many uncompleted ones that I am frustrated with myself), routine (I love charts and schedules but at times need help in making them) and I work best in the early mornings when the world hasn’t really woken up yet and I can tip toe aroudn the house while my hubby is still sleeping…
Janelle, on Day #2 you may look differently at all those uncompleted projects…
Hi! Sorry I’m late! LOL.. I have discovered that I have a Small Productive Brain Space. To me, many projects = overwhelm = immobilization. I love routine and structure. However, this is one of my biggest challenges. Part of the problem is internal. I am a procrastinator/perfectionist. The second challenge is external. The rest of my family and circle of influence are much more spontaneous. I tend to “go with the flow” and can be distracted by their requests for my time, etc. I do better in the morning/early afternoon. I prefer to work quietly, rather than in a busy, noisy environment. Great exercise. I really enjoyed the self reflection.
Some interesting insights there, Kelli. I wonder if you could set aside a few peak hours for your work but then have the rest of the time available as more flexible to their requests and to go with the flow?
Great idea… but wouldn’t that involve some self discipline??? LOL…But, you’re right. When I had a “regular” job, I couldn’t drop everything to bow to their wishes. So, I have to learn to respect my own time as much as I respected my employers time!
Kelli Stack Sibbitt You’ll also be teaching them valuable lessons about work and focus that will serve them very well.
I am best with a small amount of projects, lots of to do lists, quiet work space and working in the early part of the day. SADLY I am an office manager for a busy, noisy pediatric office as well as a pediatrician who is also a stay at home mom 50% of the time.
My mornings usually include my daughter on my lap and in my face (love her!) I have -tons- of things to do all the time and the only thing that helps me stay even a little focused is my plethora of to-do lists. Which I am constantly losing. I am trying to start putting the lists in electronic format so I can’t lose them, but then I can’t access them when I am away from my laptop. (I desperately need a smart phone with Evernote on it. Ah to dream.)
Hmmm… I find it interesting that you keep ‘losing’ your to-do lists Corinne. Is your subconscious trying to tell you something? LOL or maybe I’m just just over-analyzing! 🙂
Yep, I agree, Corinne. Strategy can help, but there has to be a certain threshold of available space to think.
I found this quite interesting to do as I haven’t really given much thought to any of these things before. I have a large productivity brainspace, but now that I work for myself from home I feel a little overwhelmed if I try to achieve as many goals as I used to when I worked for a company.
I like to be organised and plan to an extent, but am flexible enough to allow for unexpected interruptions along the way without feeling like I have failed. I only feel like I have made progress if I get onto things in the morning, otherwise if left to the afternoon I get lazy and put things off to the next day.
I have decided for the next month to try to establish more of a set routine so that I have more of a work feel to my day. With that little added pressure I think that I will be able to get more done. I am also going to schedule in a morning at a coffee shop to do some of my research on my iPad, so that I don’t feel as isolated as I do at the moment. After the month I will evaluate and see how things are progressing and whether I need to tweak it some more.
I like these ideas Amanda. And I like that you’ll be evaluating and tweaking as you go. This is a great way to find a work style that is comfortable and productive.