I've been trying to up my productivity levels the last
month, and I've found that like most things in life it's much easier said than
done. I've read some blogs, some
articles and watched some videos on how others manage productivity in their everyday
lives and none of this has seem to worked for me personally. I find myself limited by the concept of
productivity in a way. So, the more I
focus on trying to be productive, the less I actually am during a day.
I make a to do list every day. It's just a basic sticky note in Windows
7. I list what I have to do during the
day, even down to the most mundane tasks.
The thrill that comes with erasing each item makes me feel good, but I
think that's not actually helping me productive. Most of the tasks I do day-to-day are just
things that should be intertwined already within my day that I shouldn't need a
list to complete.
While my productivity in the last month has increased,
especially when it comes to my writing, I feel I could still be managing my
time better. I'm also beginning to
wonder if we sabotage ourselves by trying to be focus on being productive. What would happen if I just lived? If I just did. If instead of making a list, I just completed
tasks. Instead of tracking my progress,
I just walked away once done. Would that
make me more productive? Would that give
me more time to do this and that?
There are so many things I want to do during my day that I
don't get to do because I feel I'm limited by what I "have" to
do. It can be work, it could be writing,
it could be something around the apartment, but I limit myself by what I think
needs to be done instead of taking advantage of what could help me get more
done. What would waking up every day, no
matter what is going on that day, at the same time for one week? How much more time would that give me to be
productive?
One of my favorite quotes is from H. Jackson Brown: "Don't
say you don't have enough time. You have
exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller,
Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson and
Albert Einstein."
I think my next step is to set a schedule of being awake
from 6 AM every morning to 10 PM every night just to see what I can accomplish. It will take some time to get used to, and it
may be hard at first, but what will the extra hours in my day lead to? Even if it's the addition of a walk, a trip
to the gym or just more creative writing rather than work, it can help make me
more use of my time during my days.
Now, only time will tell.
