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.
You are preaching to the choir sister. Having constant access to the internet is what is keeping me distracted. That's why I temporarily shut down my Facebook account. I am also a news junkie. I set up a twitter account to feed me the highlights so that I'm not spending as much time online looking at the news feeds. Still, the internet usually wins.
ReplyDeleteThe Internet is both a blessing and a curse for me. I need it for the majority of my work, and I'm pretty balanced at multi-tasking with it but some days are better than others.
DeleteBeing productive for both your father and on is centered daily on how we are feeling physically.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a written/typed list. It's all in my head what I need to accomplish by Saturday (because Sunday is still jammies day and I don't do a thing).
If I'm feeling bad, the items on my mental list get re-prioritized. Instead of mopping all the hardwood floors because of pain, I will go through the week's mail, tear off junk mail labels, file what needs to be filed, then shred a weeks' worth of this stuff, etc. It may not be as labor-intensive but it's still a job that needs to get done. Then the next day, if I'm better, I'll mop the floors. And if I'm almost better, I'll mop the floors while rolling around on my office chair to get it done.
I am constantly changing the list. Things happen ... life gets in the way. It's a matter of deciding how you want to live.
Do you want to make this list, that hardly ever gets completed because life keeps throwing you barriers or you just feel like it's all you can do to just get through the day, then you feel like crap for not doing all of today's "To Do" list and beat yourself up?
No. You don't. It's counter-productive. You do want you can do. Some days nothing is accomplished. Some days you accomplish most of it. Some days you complete every task PLUS some more.
Through all of it ... the earth continued to spin in the right direction, the sun didn't explode, and (so far) the world economy is still in tact.
I just re-read this blog entry and had an epiphany. Lately, probably in the last 3 years, I have been worried about my lack of productivity and enthusiasm for my work. I tried all kinds of different organization techniques and stuck inspirational posters on my wall but my heart just wasn't into it. I have had jobs that I loved and looked forward going to. Hell, there was a time when I loved this job. I just realized that I was only productive at the jobs that I really liked. But here's the kicker, with only one exception, I was never hired for any job that I liked.
ReplyDeleteI was usually lousy in the positions that I was hired for because I found the work to be boring and mundane. So I usually strayed off and did my own thing and started my own projects. Most bosses frowned upon me going my own way and I would soon quit. In the jobs where I found personal success, my boss would let me go my own way and I would always end up in some kind of Research and Development position or a position requiring high technical skills. I would often laugh to myself that I probably would have done these jobs for free because that's just what I wanted to do anyway.
So, back to the epiphany. I wasn't productive at most of the jobs I was hired for. Basically I was a bad hire. But no matter where I went, I did what I liked until I found an environment that liked what I did and there was success all the way around. I think I need to stray from the mundane or find a new job in order to increase my productivity.