Massive Productivity // Getting Things Done
Oh, I am sure you know the feeling; so much to do, so little time…
Does it sound familiar? I am sure it does. So how to be more productive is the big question, right! Often I wish I was more productive than I actually am but on the other side I also should not be so hard on myself because I get quite a lot done most of the time. A lot but still not everything.
So, what works to be more productive:
I am a big fan of list writing. To-Do-Lists are a big help. I love writing them and even more I like crossing off what I got done. Usually I write a to-do-list for the week if it a really busy week where I need to get lots of stuff done and also lists for every day. And yes, I write them on paper with a pen, not just into a note on my phone or computer. Using real paper and a pen helps me to see it as ‘a real thing’ that I can finally cross off after having completed my tasks. Yes, I am a big fan of notebooks, pens and paper - I am very old-school when it comes to that - but the thing is, it works and once I read a study that people who wrote their goals with a real pen on real paper were more likely to stick to them and to make them happen than folks who just wrote it down digitally. So apparently really writing it down makes things more tangible and sends a message to our brain to get shit done!
batch cooking; often I will just cook about twice a week, freeze some (which saves me time for other busy days so I don’t have to worry about what to shop and eat) and eating the same dish for about 2 days. I know, it does not sound fancy but it really helps with time management and days that are full of meetings and tasks I need to get done. I can eat the same dish for about 2 days but after that, I am done and that is where my freezer comes in handy and a few weeks later on a busy day I am happy and grateful about home-cooked food that I only have to thaw and warm up.
getting up early; that i find has a big impact on being productive and goal-oriented. The later I get up, the more unlikely are chances that I get the things done that I wanna get done. I allow myself to sleep in on a Saturday or Sunday but even most weekends I get up quite early at least at one of those days.
having a organized home without clutter! Yes, it really helps, because the more useless stuff you have piling up, the more distracted you are. No clutter at home to me means that my mind is free of clutter as well and that I can really focus on what I need and want to focus on.
dedicating time for tasks that go well together. For example household tasks; for me that means I do some cleaning, then I take out the trash and head grocery-shopping. Or another example is everything that has to do with bureaucracy; paying bills, writing emails, making phone calls etc. - I do this in one sitting as well and once I am done, I move on to the next tasks.
oh and I also find, it helps to do the tasks first that you dread most because after that doing the rest feels almost rewarding in comparison to doing that one thing first, that you dread doing most.
I hope that some of the things I mentioned work for you as well. Also I decided to make a better use of my time at home from now on. Very often when I had some free time between working and meetings, I’d just chill out wasting my precious time reading the news (and getting angry and frustrated about what is going on) or scrolling through Instagram. OK, I still do it but only for short time periods.
Instead I now really try to use my free time in between to use for things that actually bring me further like working through the online courses that I bought to learn to skills or to work on my mindset, to work on my own design projects and my blog and so on. I have to say that this is a big benefit of working from home, I don’t lose time commuting and can use this time for doing something useful and beneficial that leads me closer to reaching my goals in the near future.
Love,
Phyllis
