Taking Back Productivity
Posted on 23. Nov, 2009 by Stefani in Productivity
photo courtesy of Hawkexpress
For the last few weeks I’ve been feeling as if I’ve been getting absolutely nothing accomplished. More tasks get added to my to-do list than are actually being completed. I’ve been sleeping a lot more than I used to. And now I’m at the point where I feel like I need to somehow get everything under control before it, well, get’s out of control and that feeling of being overwhelmed starts to sink in.
My biggest problem is the fact that I spend a whole lot of time doing absolutely nothing. Sure, I’m always in front of the computer, and while this may seem like I’m actually working or doing things that are productive, that’s not always the case. I’m a geek, so for me, my computer is used for both work and play.
Me sleeping more could just be my body trying to send me a not-so-subtle message that I need to slow down a bit and get more rest. But, anyone who knows me knows that I’m not really a lie-in-bed-all-day kind of person. Sleeping more than needed is basically a waste of time, in my opinion. It may seem silly, but I feel like if I sleep-in or go to bed too early, I’m going to miss something.
In an effort to increase my productivity and get rid of that I’ve-accomplished-nothing-today feeling, I’m going to start scheduling my days, hour by hour if need be. This will include making a list of tasks that I want to complete on a daily basis and having an approximate schedule of when each task should be completed. I’ve made several attempts at doing this, but nothing ever sticks. I use both OmniFocus and David Seah’s Emergent Task Planner, and while I love them both, I’m not consistent.
Since I already have the tools I need to do this, it should be relatively easy to implement. For them to actually be effective, my use has to be consistent. I’m not superwoman, so if I want this to work, I’m going to have to be realistic and only schedule tasks that I truly believe I can complete that day.
I came across a post a while back (though I can’t remember where) that basically said you can get lots more accomplished if you actually take short breaks throughout the day. Make sense, right? I think so. So, every hour, I plan on working for 45-50 minutes, and taking a 10-15 minutes break to do anything of my choosing; whether it’s simply catching up on post in my RSS reader, taking a walk, or just kicking back and reading my Kindle. Taking that many, albeit short, breaks through the day will not only help me focus and actually work for 45-50 minutes, but it will also help break things up a bit, and will hopefully help with procrastination.
As far as me sleeping too much, I can either adjust my sleep pattern, or just wake up when the alarm goes off instead of hitting the snooze button. If that doesn’t work, I’m buying this, and set it to donate money to Michael Steele and the GOP, or some other organization equally undeserving of my hard-earned money. I’m serious. If that doesn’t get me out of bed in the morning, nothing will.
