It is really easy to get bogged down in the minutiae. We can start thinking of all the steps that need to be done to get a specific result, and lose sight of the end game: the result itself.
I find that instead of writing down the next actions, it is better to write down what I am trying to accomplish.
I’ve talked about how you can take a tool that is not quite right and make it work for you. This is good if you cannot use a tool optimally, or don’t really know how to use it fully. There are times, though, when you do know how to use a tool, but are forced to use a sub-optimal or substitute tool. And this can be a major hit to your productivity.
Last month I did a spending freeze. I spent no unnecessary money, and it really opened my eyes. I had gotten in the habit of running to the store with the pretext of buying something necessary, only to come home with much more. When I did the spending freeze, I realized how much extra this was costing me in both time and energy.
Everything has a cost. There are no exceptions. But are you aware of the hidden costs of time and energy of areas in your life? Today we will look at some places you may want to recognize and trim hidden costs.
The average American sits for 11 hours a day. That is outside of the time spent in bed sleeping. We are the fattest we have ever been, and our sedentary lifestyle is leading to disease. I’ve been conscious of these types of numbers for years now, but have been unwilling to do anything about them other than nod and promise myself I would do something in the future. But recently I’ve had some direct consequences. Enter my November 30 day challenge
Why Exercise?br />
I sit way too much. It’s a function of my current job. But I remember the days in the classroom when I rarely sat, and how much better I felt physically. I’m starting to feel pain from a tight hip flexor, and exercise is the only way to ease that so I can sleep.
I realized I was having difficulty sticking to my task list…because I had never made a plan. The Planning The Night Before challenge was to get me past that difficulty.
The challenge was to make my plan for the next day in my bullet journal the night before. The thought was that even having written list – even if I didn’t look at it again until late in the next day – would help keep me on track.
I was working with a colleague recently, helping him through a process that was unfamiliar with a tool he had not really used. What we were doing is less important than the conversation.
“Paste the item three times.” I’ll admit it, I was bored
He moved his mouse, clicked, went to the menu, clicked a couple of times in the menu to paste, then clicked in the new place.
“Did you know you could use control + V to paste things?” I didn’t want to sit there all afternoon.
“I don’t like to use my keyboard.”
I don’t think he saw me roll my eyes, but I now have a really good idea about why overall productivity level is so low. “Why wouldn’t you want to use the shortcut?” I really did want to know.
He shrugged. “It takes too much effort to learn.”
Shortcuts save us time and energy. Why would you choose not to learn them?
One of the things that I struggle with as I put together routines to support my life is meaning. It’s one thing to take another person’s routine and adopt it, but for me, this quickly turns sour if it doesn’t matter to my life.
I’m looking at this more closely as I rebuild routines. A few months ago I did a 30 day challenge to get up earlier and do my morning routine. And while I am still struggling with that, part of the reason is that my morning routine has items that don’t matter to me. I am not enthused about doing them because I don’t see the point, and it has a tendency to derail my entire intention.
For my monthly patron Q&A I was asked the question: “Do you put tasks on your calendar?” It’s such a big question that I wanted to unpack that in a single episode, but I think it’s also very important for people to hear.
It has now been four years since my very short excursion into the world of education. The wounds have skinned over enough for me to talk about it, and so I wanted to take today to talk about why I am grateful for the worst boss I ever had.
Not all tools can be used optimally by all people. This applies whether it is a physical tool like a hammer or a productivity system. Today we will look at an approach to allow you to get as much out of a tool as you can.
I’ve always maintained that there is no magic bullet in productivity. The best we can do is assemble a toolbox of methods and systems and make them work for us. No one system is going to work for everyone in all circumstances. It’s a matter of how we use the tools to get things done.