I wake up every morning to a gunshot.
It’s followed by an announcer-like voice say “Aaaaaaaannnnndddd… they’re off.”
I’m in the horse race of my life as soon as my feet hit the carpet. By the time I drop the kids off at school (less than two hours after I wake up), I feel like I should be close to the finish line. The truth is that I’m barely out of the gate in a race that likely will continue for 12 more hours.
I try not to complain about my busy schedule. I did it to myself. I understand that it’s not forever, and I feel pretty blessed over all. That being said (written), even a Superwoman gets tired! More than anything, I get tired of feeling rushed; like I never have enough time to do anything well.
Perhaps that is why I enjoyed Leo Babauta’s blog entry on How Not to Hurry. I especially enjoyed the “Tips for a Slower-Paced Life” at the bottom of the blog. All of the tips are good, although many of them are super difficult (unplugging!). Here are a few of my personal favorites and how I’m trying to do them:
- Do less. If you haven’t read Leo’s book, The Power of Less, it really will help you cut back. I read the book and try to work on this regularly. I can honestly say that I don’t feel as badly about saying no to things that impact what’s important to me, especially family time.
- Have fewer meetings. I’m usually not in charge of my meetings, as they are called by others. However, I try to avoid as many as possible by settling business when the meeting is called if it can be done quickly.
- Give yourself time to get ready and get there. I have started scheduling my drive time and family time. This helps me decide if I can schedule another item. It also helps me say no to things that interrupt my important time.
- Realize that if it doesn’t get done, that’s OK. There’s always tomorrow. I had a secretary who used to laugh at the amount of work I would take home each evening. One day she said “Can’t that wait until tomorrow?” Just asking the question made me put down the bag and have a stress-free evening. Now I regularly ask this question. If it can wait, I let it.
- Slowly eliminate commitments. I am learning (slowly) to be selfish with my time. More specifically, to be selfish with my family time. Because of this, I am forced to make my work time more productive so I can use my evenings for what matters most. This means cutting out things I was doing that really weren’t important to me.
We’re busy. We’re so busy that it’s really all we talk about.
“How are you?”
“I’m SO busy.”
Gone are the days of “I’m fine, thanks.” “SO busy” is our modern badge of honor. It screams “I’m important” and “feel sorry for me” in unison.
The truth is that we are doing more than ever before. We’re also wasting unprecidented amounts of time.
I’m doing it right now. I should be writing a lecture or working on a research study. Instead, I’m skimming Google Reader and updating this blog. Procrastination at its finest.
Perhaps we’d all be better off if we focused on Leo Babauta’s Three Simple Steps to Productivity.
Before I give you the steps, let me explain a little prep work that needs to be done. Before you can truly be productive, you have to organize your “to do” list. Decide what the most important tasks are that you seem to put off because you just “don’t have time” to do them. Then, let’s use Leo’s steps to get them done. Here they are:
1. Find something amazing to work on. Having something you really love to do at the beginning or the end of each day will help keep you focused, according to Leo. This is one of these “most important tasks” referenced above.
I try to have three most important tasks at all times. I list them in chronological order. I don’t start on one until the previous one is complete.
2. Work only on the amazing thing. Clear your time, your desk, your distractions and only work on that amazing thing. Do nothing else until you’ve worked on the amazing thing for the time allotted.
For me this works best in the morning. I arrive at work early while the office is still quiet. I work on my most important task of the day for at least an hour before I do anything else (even check e-mail). It’s not easy to do at first, but you really do feel more productive at the end of the day. Perhaps more importantly, those items actually leave your list. Putting a line through something really feels good, doesn’t it?
3. Take a nap? The idea is to reward yourself for having focused on your amazing thing. Leo advises to take a nap. Not really feasible for me since my day is just beginning when I work on my amazing thing.
Instead, I check my e-mail or check out my Google Reader feed. Allowing myself a few minutes of mindless clicking helps me relax until I move on to my second task of the day.
New habits are easily formed. It’s ok if you don’t get to work on your amazing thing every day. However, Leo advises not to allow the task to be put off for more than a day. Doing so will undo all of the previous habit-forming behavior.
Let’s get started!
