I woke up before the roosters. Took my daughter to the pools. Drove back. Sat down at my computer.
In the past I would have ended up faffing around… half-heartedly opening a document I should probably be working on… then “quickly” checking email.
Two hours of reading Facebook later… I’d be ready for a well-earned break!
That was then…
But today I came home. Sat at my desk. Looked at the notepad beside me…
And knew exactly what I was working on next.
Checking email was still there… but not at the top.
Here’s what I’m talking about…
One thing that’s been a massive productivity booster for me, is when…
I started using 5-minutes at the end of my work day to plan the next day.
Even if I’m still a bit groggy after waking up… there’s no need to think about what I should do.
It’s right there in front of me — in black and white.
Now, I’ve tried many productivity systems over the years.
But there’s a common refrain of “simple” works best” that seems to gel with this simple guy.
So…
I don’t do things like time-blocking any more.
As in setting aside X amount of time for a particular task.
After crossing swords with this many times…
I came to the conclusion: it just doesn’t work for me.
And I’m OK with that.
I now flow along with my internal energy-gauge setting the pace.
I know that for mornings I’ll have energy for spending a few hours of solid focus time on whatever I need to.
And if my brain rudely interrupts to insist I make notes on an awesome email idea…
I can just stop what I’m doing and draft it right there and then. Rather than making a short note to come back to it later.
I find this doesn’t break my flow with whatever I was working on… because I’ve captured the thing that interruped.
AND have already ticked off another future task — a worthwhile 5-minute interruption indeed!
An early-afternoon nap then gives me an extra boost.
And I’ll often do a couple of hours of night-time work — when there’s another blip of energy.
The other thing with me and time blocking is:
It creates a problem if the work doesn’t fit into the time slot.
If it’s going to take maybe half-an-hour longer than I expected, do I mess up my schedule for today?… Or carry it over to tomorrow? … Or if something takes a shorter time than the block… do I try and squeeze something else in?
Too hard.
So I prefer to only have actual appointments in my calendar. Like a client call. Or taking my daughter to tennis.
Everything else is done in the flow of the day.
So… at the end of each day I note down what I expect tomorrow’s flow will be. In a more-or-less priority order.
Today it’s a bit jumbled. But that’s OK. At least the main thing I want to do is actually on the list.
I reckon there’s an ideal system for each person.
But…
It’s not one-size-fits-all. And it may take a bit of exploration to find it.
I battled with many systems over the years. But becoming more aware of my energy levels made the biggest difference.
And especially while recovering from burnout… when my energy bottomed-out.
I’d love to hear about what systems are working for you.
Have a great weekend!
P.S. If you’re feeling a bit stuck with something (or everything!) in your freelancing business…
And you’ve been subscribed to this list for one month or more…
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We can go deep. And make some action steps for moving you forwards.
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Chris Milham