Hey
Happy Monday!
No links today, so you're welcome :) I just want to talk a little about this trick I have started using to stay productive without feeling insane by how much work I have.
I have written about productivity many times over the last few years, but I have also written about being burnt out and overwhelmed just as often (if not more). That should have been a big red flag that I was doing something incorrectly, but of course not.
However, I did eventually figure out one thing that is at least helping.
I don't remember where I heard about this little productivity tip, but I definitely didn't invent it. It is super awesome though!
My Problem with Being Productive
I'm really good at working a lot and getting a lot done, but I'm also really good at doing way too much all by myself. Moderation has never been my strong suit, so it truly is all or nothing with me.
I have become attached to this idea that the more work I do, the better I am. I must be successful if ALL I do is work. If I spend 16 hours a day straight working, well hell, I'm amazing.
But NO. Do not do this. You know what happens when you do that every day? You burnout. You are tired and miserable and grumpy. There is no time or energy left for a life outside of work.
Then Don't Work So Much?
Yeah, it seems easy, but it's not. At least for me. I feel like my days either involve barely working at all, or doing an insane amount of work. My to-do lists used to be absolutely insane, and completely unrealistic.
When you make a to-do list, and you don't finish everything on that list, you feel like you didn't do enough. That you didn't work hard, and you didn't accomplish anything.
Even if your list had 20 items, and you completed 15 of them and worked 10 hours - you STILL feel like you failed yourself.
THIS is the problem with the way people usually make their to-do lists. They're too long and don't reflect what you can actually accomplish in one work day.
My #1 Trick - The One Post-it Method
I read about this from another blogger, but I honestly don't remember which one. I thought it was such a good idea, that I started doing it, and honestly it makes so much sense.
This is what you do - write each day's to-do/task list on ONE Post-it. That's it. One small sticky note is all you have for the day.
Because if it fills more than one Post-it, it's probably more than you can get done in one 8-10 hour day, and you shouldn't be planning on working more than that.
I started doing this a few weeks ago, and it has worked so well. I (almost) always check everything off my list, I get a lot done, but I don't try to do too much each day.
It helps me stay productive, but also be realistic with my time, and actually have time later in the day to you know.. have a life. Who would have thought that was what I needed?!
Of course you have to be honest with yourself. No writing as small as you can to fit more on there ;) YES I did try that a couple days, and it was just a way to self-sabotage.
I also made some rules for myself. For example, each task on my Post-It can't include writing more than 10 pages/articles. Because if one line was like "Write 50 pages", that's not realistic to do along with other work for just one work day. For example, if I have 20 pages I need to write today, it goes on 2 separate lines.
FYI: Fun little tidbit for you. My record is writing 63 pages in one day. It was horrible and exhausting, and by the end of the day, I was pretty sure my hands were going to fall off. That is NOT something I can do every day.
But you know yourself. You know what your life is like, how much time you have, and how long each of your typical business tasks take.
This is a great way to practice self-care as well. You can still be focused and productive, without sabotaging yourself by trying to do too much. If you find that it causes you to fall behind, don't assume you just need to work more. Maybe it's a sign that you are doing too much by yourself. Maybe you have too many projects going on at once, or you need to hire someone to help you.
P.S. This has allowed me to have a few hours to myself each night, which is when I work on my creative projects. I am going to be combining these WITH my PLR store in a really fun way, so I'm super excited about that! Details coming soon-ish I hope.
Okay, that's all I have for you today. I have you have an amazing and productive (but not overwhelming) week!
