Weed out distractions to enhance your productivity.
Productivity is something that we’re all looking to amp up these days. When our tasks outstrip the hours we have available, we often feel that if only we could be more efficient we’d be fine!
So, if we pack as much as we can into each moment will we actually be more productive?
Is productivity mainly a matter of time management?
No, actually. Your productivity is much more a matter of managing your energy than of managing your time.
Just think about it: If you are sleep-deprived and stressed, and have several hours to work on an important project, how much are you really going to get done? (A quick power nap would probably help more in this situation than trying to push through your energy-limits.)
On the other hand, imagine that you’ve just finished a run and done some yoga and are now sitting down at your desk. You are refreshed and discover that you have half an hour to work on your upcoming e-zine. You were thinking about the topic while you ran and are bursting with ideas. How productive will you be?
I imagine that you’ll have much more success in your energized half hour than in your drained and depleted several hours.
Productivity and Your Energy
So, the lesson here is that planning important tasks for times when you have wellsprings of energy available to you is a great way to ensure optimal productivity.
I recently read an excellent post on this subject by James Clear. It’s titled “Never Check Email Before Noon (And Other Thoughts on Doing Your Best Work)” and in it he explores the idea of ‘mental drag.’
Imagine that your brain is a computer. At the beginning of the day, your brain powers up and you have 100 percent of your computer memory available to use on your life. The only problem is that every time you add a task to your to-do list, a little bit of your computer memory goes toward that task.
Mental drag is made up of the myriad details that accumulate during any one of our days. Each item, in and of itself may not seem like a big distraction but the cumulative effect is quite significant.
So, what can you do about this? How can you shepherd your energy to enhance your productivity?
The major point that James Clear makes (and that I will underscore here) is to prioritize time for your most important tasks and do them BEFORE you open yourself to the distractions and details of the day. In concrete terms, this means things like making the choice to NOT check your e-mail first thing, and to let your voicemails wait until AFTER you’ve addressed your top priority task(s).
This may not always be possible. But the more you can do this and bring your best energy to the most important items on your to-do list, the more you’ll see your productivity soar!
And for lots more ideas to get you started when you’re stuck, I am really excited to share my newest time tool! It’s titled “Why Can’t I Ever Get Anything Done?” How to Transform Your Life Using These 101 Time Tips.
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These are tips you’ve come to appreciate – in expanded and categorized form for your ease and immediate availability. Whatever has you stymied – stress, sudden change, prioritizing, learning to set boundaries (how to say no and stick to it) – this compilation offers practical and proven Time Tips and Action Steps that will help!
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