Straight up, today’s story is some truth telling and what you absolutely need to hear especially if you work from home OR have kids OR run your own business OR work on line. If none of these apply to you, you might find it interesting anyway!
About being productive….
The ironic thing is that when I have enough time to actually take extra time for me and for my various projects – I’m the most unproductive. Is that weird?
If I have a quieter week, you’d imagine I’d be getting all kinds of cool stuff completed right? Wrong.
Just when I breathe out a sigh of ‘thank goodness I have a little extra time this week’, those damn temptations slip in and kill my productivity.
So here’s what the top four killers are and how you can’t do anything to avoid them (aka. What you have to do to survive!!)
1. The FACEBOOK – fessing up to my on-going love/hate relationship
It’s the big black hole of soul sucking, life nurturing necessity. From individual obsessions (go on admit that you’ve spied on him/her obsessively at times) to beautiful, moving moments of real life inspiration…and all that’s in between. Just when I think I can’t take any more mindless drivel someone posts something so awe inspiringly beautiful, moving and seriously important – and you’re truly lost again. Another wasted hour.
What to do? Set an alarm, ration yourself, switch the hell off until it’s a reward. LOG OUT.
2. The FRIDGE – not because you’re hungry, just because it’s somewhere to look.
You know what it’s like, you’ve had a healthy breakfast, it’s mid-morning and you’re avoiding finishing that article or making that call. You just roam into the kitchen and open the fridge door. You wonder what you’re doing but chances are, you’ll be doing it again in about an hour’s time.
What to do? Prepare some healthy snacks – stick to them.
3. The INBOX (email) – whether it’s a ping or a little icon that flashes, we ALWAYS know when email arrives
Every time I get tempted to read just that one email, I’m off my schedule and onto someone else’s. Could you imagine what it would be like if every time you sat down at your desk, the doorbell rang and you jumped up to open it, deal with whomever was standing there and only then got back to your office. Oh and of course, the minute you sit down again, the doorbell rings again. Yes, that’s exactly what we do when we look at our inbox a thousand times a day.
What to do? Be strong; give it up, check your mail twice a day, okay, so three times. But that’s it, I’m serious.
4. The KIDS – not just their physical presence.
There’s the bedrooms, the mess, the washing, the preparing meals, the schedule for later in the day – a million distractions. It’s a full time job. For both parents. And you can bet that it mostly falls on you. Or at least you let it.
What to do? Shut the door. Actually all the doors. The bedroom door closed, mess inside. And the door of your mind worrying about the schedule later today and what they are or are not getting up to; just shut it out. Your business needs you. It deserves your full attention.
Of course, I could keep going because in truth there are probably 400 Productivity killers but let’s start here. What’s your temptation?
