I feel like a hypocryte, writing this from the islands in Greece, where days and time blend and truly nothing matters except to have those you love around you, and the crystal clear oceans in front of you.
Our days here are spent relaxing, swimming, reading and talking, learning stories of our families past and creating new to share with those that will come after us. Yet like most vacations, I often think of home.
We use vacations to often escape from our everyday routines, growing tired or weary from the stress and fast-paced lifestyles, which is a great thing, but I believe that our lives should not be something we need a vacation from. Vacations should be a part of making our lives sweeter than it was before, but never something to completely dread leaving.
So naturally, while I have zero routine here in Greece, I think about my routines at home. How I miss the things that make me feel good, or the products I use, or simply having my own space. The routines themselves are another blog post, but I feel motivated for when I return home, to reinvent and continue to fine tune the things in my life that bring me joy.
That includes being very wise with my time management, and today I’m going to share my tips and tricks for mastering time and as a result, enhancing your productivity. These are little things that can make a huge difference with constant use and I hope that these become helpful additions to your everyday lives!
Always Get Ready!
We always feel better when we are a bit more put together, you know it, I know it, and we should start living by it. Not saying we need to do a full face for cleaning the house or running errands, but even if it’s your everything shower day and you want to save that for later in the day, you can put those 3 day old pajamas in the wash and put something else on, your “suit of armor” if you will. When you don’t feel gross, I believe you’ll feel more motivated to be out in public, or walk around your house checking those things off the to do list if it means checking yourself out in the mirrors each time you walk by!
Wear Shoes At All Times
This is a weird one, and one I recently learned is an ADHD hack. A lot of these might be, and I have never been diagnosed with ADHD, but either way these are helpful for me! If you are very anti shoes in the house, designate a pair of sneakers or something that can be these inside shoes for you. No sorry, they really shouldn’t be slippers either. For me, slippers can’t count because I will never be able to resist the urge to cozy up.
So I wear sneakers inside! I’m less likely to lay on my bed or couch and kick my feet up because there is no amount of money in the world that could make me do something like that with outdoor shoes on. If it’s a cleaning day, I don’t care that my shoes are “outdoor shoes,” because I’m cleaning and I regularly wash my sneakers too. Something about this hack almost tricks your brain into thinking shit has gotta get done, I swear it works!
The Better-Than-Ever To Do List
First, BRAIN DUMP. That list might be big but as the days go on, more needs to be added to it. Write down, in no particular order, every single thing (big or small) that needs to get done, with due dates next to it if applicable.
Now, we are going to work under these three categories: Need to Do (I call these Get-er-dones), Want to Do (I call these Dilly Dally’s), and Everything Else (I call this The Void…these things are important, but not urgent, and not exactly things I want to do either).
Separate each item on your brain dump list into these three categories. The items at the top of your Get-er-done list should be the most important or urgent, and so on and so forth. Your Dilly Dally list should be the fun things you need to get done, or use these as rewards for finishing items on the other list. The Void, well you can probably ignore that for now and those items will filter themselves as you have more time for them. If a particular item stays in The Void for longer than a couple weeks, it likely was never that important to you and I would get rid of it entirely, or delegate it to someone else if you can.
Now that you have balanced out activities you need to do, with activities you want to do, bounce back and forth, or tackle them however you wish. It’s just an easier way to visualize and prioritize all that you need to do!
BONUS TIP: keep lists of tasks you always do on a daily/weekly/monthly basis in your phone or printed out for easy access on the days you have zero brain power, or don’t want the kids asking for the millionth time what their chores are. Kids still do chores right?
Make Those Big Tasks Snack Sized
An extention of the tip above, but once those tasks are all organized, find the ones that have the most involved with it. The goal here is to make everything the least amount overwhelming as possible!
Take those big to-dos, and write down underneath all the steps that go into it, so that way you can, 1) know what you’ll need to do or gather to prepare, and 2) still pick away at that big goal while feeling productive, even if you didn’t completely finish it. No need for anything to add more stress in our lives than it already does.
High Speed Tracks for High Speed Stakes
We have our list ready, we are mentally and physically prepared to annihilate the day, but if you’re like me, one element is missing…music!
I have literally ZERO desire to hear my own thoughts when I’m trying to be productive, especially if I’m trying to be creative, so let’s put the brain on autopilot with some good tunes or audio books or podcasts. Maybe you need to call your bestie and talk on the phone for a few hours, my friends do this with me all the time. Whatever strikes your fancy!
If you need some recommendations, here is a recent post housing all my favorite personalized playlists for your highly curated needs.
Work Within Your Bodies Time Clock
When it comes to productivity, timing can be more important than intention. If you are not a morning person, I think it’s safe to say you’re not likely going to be able to force yourself to get anything done while still in zombie mode. I also recognize that our jobs often pull us into a rythym our body clock doesn’t always match which can limit how we best function.
If you know what time of day you’re the most productive, I highly recommend saving the biggest tasks for then. During other periods of the day where you are less inclined to be energetic, maybe plan to have that time dedicated for things you need to get done that are calmer, like working at your desk or folding laundry while watching a movie.
Your body will always tell you what it needs, and reward you for listening!
All Aboard The Brain Train!
I don’t recommend this often, but there are some days where chaos might be helpful. What I mean by that is quite literally setting no plan for the day, and letting your brain take you to each task it finds the most helpful for that point in time.* I’ve found that starting with one task and then finding all the other things along the way like a treasure hunt, I ended up getting a lot more done with my time rather than forcing my brain to focus on tasks it simply has no interest in at that point in time.
If treasure hunts aren’t your vibe, I would suggest simply accomplishing the tasks you can’t get out of your head, even if you put them on paper or they aren’t urgent. Clear your headspace while you have the energy to do so.
I call this the brain train, where you just flow like a leaf down a stream throughout your day, do this or that, and not beating yourself up over any part of it!
*I do not mean for this to avoid really important things!
In Every Job That Must be Done, There Is An Element of Fun!
We really are no better than dogs when it comes to training, and I want you to train yourself to find fun in these tasks. Maybe that’s just a mental shift for you, but I highly recommend setting rewards in place for yourself.
That could mean a hot-girl-walk to get a celebratory latte after accomplishing a particular task, setting little chocolates around the house for you to find, or even hitting send on that new purchase you’ve been eyeing. It doesn’t have to cost any money either! That’s why we have our Dilly Dally (want to do) list too. So we can choose something we want to do, like reading a few chapters of the book we can’t put down (but have to), or enjoying lunch outside on a beautiful day (which we should always do if we can), after heroically accomplishing the mountain of laundry or whatever else it might be.
Rather, you can make the entire process a game. Online you can find lots of options for creating what some online call “Wheels of Doom/Boredom/insert other name here.” Use your separated lists to create little wheels, where luck and chance will determine your day!
Set Timers, Even For Rest Periods
Whether set on your phone, TV, or Google/Alexa devices, having a timer counting down will certainly light a fire under your ass. You’d be surprised how much you can clean or get done in 20 minutes.
I recommend setting timers for yourself, including when you take a break! This keeps you accountable for your day and time, while keeping you conscious of when you need to hit pause and eat something…I won’t be the one to judge you for a 3rd cup of coffee either.
If technology isn’t your vibe, hour glasses are great decor pieces and make you feel like you’re in a mythical realm, they just won’t tell you when your time is up. Do not fall down that TikTok hole either! I always keep time limits on my social media apps in 15 minute increments so I know exactly how much time I’m pausing for if I override the limit.
Find the Tools That Help YOU!
No two of us are the same and we will always need different things. Your phone can be a great asset as opposed to a distraction with things like the Notes app, Google Tasks or Apple Reminders. Maybe timers are your thing, or hourglasses, or sweet treats are the motivator. Maybe brain dump lists don’t overwhelm you at all, and your house slippers can be put in sport mode and don’t encourage you at all to lay down and have a little nap.
Time and error will tell you what works and what doesn’t. If that isn’t enough for you, there are millions of resources online with others doing their best to win the time war too. Give it a little Google or TikTok search and you’ll be on your way to conquering your day and unlocking a new world of productivity for yourself.
Here we are folks, are you ready to get shit done? I hope you feel empowered and motivated to always try again. To take away the stress of things out of our control and finding happiness in whatever is our capacity for the day.
What else do you do that I might not when it comes to cracking the code on time management?
Have a great weekend!
A Series of Observations 