We all have a lot to do! The real question is, what needs to be done today versus what can wait?
After "enjoying" sleepless nights and getting my to do lists done, I remembered that I am the expert here, so what was I doing wrong? I extrinsically looked at my schedule, what it was filled with, and narrowed down exactly where my time was going. I created a 24-hour calendar and documented in 15-minute increments what I was doing. Our cell phones help us with this a little bit by telling us how much time we are on our phones, and sometimes you can set limits per application or scrutinize if it's on email, social media, shopping, etc. I was spending too much time being sucked into other people's lives in the "in-between time," AKA time between appointments and waiting time. My time was slowly slipping away from me, and the sleepless nights started to look appealing again.
I knew that resorting back to Sleepless in Subala was not going to be my next theme and that something needed to change.
I realized I got the most work done when everyone else wasn't working. I thrived when there were zero interruptions and had 6-8 hours of uninterrupted time to unpack, decorate, organize, cook, etc. I was in The Alone Zone, as referenced in a book called ReWork. When I was unpacking the house, I didn't realize that when a contractor came over and I had to meet and greet for 30 minutes, then answer the phone, then respond to an email... it just made my day really chopped up, and by 4:30 in the afternoon, I didn't get nearly enough done. Not like a 10:30 PM - 4:30 AM stretch was productive. Now that the house is nearly complete and I am the director of my own schedule, changing the laundry, cooking lunch, walking to the mailbox, answering the door for drop-ins are all productivity killers, and I get nothing done because there are too many distractions.
After I created my 24-hour fill-in-the-blank sheet, I revisited it and decided that I needed to change the way I worked from home. Here's what I learned:
I needed to actually time block stretches of time to have ZERO interruptions. No communication - email, phone, text, or drop-ins.
I needed generic background noise so I wouldn't be distracted by the laundry machine, radio lyrics, weather announcements, etc.
I needed to use my most productive hours on energetically demanding activities like creative writing while I could use my less active hours working with other people, thriving off movement and conversation.
I needed to outsource help when I needed it - a cleaning service and yard crew maximized my time, energy, and creativity. No more 2-hour detours to the yard to mow or pull weeds which turned into tanning. No more stressing about floors.
I needed to reduce my "list making" to different segments. I have a house list, computer list, recording list, and others. Seeing 30 items on a list was a buzzkill and fostered beginners anxiety - even though I thought I prioritized them! Because they were prioritized but among different themes, I was still wasting time in the switching from the computer, to the yard, to dinner, back to yoga, etc.
I needed a slight eye/brain break when doing computer work filled with movement or some sort of instant gratification activity (something on the list that needed to be done) like put away laundry or record a movement movie outside.
Lastly, I needed to say NO more to protect my time. I couldn't schedule people whenever they wanted to be seen, it needed to be during my "outside-working" hours since I was getting into the car and visiting their homes.
I made the decision to not book anything in my calendar until I answered the question "Will this help or hurt my future self/future goals?" If the answer was a "YES IT WILL HELP!" It made its way to space and time in my day. If it was a no, maybe or anything else except YES, it was put on the back burner so I could prioritize my time and not others.
Not having enough time in the day is so true and so hard to overcome! However, if you want to do something badly enough, you will find the time WHILE GETTING ENOUGH REST TOO.
Productivity, health, sleep and movement are all core themes of YHC that we review and learn as the busy year carries on. They're joined with nourishment & hydration, daylight, self care practices, intermittent fasting and more. That's because it's a Health Journey like no other. Think about The Yoga Health Club. It will seriously change your life.
Comments