I had every intention of writing a blog post last week. However, I found myself buried in “all the stuff”. Are you like me? You think you are organized, but then when things slow down, you realize you actually aren’t. That was my realization last week.
I’m not yet where I need or want to be in terms of being organized, but I am making good progress. So, I thought I’d share some of the things I’m doing in the hopes of helping you.
1. I AM USING A TIMER. Setting my timer has helped me tremendously. It prevents me from getting lost in the process and, in the end, makes me way more productive. Just like our students, sometimes setting boundaries and timeliness helps us to be more productive.
2. I AM LIVING BY A TO-DO LIST. My coach once nicknamed me the “idea machine”. My brain is usually spinning with things that I could be, should be, or want to do. While this seems like a strategy that might help to keep the work going, it’s actually not. In fact, my team reminded me to practice what I preach – “less is more”. So, together we are working on living by a TO-DO LIST. Prioritize, follow-up, and follow-through. I love this TO-DO LIST. It’s simple and allows you to cross things off the list – such a good feeling!
3. I AM BLOCKING OFF TIME TO RECHARGE. It seems odd that this is helping me to get organized, but it is. In fact, it should probably be #1 on the list. I realized that my productivity had dropped to an all-time low when it took me one hour to develop one slide for a proposal. It’s not that the ideas weren’t in my head (see #2 … aka … idea machine). It’s because I was too tired to successfully retrieve that information. So, I’m also setting aside blocks of time to recharge. I hope you are, too.
How about you? What are you doing to recharge and reset?
