Archive for the 'Productivity' Category

I offer this reflection to writers, especially those who love physical books, but it is also relevant for anyone who has a project that they really want to get done.

So - you have three hours spare one day. Do you get on with your writing? Or do you do this:

The seduction of tidying your bookshelves is that you end up with a lovely neat bookcase - or even a fabulous YouTube video!

But what about that book, those poems, that personal project that you’ve promised yourself to achieve?

What are you being seduced by?

~~~

The contents of this blog, including this post, comments and links, are subject to this Disclaimer - please read it by clicking here

Following on from my post on creating a productivity space for yourself if you work from home , all the best laid plans to create a clutter free, “single focus” space for you and your project might be set awry by the people around you. This is relevant whether you are a solo professional or self-employed business person or writer. Your family, your significant other, your flat mates and friends - you may love them dearly and they you but sometimes, they can inadvertently throw a spanner in the works and distract you away from the work you need to do.

Your kids might burst in to the room where you are working in the middle of a game they are playing or asking for your help or attention. Your partner may be wanting you to help with the dishes or complaining that they never see you these days. Your flat mates might be noisy in the next room. Your friends keep calling you up and texting and getting annoyed that you seem to be ignoring them.

And all you want to do is have some peace and quiet just for a few hours to get on with your project!

It’s easy and tempting to snap or shout at the people in your life for not understanding what you’re trying to achieve. Or, if you’re not the arguing kind, you may find it easier to give in and focus on everyone else’s needs and then find yourself drained and fed up that you don’t have the energy or time left to work on your project (I use this term “project” to refer to your business-related work or your novel or other project that is important to you). The people you care about are important to you and there’s no question about that. The problem comes when they consistently, over a long period of time become more important than you - that is when you might start to feel negative feelings rising up about them and about your life.

So what can you do to create time and space for your project while at the same time continuing to relate with the people around you in a loving and caring way?

Here are some ideas**:

Often, the most likely reason for their apparent thoughtlessness is, well, just that. They never thought to give you the space and time for your project because, probably, they didn’t truly know how important it is to you. And that may be because you may not have communicated it to them in a way that they were able to take in and acknowledge. If you’re the snappy kind, all they would have seen is your snappiness. If you’re the helping others first kind, they would have just seen your love for them. So maybe it’s time to try a different approach.

The thing is: you don’t have to find the solution yourself. Taking a step back from any negative feelings, reflect on what you love about each of the people around you. With this perspective firmly in your heart and mind, consider: how can you enlist each one of these people around you to come up with a way together so that you can work on your project and also continue in your good relationships with them?

* How can you share with them how important your project is to you? How can you share with them your passion for it and how much it means to you to have the time to work on it?
* What spacial boundaries can you agree with them eg where in the house you need space and quiet for your project?
* What time boundaries can you work out with them eg how long do you need when you sit down at your project and how often?
* How can they help you create time and space for your project eg can someone help with the laundry?
* What could you do for them in return - either for their help or to help them with a project that is important to them?
* What do they need from you going forward?

I like to think that most people would love to be boost to someone they love and if you gave them the opportunity to be your champion, they would take it on with pleasure.

Some final thoughts. When you have come to an agreement going forward with each person, honour your side of the commitment. It may take them awhile to adapt as they’ll probably have had less time to think about all this than you have so allow them some slack and if you need to renew this arrangement, do so from the perspective of respect and love.

What has worked for you in the kinds of situations with your friends and family I’ve mentioned here? Please do share your tips and suggestions as each situation is different and we all have our different styles of dealing with this sort of issue.

~~~
Related info:

What is Coaching?
Life Coaching

Photo: thanks to Chapendra on flickr.com (CCL)

~~~

(**NB. Each person and his/ her situation is different and the ideas here may not be suitable for everyone. They are general ideas to prompt reflection and discussion only.)

The contents of this blog, including this post, comments and links, are subject to this Disclaimer - please read it by clicking here

Do you find yourself easily distracted?

I’ve been tweeting tips for writers this week in the run up to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) to support them in my role as a virtual coach. It struck me that many tips that are useful for writers could also be useful for self-employed business people or solo professionals, especially if you work from home. Take for example, finding a creative and productive space to write - a number of my solo professional clients don’t have a home office and find themselves working at the dining table or in an improvised space somewhere at home. They face the same issues as writers: being distracted or imposed upon by others or just not being able to concentrate and get on with what they need to do.

Boost your productivity

So, what can you do - as a writer and/ or professional working from home - to boost your productivity and creativity when you sit down to get on with that novel/ piece of work?

I’ll share some ideas** below - and I’d also love to hear from you if you have any tips to share. For simplicity’s sake, I’ll use the term “project” to refer to your novel (writers) and to your business related work (other professionals).

* If you have a desk and computer that you normally work at eg for household admin, for gaming, for fun or other activity and you plan to use that for your project as and when the need arises: clear the desk surface of everything that has nothing to do with your project. Start afresh with no distractions even before you sit down to work on your project.

* If you work at the dining table or some other area at home, do the same - clear the immediate area of everything that is going to be a distraction or that makes you think of anything else other than your project.

* Now, place some items on your cleared desk or dining table that may inspire you around your project eg flowers, tools related to your business, inspiring photos. These can keep you focused and surrounded in a special “project space”. Only bring them out to decorate this space when you are in project-mode and put them away when you are done. This way, these items can create a special productivity space for you whenever you are working on your project.

* Close down all other applications in your computer apart from the project related folders. In particular, log out of Skype, Facebook, Twitter and anything else that can pop up and distract you!

* Switch off your mobile phone and landline. This is not as drastic as it sounds. Most calls are not urgent and so long as you have a client friendly outgoing voicemail message and you also call your clients back promptly, this should not cause a problem. In any event, if you were in a meeting you similarly would not be able to take calls so if it helps, view this productivity time as time when you are having a meeting with yourself and your project.

* Before you sit down to work on your project, focus for a moment on who you are (a writer, a complementary therapist, a web designer) and what your long term business/ career means to you (to be published, to have a thriving practice, to create great websites for high value clients). Then reflect on what part this next little while working on your project is going to contribute to that bigger vision.

* And go for it!

Share your productivity tips

If you have some other habits that help - or hinder - your focus when you are trying to work on your novel or your business, I hope you’ll share them with me as well.

Next week: Other People - Productivity Drain or Boost?

~~~

Related info:

Stop Procrastinating and Write that Novel
What is Coaching?

Photo: thanks to Pulpolux from flickr.com (CCL)

~~~

(**NB. Each person and his/ her situation is different and the ideas here may not be suitable for everyone. They are general ideas to prompt reflection and discussion only.)

The contents of this blog, including this post, comments and links, are subject to this Disclaimer - please read it by clicking here

nnwm