How to get the most out of your day. Three practical things that work for ME!

I’m gloriously imperfect, but because I run a business alongside being a Mum of four (three boys aged 12, 11, 9 and a little 3 year old girl) I’m often asked for tips on how to get stuff done. I’m SO not an expert! But are any of us? I think not. Anyhoo! I think it’s fun and useful to learn what works for other people so I’ve started to pull together a little list of tips. My first three are here. I’m sure you’ve got some ACE tips too! Fancy adding them in the comments at the bottom?!

Three practical things that work for ME are:

1. Planning the night before

Mostly I plan my day the night before. I don’t always do this. But I certainly have a better day if I do! Planning’s pretty easy. I just look at my (big) to -do list and decide what on it I’m actually going to do tomorrow. Sound pretty obvious. YES! But let me tell you, it’s taken me years (years!) to learn to skinny that list down to something that’s actually doable. Maybe it just comes with practise!

I also do use this 1-3-5 thing when I’m planning my day. It’s really ACE! Sometimes I short cut it a bit and miss out the “3” and the “5” to just focus on the one BIG thing I’ve got to get done.

2. Keeping a timesheet

Yes! I keep a timesheet! It keeps me working on the right stuff! I am very easily distracted so I find that writing down what I am doing keeps me on the straight and narrow. It’s super easy to do – just log (in a notebook, nothing fancy) what you’re working on every 15 minutes!

If I’m doing a lot of work at my computer I also use Rescue Time. You might like it too! It logs down exactly what you’ve been working on. And how much time you’ve spent on Facebook!

Here’s a couple of recent weekly snapshots of my Rescue Time! Definitely helps me focus!

3. Walking!

It took me a l-o-n-g time to realise that going for a walk wasn’t wasting “work” time! Of course there’s lots of health benefits to walking but what I love is that it helps me clear my head allowing me to think. It’s kinda like my tuning in time and after the crazy wake-up/breaky/lunchbox prep/where’s my uniform?/ car run thingy I need it! PLUS when I walk I get good ideas and I come back to my desk feeling inspired and energetic. Hurrah!

I sometimes listen to (businessy) books while I walk but mostly I just pop some music on and let my mind wander off. I need to walk for at least 45 mins to get my head into the right zone. That does feel like a big chunk of day if you’re trying to squeeze everything into school hours. But what can I say? It makes me more productive so it WORKS!
So there we have it! Three practical things that work for ME! What works best  for YOU?!

♥♥While you’re here. And thinking about being productive. Our Kitchen opens again on Monday 16 June. You might LIKE it!♥♥

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