Productivity De-Programming

As we enter Fall - which has throughout my life been my most productive season - I am revisiting productivity. It's been nearly five months since I wrote about this  - at the end of April I published how I was once a productive person and living in a global pandemic had killed that vibe - but writing about productivity and how to be productive and maximizing productivity are topics I have visited many times on this blog, in a let me show you my ways way. 

Now I'm coming at it from a fuck my ways way. 

Since the end of March I've spent a lot of time considering where my desire to be constantly productive comes from, what my feelings of accomplishment are tied to, what a good little cog I've been in a capitalist wheel. I've wondered if the extreme exhaustion I feel now is a slow release of air from years of over productivity - of working at a job and filling my mornings and nights and lunches with marking shit off of my lists. Of Saturdays and Sundays not sitting down until I felt like I earned it. Ground down by the grind. 

Why do we feel like rest is the thing that needs to be earned? 

I have been following The Nap Ministry for a while, but I've only been super attuned to it over the past year. It sounds like a cult, but what it has felt like most to me is de-programming. Lowering my expectations of productivity to make room for rest and joy. Don't get me wrong - I still get joy from getting things done, but I am also getting joy from resting and doing nothing before everything is done. I know this is standard for many of you, but it's revolutionary for me. In the past I would not have allowed myself to do that UNLESS everything I wanted and needed to do was done. 

Last week I got up earlier a few days and knocked off like 8-10 house things on my to do list before work, worked, and did the same at night. One of those days was out of necessity - I was still running a vacation rental property and there are tasks that are associated with that that you cannot fuck off on. But the other days it was like getting a fix of that old productivity and going back for more even though I knew I was wearing myself out. I got a shit load done but by Friday night I was so tired I could only sit there with my teeth in my mouth and most of Saturday I gravitated to the couch too after errands. Because I did not let some things ride and crammed as many things as I could into a few time periods even though they were not urgent items, I was mostly not in a good place to enjoy my true free off-work weekend time. That's ridiculous. To think I worked myself like that as a standard for years - and that I am still inclined to do so if I do without thinking - is a good example of just because I can do things, doesn't mean I should. 

I've talked about the value of rest for years, but practicing what I preach has only been happening with regularity this year. At first it was because I was stunned into inactivity and now it's because I'm battling myself for a better balance. A true, lived balance. Not one I suggest for others and proceed to ignore for myself.

How are you making out? 

Thursday Thoughts - lights out tonight trouble in the heartland

1. Can you even? Should I just make this an entire post of dog photos? LOL forever at Mae's lip in the bottom shot.

2. Things I do not advise: carrying a big crockpot (empty) from your car to the train to the DD to the office without a bag. One of our shore guests left it there and I'm meeting her husband today to hand it off. Which I meant to do in a nice big carrier bag. I forgot that this morning and I lost a stainless steel straw and muttered under my breath at pretty much everyone in the process. I hate carrying awkward shit in on the train. I also do not advise walking down the street staring at your phone because you make normal non violent people want to bust a cap in your ass. Look up! The world is going on around you and you're walking into people.

3. I had to drop something off to Aubrey Tuesday and she fed me and I got to see the hawk that's been hanging around their yard. I like being able to pop in on the fam in the middle of the week.

4. Aside from the forgetting the bag for the crockpot snafu from this morning, I've actually done everything that has been on my list this week - Monday was calling about an alarm hearing, going to the pet store and Home Depot, doing some shore laundry, painting nails and toes; Tuesday was going to the bank and Stephen & Aubrey's, emailing future renters, and making marinade for chicken; Wednesday was getting my eyebrows waxed, ordering a lock for the shore, picking up around the house, grilling chicken, more laundry. I've gotten most of my stuff on my daily lists done at work too. Productivity level expert this week. Pin a rose on my nose.

5. Not on the agenda but a damn good use of time: a Tuesday night group text on glamour shots and bringing them back. Not in today's styles. In 80s or 90s only. It's the only way and it needs to happen.

6. I'm spending some extra time down the shore next week with Kim and her fam in from Boston and I cannot wait. MFD will actually be there too instead of me being there while he's home working and campaigning - well, instead of doing those things in person...he never actually stops doing those things. Still, I'm looking forward to a little bit of normal in a year that has been anything but.

7. Not normal: a fucking embarrassing NATO insanity act accusing Germany of being on Russia's tit when he himself is, nominating a judge who was Kennedy's clerk and doesn't believe in women's choice and healthcare and doesn't believe in presidents abiding by the same laws as the rest of us to SCOTUS (some of his fellow Yalies are not pleased with this), not reuniting the motherfucking kids with their parents and causing truly irreparable harm to children, on and on and on. Amy Siskind's Weekly List on Authoritarianism is the only way to keep up with it all. There's not enough bullet points in Thursday Thoughts for the huge shit avalanches that happen daily. I don't care if your senator doesn't care. Be on the phone and on ResistBot and sending postcards to these people. We are tired but we are not nearly done until we get the people who choose greed over their souls out of office. On both sides of the aisle.

8. I'm about this.

9. Reminder:

10. E-card of the week: Constantly.

Kickstart your productivity

I pride myself on my productivity, but even I get in slumps where I feel sluggish and unmotivated and don't want to do anything, which makes me unproductive, and then I hate my life. So I have to snap myself out of these periods quickly. How do I do that? Like so.

1. Wake up refreshed. The chances of me kicking ass increase exponentially when I'm coming off of a good sleep. Preferably 7-9 hours of sleep even though I can do with six in a pinch. This requires that I am off of all technology for at least an hour before bed and that I don't linger too long in my book.

2. Make your bed as soon as you wake up. What? Hey now, you haven't even left your bedroom yet and you've already accomplished something. Your bed is made. Army corners or whatever they're called are not necessary. Just pull the covers up, plump the pillows, and make it look presentable.

3. It's all about the three. What are the top three items that must get finished today?  Eyes on the prize, work towards those three things only. If you finish those, you might do more, but if you don't you'll have done enough to be proud of.

In July I wrote about things you can do today to increase productivity tomorrow, so if you like this post you might like that one too.

Ciao bellas. Tonight we begin the long journey home.



Replies to comments will be sparse while we're away, I'll get back to you when we return! Follow me and MFD on Instagram to see trip snaps! He typically out instagrams me on vacation.

Things you can do today to increase productivity tomorrow

You're thinking wait, it's Friday, screw this post because tomorrow is Saturday I don't need productivity in my life on Saturday. Right? Maybe?  I know, not a great post for a Friday.

Anyway. I'm a very productive person. I get shit done. I'm definitely down with downtime, but I have to earn that time - I like to feel like I deserve that relaxation. I can give you a list of things I do in the mornings, but for me the true secret of increased productivity is doing things the night before to line me up for a great tomorrow. Things like...

1. Formulate tomorrow's to do list today. I do this every afternoon before I leave work. It has my work stuff on it with the top three priorities at the top, what type of exercise I'm going to do, any errands that need to be run, what's for dinner, and chores I have to take care of. This does two things: it stops my mind from racing to track down those things when I'm trying to go to sleep, and it gives me a road map for a successful day the next day. I don't waste time figuring out what to do when. It's already figured out.

2. Clear the surfaces. I don't operate well in chaos. I like to put my house to sleep when I go to sleep so I know I'll wake up to a clean slate in the morning. No dishes in the sink, no clutter crapping things up. I won't feel it weighing on me when I get up. Likewise, I clean off my desk or at the least put stuff into piles I'll tackle the next day when I leave my office.

3. Get out of your own head. Do a little exercise. Read a book. Watch a little TV. Weed your flower bed. Relax your mind and stop thinking about all the things you have to do. Just put yourself on auto pilot and loosen the reins a little.

4. Practice gratitude. What does gratitude have to do with productivity, you ask? Gratitude has everything to do with everything. If you want to attract more good, you'd better appreciate the good you have first. Every day before I go to sleep I do a down and dirty five things I'm thankful for list. Sometimes the things are big, but they're often small. If you don't tie yourself to the things you should be grateful for, you become an arrogant dick and everyone hates you. It's hard to get things done when everyone hates you. Does that reasoning work well enough?

5. Refresh. Get a good sleep so you start tomorrow in top condition. Remove distractions, wear a sleep mask, stop with the technology an hour before bed. Sleep is important.

What about you? What do you do today to prepare yourself for a successful tomorrow?

Ways to Define a Day

Before I go to sleep at night, I turn the lights out, settle in just so, put my trusty sleep mask on, take a deep breath of the lavender I've sprinkled on my pillow, and reflect on my day.

Did I survive? At the basest level, I define every day by me still being there at the end of it. No matter what happened,  even if it was awful, it's over. I can take the sleep cure and wake up to a brand new chance. In that sense, every day truly is a good day.

Was I grateful? Every day, not just on bad days and near Thanksgiving. It is not happy people who are thankful. It is thankful people who are happy. There is always something for which to be grateful.

Was I productive? Did I cross most things off the to do list? If not, did I at least take care of the important items? Did I work hard at work? If I didn't, chances are I won't sleep soundly that night.

How did I treat others? I can totally be a snarky asshole with my BFFs and tell it like it is, which is sometimes not a nice way to be. I need to balance that by being kind to people where I can. Did I help anyone today? Was I open to offering some supportive or encouraging words to someone who needed them?

Was there laughter? There has to be laughter. Every day, even in situations that aren't funny. I can't get by without it. If I feel like I haven't laughed enough, I'll think of something that always makes me laugh so I can get it in.

Was there time to just be? Was there time when I wasn't working, doing, reading, looking at my phone, cooking, cleaning, exercising, driving?  That's not to say I don't do some of my best thinking during those activities...but to me, just being implies stillness. Just being lets my mind wander where it will, glossing over things and snagging on others. Out of all the ways to define a day, this one is most crucial to refueling. Time spent just being, sitting outside and watching the sky go by, thinking of everything or nothing, is time well spent no matter how busy the day was.

What are some ways you define a day?

P is for Productivity

We each get 24 hours a day to use how we wish.

Some of us squeeze a lot out of those hours. Some of us try to do things but feel like time gets away from us. Some of us piss those hours away and do nothing.

I am a productive person. If I'm not doing at least one productive thing on any given day, there are three possible explanations: 1. I'm dead 2. I'm sick 3. I planned it. I squeeze a lot out of my hours. I've honed my way of operating many times over the years, always looking to maximize my time. Being an efficient person is one of my strong points, but I always strive for better. Faster. More!

A lot of people ask  how I get so much done on a given weeknight. Or people comment on my weekend posts saying that I was busy, when I thought I had a lot of downtime. Or they think I'm a liar or a completely insane robot who should sit the hell down and stop doing things. In which case, you should stop reading now. There's nothing left for you here. The rest of this is for people who want to increase their productivity and efficiency.

MY TOP FIVE PRODUCTIVITY TIPS

These things work for me, and with little to no modification, they should work for you too. 

One. Plan your week. Plan the week out on Sunday or Monday or whatever works for you, and adapt daily as necessary based on what comes up. Plan what you're going to do, what you're making to eat, what you're wearing. Going into the week prepared will do wonders for you. I don't always stick to my meal plan or gear, but at least I know I have food to make and clean clothes to wear.

Do not assign 15 tasks to one day and expect to be successful. You're relegating your productivity to the shitter before you begin. Strive for three things daily in each area of  life. As an example, here's my To Do for today:

Work - year end letter - printer?, web changes, process events
Errands - Aldi, library
Home - clean bathroom, dust and vacuum top floor
Exercise - Walk with weights, stretchy band workout
Dinner - Soup (leftover)
Blog - Picmonkey collage for Friday post

Two. Do your biggest/hardest/most dreaded task first. If you do the small, easy stuff first, you'll enter Putz Around Mode and won't get to the big mama, leaving you feeling unaccomplished for the day. I know doing the hard stuff isn't fun, but sometimes life isn't fun. Just get it done. At work, my hardest tasks are the ones that involve creative writing or detailed editing - I do those best first thing in the morning when I'm sharp and focused. At home my most dreaded tasks are putting laundry away, changing the duvet, and dusting. I just dive right in, otherwise I'll sit around thinking about how much they suck and not doing them. Gets to stepping, people.

Three. Don't answer the phone, check your email or texts, or any of your social media accounts. Forget the internet and electronics exist. Turn the TV off if you can't trust yourself not to get sucked in. All of these things only serve one purpose: to delay you. On days you seem to be unable to get anything done, I bet you $100 it was due to outside interference. There are some days when you're okay with that - days you're piddling around the house. Other days, when you have lots to do and little time to do it in, those things will break your back. Concentrate and get it done. Work first, fun later.

Four. Be round. Work hard, designate time for relax/play, sleep well, eat well, be active, be kind to someone. Rounding yourself out daily makes it easier to be positive, and positivity gives birth to productivity.  Wow that sounds like an infomercial or chakra lady talking, but it's the truth. p.s. - being really pissed off and needing to DO something also leads to productivity. Channeling your rage can work in your favor. Roar. And clean while you're doing it.

Five. Develop a routine and get into a groove, and productivity will become second nature. Of course you don't feel like facing hard things, tackling big shit, or doing chores that suck. No one does. But when you practice discipline and get into a routine, you don't allow yourself the time to whine and wail. You'll be more productive than you ever dreamed.

BONUS TIPS
1. At home, be it on the weekend or on a weeknight, I don't stop or sit down until I get everything done. I truly think that THIS is what enables me to get so much done. I get through all the not fun stuff so I can maximize my time on the couch with a book, magazine, TV, what have you. Pay before play.
2. Move quickly but carefully. Don't cut corners or half ass, you'll just have to do it again.

To the haters who think scheduling is for losers who can't be spontaneous, I've seen the fly by the seat of their pants approach fail too many people. I like to feel accomplished every day. That's important to me and how I operate. I have a long list of things I want to do in my life, and scheduling makes that happen for me. If scheduling doesn't make it happen for you, that's okay. Differences make the world go 'round. We can still be friends.

Do I sometimes just say EFF IT, throw my hands in the air, wave 'em like I just don't care, and disregard this? Sure. But that's not my norm. And that's why I get shit done. Boom.