It’s Monday (or Tuesday – pick a day, any day). You realize that you just left the house with two different shoes and yesterday’s trousers. Maybe there are a dozen empty and sad coffee mugs on your desk. Perhaps your blouse is wearing breakfast. Let’s face it – you are wiped. Burned out, cooked, however, you say it – you need to get your stuff together!
I know you’re trying, but we live in a time where we are no longer rewarded for perseverance and hard work, but for productivity. We are identified not by who we are, but by what we can accomplish and how quickly we can do so. You wake up eager to get to work; you crank the tunes, check your calendar (thank you Google) and muster up enough sass to beat out Rihanna. BUT, there is a problem. Your get up and go just got up and went on vacation. And so, now you find yourself needing a little motivation. Well, folks, you came to the right place. Let me whip out a few Aces from up my sleeve (OK, just 5, that’s the new MBB magic number after all) and help you get your game back on in a jiffy.
- Priorities. You need to get these ducks lined up and fast. Prioritize those priorities. Know your personality type and figure out why there are so many things on that To-Do list. I know you want to be the next big success story (me too) but you need a game plan. You can’t win at D&D by chance alone…it takes cunning and planning. Try this little exercise. Do a dump. Empty all those things that you feel you SHOULD be doing onto a list. Next, cross off anything genuinely unnecessary. Now order up from this needs to be done before bursting into flames all the way to I might get this done before I crash and fall into bed like a limp rag. Set some limits – three significant things a day- that’s all folks.
- Stop, drop and take stock. You need to decompress. It’s not like those days way back in college when you could party hearty all afternoon and skip a few redundant classes. This is about keeping yourself above water and loving life. Please take note: YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE BUSY 24/7! Thanks to technology we humans have a new disease. We are fiercely addicted to filling up all the little slots on our calendar apps. We need to keep busy, but I am telling you to take a break. Schedule yourself some downtime, and I do not mean going to the gym or a meeting. Just do N-O-T-H-I-N-G. I promise this will boost energy levels and help you be more productive in the long run.
- Find your purpose. Everyone gets overwhelmed some of the time. Even successful peeps. They feel the chaos but use it to their advantage. They are passionate about what they do. So just for a bit, step away from technology. Grab a crayon or a pen and jot down that list of goals. Write down some of your big intentions. Heck, you can even ponder why you were put here on earth. Connect to your purpose to get back on track.
- Being imperfect is OK. Embrace it. My therapist says that getting something accomplished is better than perfect. (I struggle with perfectionism and admit to being a grammar goon.) I am learning that to be productive does not mean I have to be perfect. (Look at last week’s e-mail – my face is red)People who are successful and productive know that done beats perfect. Period.
- Do what you want. Guess what peeps? It’s OK to say NO. If you’re feeling the freak-out, just say no. It’s alright to take a good look at your workload and consider why you are doing it. Is it because it landed in your lap, or is it because you want to do the work? Apply this rule to your Outlook calendar as well. Start doing what YOU want to do; do the things that will bring you joy and push you forward on that path to success. Scrape the rest off like some unfortunate gum from your shoe.
Stay motivated and caffeinated!