22 Jan Mastering Productivity and Balance: What REALLY works?
When you’re juggling family, a career, and desperately trying to find just a LITTLE time for yourself, achieving productivity and work-life balance can seem like an elusive goal. In this post, I explore three key shifts to make, that will boost productivity, reduce stress, and set you up for success. Shall we make a start?
#1. Get Organized
Give yourself the gift of calm clarity by implementing a reliable system. I promise you that this will result in improved focus, diminished stress, and increased productivity. If you’re completely lost for where to start, grab a copy of Allen’s “Getting Things Done (GTD)” where it’s outlined how to break down and organise tasks, effectively. It’s pure gold.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the GTD method:
- Capture: Write EVERYTHING down, regardless of how insignificant the item may seem.
- Clarify: Next, clarify each item by asking yourself what the next step is towards completion. Not all the steps, just the next one.
- Organise: Once your next steps are clear, you can organize them into categories based on context or priority. Employing the Eisenhower Principle can help with this if you get stuck.
- Reflect: Make sure you review your tasks and progress, at least weekly, adjusting as required.
- Engage:Finally, you can engage with your tasks and begin working on them.
#2. Develop Positive Habits
Developing positive habits can’t be underestimated when looking to achieve a healthy balance between productivity and balance. I’m talking about the little things that are automatic; brushing your teeth, feeding your pet, taking a certain way to work – even how you have your coffee.
By understanding HOW patterns work and implementing incremental changes, you’ll start to see significant progress towards your goals. Simply developing a habit of planning and prioritizing our daily tasks over breakfast, can help us manage our time better and avoid overwhelm. Think of it as strategically shifting your mindset from reactive to proactive, while ensuring you build a focus on your well-being.
If you’d like to know more about why human behaviours are compelled by habit and how we can use this to our benefit, check out this TEDx Talk by Charles Duhigg, or take some time to read his book, “The Power of Habit”.
#3. Aim for Small, Lasting, Changes
We’ve talked about getting organised and working on our habits – and both of these are crucial to achieving the Holy Grail of work/life balance. But if you want to be sure you’ll STICK to those habits, you need to track them, so you get immediate feedback.
By building sustainable habits that lead to lasting change, we achieve progress over time without sacrificing our existing overall well-being or work-life balance.
A Final Word
The systems I’ve taken time to develop give me so much freedom. They allow me to have moments where my brain is mush and I am being pulled in what seems like a hundred different directions – but still knowing that I won’t forget anything or miss any new opportunities.
Have you made a change that created a seismic shift in your world? Please share below, I’d love to know what’s worked for you!
PS.
Here’s some links to helpful resources:
GTD resources
Microsoft To-Do
James Clear’s Weekly Wisdom