I’m sure a lot of you can relate with me when I say that since I jumped on the productivity bandwagon, I’ve picked up lots of random little tips from my own experiences and reading other blogs. It’s not practical to just bring them all together into one big mash-up of an article, so I thought I would start a new series of posts introducing and discussing each individual tip. To get the ball rolling I want to share my suggestions on how applying a little pressure sometimes can really help you to get things done.
Over the past month my work life has been all over the place, with me either working from home, in between jobs or doing my part-time webdesign projects. Thus, I have found myself with a lot of time with which to work through my projects, and when you have most of the day to do things, it’s actually quite difficult to structure your work and find that big motivational push. The result? My productivity levels have been up and down like a yo-yo and I have had to look in all sorts of places to try and bring clarity to my efforts.
When as kids we have school, and as adults we have jobs or other time consuming commitments, they all take up a large bulk of our lives. You have to fit the rest of your time around these commitments. When you don’t have those to worry about that all you have is a large bulk of time available and it’s very much like a blank canvas. When are you going to do this project? How much time are you going to dedicate to it? It’s one of the freelancers great hurdles.
What does this tell me? Limited time and having commitments to other people creates pressure. Pressure feeds productivity. Unless you are an highly disciplined person who can add deadlines to yourself and stick to it, having time restraints and/or commitments to people can actually make you more productive. There is a lot written about making more time for ourselves so we can do more, but is this the right area to be focusing on? Try using that lack of time as an incentive to get more done. When I had to finish a website for a client by lunchtime, meet my friend at the gym for 1PM and clean the house for visitors before they arrived at 3PM, it created pressure, sure. But I had my productivity system in place and my next actions planned. I flew through all those tasks in a big flurry of activity. Right now in my current situation without this pressure on me, I’ve spent way too much time writing this post, and I keep putting off cleaning the house. Learn to do more with what time you have, rather than making more time to spend what you are already doing.
Productivity Tips: 10 Clever Ideas For Getting Things Done is an updated and expanded collection of the first ten posts in my popular productivity tips series and is now available to all. For full information please view its dedicated page.
October 10, 2007 at 06:53AM
I like your idea about applying pressure. It’s a good way of forcing us to act on things which we would otherwise normally ignore.
October 10, 2007 at 08:12AM
I’m glad you like it Alan, keep checking back for more in this productivity tips series!
October 10, 2007 at 02:07PM
Yes, pressure can be very helpful, it can help give structure. I am currently preparing for some exams. I have almost all my days to myself, with only a few scheduled appointments, so I can use the time as I see fit. Although I plan my time, things still seem vague and the fact that I can postpone till later what I don’t manage to do today fills me with mixed feelings. I really wish I had some external pressures, as that would make many things much clearer and easier.
October 11, 2007 at 02:47AM
So true. If we lack motivation, we can always apply pressure to help us accomplish a lot of things. It’s a simple thing we can do to help overcome those bad, unproductive habits.