It has been a while since I posted. Sorry about that. I have been heads down on creating my podcast. In doing this, I have interviewed some great people who have shared amazing insights. I can’t wait to share these with you. I will launch during the first quarter of 2019!
I have also started a couple of posts that I hope to complete shortly. In the meantime, I saw this post and wanted to both share it with all of you and give a bit of my perspective.
The post “Here’s the schedule very successful people follow every day,” written by Eric Barker, provides a really good high-level daily schedule that I mostly subscribe to. Below are my comments.
Schedule
1. The morning ritual
I completely agree with a morning ritual. I am hearing this often from the great managers that I interview. And I personally could not agree more about email. Don’t spend your most creative time at the beginning of the day hammering through your email. Spend it instead on something that requires more creativity!
I like the discussion on taking control, feeling confident, and focusing on goals.
2. Important work first thing – with no distractions
I am a Todo list person, not everyone is. The key to making a Todo list work is making sure that you work on what is most important first. So I could not agree more with this one as well.
As for distractions – I think it is important to eliminate them for everything that you do, not just for the important things. That means during your creative time, when you working on any item from your Todo list, when you are doing “people stuff” and when you are in meetings.
I worry that this is getting worse, not better. Mail can be a distraction, text messages even more so, and now with things like Slack, you can get into a continual interruption mode. The switching time will kill your productivity!
My recommendation is to schedule chunks of time when you deal with these interruptions. The frequency of these is dependent on your job. The fewer the better in terms of productivity.
Last comment from me on this section. Working from home may or may not be the best place for you to start your day. I am more distracted at home so have always preferred to get into the office early – before anyone else has arrived, to reduce distractions.
3. Regroup when you slow down
I have never been one to have a food coma, nor do I get drowsy in the afternoon. But I know that I am less focused and less productive. Therefore I do agree that meetings / human interaction can be helpful during this time as it can raise your energy level.
I agree that frequent breaks are important. It is good for your body and your mind to step away, take a loop around the house or office, grab some water, and then get back to it.
I don’t think the best way to deal with this period of time is to grab a snack. Much of the reason for this food coma or drowsy afternoon comes from the way we eat, the amount of exercise that we get, and how much sleep we get at night. If you are having this problem, I would recommend looking at what changes are required to address them. Having a snack might be a part of it, but to default to that as the solution is insufficient.
4. Meetings, calls, and people stuff in the afternoon
I don’t agree with the comments that this is “busy” or “unimportant work.” It is just as important but requires a different kind of energy.
That said, I do agree that these are the kinds of things that you should do in the afternoon. As I mentioned above, human interaction can help keep your energy level up, and doing this can allow the mornings to be used first for creative activities followed by focusing on your most important tasks.
Wrapping It Up
I like this schedule.
Use your creative time being creative. Do the most important things first. Eliminate distractions – schedule time for them. And find your way to work through the slow times in the afternoon.
I hope my comments have been helpful!
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