This is me out in Los Angeles on a Saturday night after a fancy dinner with friends. When I quit my job a year and a half ago to be my own boss, I knew I would be in for a wild ride. But what I didn’t know was how much my habits would impact my future success.
Over the past 17 months, I have learned how to manage my own time and create an environment that is suited to my personal productivity needs. And, most importantly, I have created habits that have made my days waaaayyyy more productive than they were just a few years ago.
Everyone is writing about productivity habits these days, but I would like to share with you a few uncommon productivity habits I have found that help me get more things done in the past two years.
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Productivity Habit #1 — Pressurized self-imposed deadlines
Every weekday morning at 6 am, I log on to a scheduled Zoom call with a few accountability partners, I say hello for a few minutes, share my screen, mute my microphone, and get to work.
The deadline I have set for myself for this early morning productivity session is that I will write one complete article during the session. Sessions last around 45 minutes, so I choose wisely which topic I will be writing on and I do my research ahead of time. Sometimes I meet my deadline and sometimes I don’t. But I always get a lot done.
Because I am sharing my screen, my accountability partners can see what I’m up to. So, I can’t shoot the $hit and scroll Instagram or read articles about how to get my kid to be less of a tyrant. I can only (and should only) write. My friends usually do their own thing, but they could (and do) sometimes look over to see what I’m doing. The idea that they could check in at any time provides fantastic accountability.
I now complete a full article in less than an hour that might have taken me more than two hours less than two years ago. And because my writing session is early in the day, it frees up the rest of my time for growing my business in ways other than creating content.
Productivity Habit #2 — Scheduled zone out times
I schedule time to do nothing. I have a whole day on the weekend to do nothing work-wise while I spend time with my family and I have an entire hour in the middle of the day when I shut off the computer, eat lunch while I watch reality television, and either go for a walk or do some gardening.
I have learned this lesson the hard way. When I don’t schedule time to zone out, I feel free to do it at any time. An eight-hour block of work time is fertile ground for failure. I’ve done enough work for now. Maybe I’ll just play a game of Candy Crush and reset my brain. But, how often do those thoughts go through your brain during the day? How often do you hit your mental max and spend quality productivity time on unproductive things?
When I schedule ample time to zone out and reset my brain and my intention, I know that if zoning out is not scheduled, I need to focus until the time comes. Like saving your appetite for a fantastic dinner, waiting to release your focus until “zone out times” can help you squeeze that extra little bit of productivity out of your days.
I look forward to my afternoon breaks and I treat them as a reward. If I mess up and fail to focus during my scheduled focused times, I reserve the right to take away my afternoon fun time. So, in essence, I force myself to earn my breaks.
This reward-based productivity habit has helped me get a LOT more done in my days and it has helped me be more creative and refreshed in my afternoon work sessions. Though, I have discovered recently that if I leave my afternoons free, my work sessions in the morning are significantly more productive and creative.
In the four hours between 9 am and 1 pm, I get more done than I would have accomplished in two days with the distractions I allowed a few years ago. Productivity habit win.
Productivity Habit #3 — Wellness alarms
We all know that when we care for our physical wellness, we can get more done. Ample sleep helps improve our focus. Proper nutrition helps us maintain energy throughout the day. Hydration can help us regulate our emotions. In short, science says that if we take care of our bodies, we set ourselves up to get more done.
Duh.
But, one of the most impactful productivity habits I have developed in the past two years is setting wellness alarms. It’s easy to get into your work and forget to take care of yourself. In the long run, I’ve found that I get more done if I use my phone to help remind me of what I need to do to keep myself healthy and alert.
Bedtime alarm. This is the most pivotal to my productivity of all my wellness alarms. I have three alarms that go off every night to remind me to go to sleep — one at 9:45 pm, one at 9:55 pm, and a final one at 10 pm. If I did not set these alarms, I am certain I would scroll Instagram and the news until at least 11 pm. And then, I’d play Candy Crush until 11:30. A bedtime alarm ensures that I get enough sleep to wake up early and slay the next day.
Water alarms. If you were not aware, I own one of the largest, most ridiculous-looking water bottles in the world. I am passionate about hydration. Every hour, on the hour, I have an alarm set up to remind me to chug water. At first, the alarm was distracting to my work, but after a week or so, turning off the alarm and drinking water became Pavlovian.
Phone a friend alarm. Every Wednesday during my commute and every Sunday at 5:30 pm, an alarm goes off reminding me to connect with another human being — on the phone. It’s so easy to think we have real human connection because we see faces on social media apps. That couldn’t be further from the truth. My dedication to social interaction has strengthened my relationships with friends and family and their input has helped me get more creative with my solutions to problems at work.
Final thoughts
In my opinion, a few small changes in my life have significantly changed the focus I have and the amount of work I get done in my days. I have more time to play, I feel better about my accomplishments, and I am doing exactly what I want to be doing.
In short, productivity habits don’t have to be huge to make a huge impact in your life. I encourage you to try a few pressurized self-imposed deadlines, schedule some zone out times, and use your technology to support your mental and physical wellness.
In less than two years, I have changed the structure and focus of my life and my productivity habits have helped that along in a significant way. Getting more done feels so good.
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