template

Manage your energy, not your time

If you focus on how to manage your energy, your time will manage itself.

Do you believe that?

A few weeks ago, I had a meltdown. And not a pretty one.Is there such a thing as a pretty meltdown? I don’t think so, but suffice it to say that I didn’t act much better than my toddler.

The cause? I pushed myself to work on a project well past my bedtime. I’m not a night owl, and I know this about myself. I was on the brink of exhaustion and incoherency when I sat down, and yet I still convinced myself that this task absolutely had to be done right then.

It didn’t.

What happened is that I spent an hour working on something that likely would have taken me 20 minutes if I had done it at 6am and not 11pm.

This also led to a minor panic attack at work the following day when I was overwhelmed with so many different tasks I needed to work on that I didn’t even know where to start. I had more work and was getting less done in a given time frame than I would have if I had gotten a decent night’s sleep.

As professional working women, we’ve all been there at one point or another. It’s easy to convince ourselves that pushing through is the answer, when it’s not. The answer is to manage your energy.

There’s nothing more inefficient than pushing through and continuing to attempt to work when you’re not at your best.

When you’ve hit a wall, it’s time to hit reset. Here’s how:

4 Ways to Hit the Energy Management Reset Button

1. Take a breather. If it’s not late or you absolutely can’t go to sleep, take 5 minutes for a breather. It’s wise to use this time to literally breather, taking big, deep, belly breaths. Meditation can work wonders. So can getting up and moving. If at all possible, go for a walk.

2. Skip non-critical work. In my meltdown scenario, I had a non-critical meeting on my calendar that I skipped in order to have the time to take a breather, vent and reset.

3. Have a mini-vent session. Done strategically, letting off some steam can be a great way to let it all out so that you can refocus. If you have a trusted co-worker or friend, a mini-vent session can be a great way to get what’s frustrating you off your chest and refocus back on what needs to be done. Caveat: Be careful that a strategic mini-vent session doesn’t become an regular habit that distracts both you and your co-worker from your work on an ongoing basis.

4. Pick a task that requires a different part of your brain and get back to work. If you’re stalled out on a heavy thinking task or project, take the time to catch up on more mindless, repetitive tasks that tend to get put on the back burner. Even if the heavy-thinking project is critical, you’ll feel better and be able to dive back in quicker if you feel accomplished with your “down time” rather than staring into space, getting even more frustrated.

In my case, I did all of these. I took a breather, skipped a non-critical meeting, had a mini-vent-my-overwhelm session with a trusted co-worker, and was able to pick a critical task and make good progress, as well as finish out the rest of my day.

Note: This has nothing to do with being a morning person or a night person, or with getting a recommended number of hours of sleep per night (although getting enough sleep is also highly important). It has everything to do with knowing yourself well enough to know when you are at your peak and when you aren’t, and planning tasks accordingly.

What’s the cost?

If you’re still thinking that you don’t have time to step away from the task, consider these statistics:

If one poor energy management decision per day costs an average of 45 minutes, that’s almost 4 hours per week, almost 16 hours per month and a whopping 200 hours per year. That’s the equivalent of five 40-hour work weeks.

Even if it takes 15 minutes to reset and get back on track, that’s still a time savings of 30 minutes per day, 2.5 hours per week, over 10 hours per month and 130 hours per year. That’s the equivalent of over three weeks per year.

Say what?! If I had an extra three to five weeks per year, I’d certainly be much farther ahead on my goals. Or heck, how about an extra three to five weeks of vacation?!

What could you accomplish with an extra three to five weeks of working time per year?

What could you accomplish with an extra three to five weeks of working time per year?

Click To Tweet

11 must-do productively non-productive tasks

By Sarah Leave a Comment

This is also known as A List of Things to Do in Short Bursts of Time that Aren’t Urgent, but Still Move the Needle Forward.

What are productively non-productive tasks, you might ask? They’re quick tasks that can be taken care of in minimal downtime, as long as you’re prepared. Also, tasks that you can do while procrastinating on a larger task.

Hot Tip: Create a list of productively non-productive task ideas, so that when you have pockets of otherwise idle time, you have a list ready and don’t waste precious minutes figuring out what to do.

Productively Non-Productive Tasks that take 15 minutes or less:

Respond to a non-urgent email
Read a blog post
Write a card
Make a phone call
Schedule an appointment
Sort one cupboard, shelf, box of stuff
Send a friend a text message
Pin / Tweet / otherwise schedule or post to social media (I like to go through posts and articles I’ve saved in Feedly)
Do a super-quick review of your email inbox for emails that can be immediately deleted or filed
Fold some laundry (tip: even folding 1-2 pieces of a load each time you walk by will eventually get you through a pile!)
Read one page in a book (or more)

Enter your email address below to get your FREE Evernote template for Productively Non-Productive Tasks.

What additional ideas do you have for productively non-productive tasks?

This post is part of 31 Timesaving Tools, Tips & Templates, read the rest of the series here.

Win by taking it one step at a time

By Sarah 2 Comments

You can’t run before you can walk. You can’t leap up a full flight of stairs, well, ever. But you certainly can’t take the stairs two or three at a time before you’ve mastered one.

I know, this is shockingly new information.

I so want to skip ahead and be farther along than I am – in so many areas of life. But as I’ve learned as a (fledgling) runner, acknowledging my limits and taking one small step at a time is the best way to move forward. Can you relate?

Continuing to read running training plans for marathoners experts and business ideas for those with six figure businesses doesn’t help me at all. Realistically acknowledging where I’m at today and taking the first baby step is the best way to avoid spinning wheels and actually make forward progress.

After all, if your goal is to run to a destination, it doesn’t matter how fast you can run in circles.

Practically speaking though, this can get difficult. Let’s explore the top 3 ways to focus, stay on track and move forward – at your skill level.

1. Tune out information above your skill level.

This includes unsubscribing from emails, filing advanced documents away for later*, and not signing up for training programs that you’re not ready for (I promise, no matter how exclusive the offer, you’ll be able to find the info again later…when you can actually implement it.).

*Use a strategic, consistent file structure, and you’ll be able to find saved information again exactly when you need it.

2. Implement what you are learning.

It’s so tempting to think that because you’ve read up so much on a topic that you’re an expert (ask me how I know!). The reality is that while you can know the idea of something inside and out, you don’t know the realities until you’ve walked through it yourself. Very rarely does any process always function at the ideal. Something will go wrong, or take longer than you thought, or crash right when you need it.

Commit to learning one new thing at a time, including practicing and implementing each step. If that’s launching a podcast, actually launch a podcast. If that’s trying a new image format, create images. You get the picture.

3. Take a deep breath and give yourself grace.

There’s no one ever harder on me than myself. When you get overwhelmed and discouraged (and you will, it’s part of life), take a step back, breath, and acknowledge what you have already accomplished. Hot Tip: This is a great one to make a regular part of your routine. Add acknowledging your accomplishments to your daily, weekly and monthly routines. Here’s an Evernote template to get you started.

This post is part of 31 Timesaving Tools, Tips & Templates, read the rest of the series here.

When traveling by airplane…

By Sarah 2 Comments

We’ve established that I’m a total nerd, and have strange quirks, right? Okay, good. Please don’t let today’s quick tip freak you out. I prefer to call it “better safe than sorry.”

When I was younger (and more cynical), I used to think it was pointless to pay attention to any of the safety protocol at the beginning of a flight. After all, if the plane went down, we’d all be dead, so what’s the benefit in knowing safety protocol? It felt more like an exercise in making naive passengers feel better, not actually a benefit.

Since then, I’ve seen a few too many flights that had relatively minor crashes where people did walk off the plane. But you know what they say when exiting an airplane in an emergency situation, right? (I guess I did occasionally listen to those safety briefings.)

Do not take anything with you as you exit the plane.

Note: This means leave your bags.

Um, in this day and age that’s a problem.

I don’t know about you, but my wallet used to always be stowed safely in my bag under the seat (or worse, in an overhead compartment). And I don’t have too many phone numbers memorized. My husband’s yes, but I don’t even have my own mother’s cell phone number memorized. That’s why we have smartphones, right?!

What if my plane did have a minor crash? We would deplane, and I wouldn’t have ID, money or a way to get ahold of anyone. Yikes!

That leads to my one must-do action to take while flying:

When traveling by airplane, I always keep my photo id, a credit card and my phone in a pocket.

Instant peace of mind.

Yes, my friends, colleagues and even family make fun of me. But it makes me feel a whole lot better.

If you don’t have pockets, I found a great alternative take on the fanny pack. Side note: Why is it that maternity clothes rarely have pockets? When I was pregnant (which I’m not currently!), I didn’t magically lose my need for pockets.

Traveler Bonus:

Enter your email address below to get The Ultimate Evernote Packing List. Adjust to suit your needs.

ACCESS EVERNOTE TEMPLATE LIBRARY

Bonus tip: Review your packing list immediately after each trip. Add anything you wished you had packed or forgot. Remove anything that’s no longer relevant. You’ll thank yourself when you’re packing for your next trip.

This post is part of 31 Timesaving Tools, Tips & Templates, read the rest of the series here.

How to keep brilliant ideas from disappearing

By Sarah 1 Comment

I have had a brilliant blog post…many times. I usually draft these brilliant posts or ideas in my head as I’m falling asleep, in the middle of the night, in the shower, or while I’m driving. You know, all inconvenient times to write things down.

I would be a multimillionaire if only I captured and followed through on executing all of the ideas I’ve had. (Wouldn’t we all?!)

What I need is a system and a process to ensure I can capture these ideas as they occur, and not rely on my faulty brain to remember half-baked ideas at some unknown point in the future.

It’s taking action in the form of capturing the ideas.

What are some ways to capture ideas?

Keep a notebook by the bed.
Keep bath crayons in the shower. Why not take notes on the wall?
Take voice notes while driving. (the audio note feature in Evernote is awesome)
Take text notes on a smart phone (or old fashioned note pad) while out and about.
Take a picture of an object or place that inspired an idea. You can also take pictures of the shower notes so they don’t get washed away before they’re used – and so you can reference them while at a computer.

Notes and ideas can be captured anywhere. The next step is crucial:

Have a consistent way to intake and process your ideas so they don’t get lost in the shuffle.

Set aside specific time each day or week to process your ideas. Systematically go through each place you have taken notes and then either:

Do the action item
Schedule a specific time to do it later
Delegate it to someone else or
File for reference.

Since I use Evernote for almost everything, I created a template to capture notes with either text or audio. Enter your email below to get the Brilliant Idea Log.

What’s your favorite place or tool to capture notes? How often do you process notes and ideas?

This post is part of 31 Timesaving Tools, Tips & Templates, read the rest of the series here.

template

Manage your energy, not your time

If you focus on how to manage your energy, your time will manage itself.

4 Ways to Hit the Energy Management Reset Button

What’s the cost?

11 must-do productively non-productive tasks

Productively Non-Productive Tasks that take 15 minutes or less:

Win by taking it one step at a time

1. Tune out information above your skill level.

2. Implement what you are learning.

3. Take a deep breath and give yourself grace.

When traveling by airplane…

When traveling by airplane, I always keep my photo id, a credit card and my phone in a pocket.

Traveler Bonus:

ACCESS EVERNOTE TEMPLATE LIBRARY

How to keep brilliant ideas from disappearing

What are some ways to capture ideas?

Have a consistent way to intake and process your ideas so they don’t get lost in the shuffle.

STRATEGY SARAH NEWSLETTER

Disclaimer