We’ve become a society that is always in a hurry. We typically rush from one thing to the next and often try to multi-task while we do. When I ask most people how they feel about time, the answer is often that they feel it is completely out-of-control.
What if you knew that multi-tasking was actually shrinking your brain? It’s true! There have been scientific studies to prove it. Most folks believe that multi-tasking makes them more productive, but in reality it makes us dumber and even more so over time.
There are plenty of other ways to kill brain cells and but this thought of multi-tasking my be new for you. So, once you get onboard with the concept, what can you do about it?
Become deliberate in your activities. Introduce periodization into your day in order to gain the greatest level of productivity. That is set specific periods of time to accomplish specific types of tasks.
What types of tasks? There are basically three ways to spend your time if you are in business for yourself. (This is also true for employees that want to move up in the company.) Probably the time block that is biggest is the one that you spend working in your business or profession. It’s what most people think of first when they think about dividing their time.
A second type of time block is time spent working on your business or improving your skills as an employee. This could be additional education, for example.
The most important category of time, and often most ignored for self-employed people is personal time. This is the time that is set aside for rest, relaxation, time with family, vacations, etc. All those activities (or lack of activity!) that help to recharge our batteries and keep us at our most productive.
Because this kind of personal time is so important to our overall well being, it is what should be scheduled first! Try sitting down with a calendar and marking out in different colors time you have committed for each of these types of tasks. Take your personal time first and see how much better you feel and more productive you are.
If you have ever wondered why it is that I typically do not work on Sundays, now you have your answer! Sundays are my primary time to rest, relax and recharge.
What’s your favorite activity that is just for you?
