The only reason you don’t have something you want is because you don’t yet have a structure in place to make it happen. Therefore, we thought we’d share some of the ways we stay productive and make sh*t happen. First up? Calendarizing.
Calendarize
When you “Calendarize” (yeah, we made that up) you begin to create the structure for how you will put together your dreams, vision, purpose and take action. This goes way beyond just creating a detailed schedule—it’s how you keep yourself accountable to your vision so you have full control of your success.
Not sure where to start? We get it. It can be overwhelming to sit down and look at what you want to achieve versus your current commitments.
Calendarizing is our way of helping our clients create their own “have my cake and eat it too” strategy. We LOVE helping our clients create more structure in life.
Here are a few quick tips to help you “Calendarize” like a boss.
1. Be Proactive, Not Reactive
Create calendar blocks to use your time proactively, not reactively. Have a block of time on—for example—Wednesdays that are for networking calls, and then fit clients into those blocks instead of reacting to whatever proposal is on the table.
2. Maintain Constant Vigilance
Tape your top three goals of the quarter or post it next to your screen; only make exceptions to rule #1 if they 100% move you towards that goal.
3. Tech is Your Friend
Set a reminder in your phone for something you want to “think more about”, but you wouldn’t necessarily always remember to take time in the day to do it. For example, say your goal is to have more compassion and fulfillment and you want to practice more gratitude. Calendarizing requires you to either schedule it in your calendar or put a daily reminder in your phone to write down one thing you are grateful for.
4. Get a Buddy
Studies show that you are 65% more likely to achieve a goal if you tell someone else about it.
5. Ask for Accountability
You are 95% more likely to achieve a goal if you ask someone to be accountable for that goal.
Other Tools to Stay Productive
In order to be able to achieve all five steps above, we regularly employ a few tools and techniques.
Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method that was developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. This technique uses a timer to break down work into intervals. The working intervals are traditionally 25 minutes in length and are separated by short breaks of five to 15 minutes. You can use the online tool Pomofocus to see if you like this method (make sure to enable notifications).
FBR Mantra
FBR stands for Fast, Bad, and Rong; it stems from the philosophy that one shouldn’t write and edit at the same time. In other words, don’t create and critique simultaneously. In some circles, this is known as the sh*tty first draft. What you need to remember is this: get it out there—making it correct and good is for another time and place.
We know that in the ever-demanding world we live in, harping on the ability to stay productive can also amp up feelings of burnout. While these ideas are meant to give you back time and mental clarity, we also think sometimes doing less is a great answer.
In fact, we put time in our calendar once a month for “deep think” time and sometimes we give ourselves permission to deep think while watching Netflix. The answer to being more productive can start with a nap, too—there’s not just one way. Try out different options, find out what works for you, and let us know your thoughts.