This is a guest post from Aaron Morris, also known as Sir Scrapalot.
Usually, at this time of the month, I am posting here at Simple Scrapper to talk to you about how to better manage your time and how to be productive even when you are completely overloaded with things to do. These topics were always easy for me to write about, it was the life I was leading. A funny thing happened though. When I retired from digital designing to focus on some different projects and take more time for me, my family, and my own personal scrapbooking, my to do lists cleared up considerably.
At first, it was great. I had a lot more time to scrapbook, to watch tv, and to enjoy my family. I didn’t miss the constant feeling of having something that “needed” to be done. Quickly, it became so comfortable to just surf the web, do a layout or two, and spend hours browsing Facebook and Pinterest. I bet you can guess what has happened. Slowly, I stopped really doing anything. I Â missed deadlines, I put projects on the back burner, I went from detailed to do lists to no to do list at all. Sure, I was super relaxed and getting to do all kinds of fun things that I wanted to do, but I had let go of pretty much all of my other responsibilities. Not cool.
It was like going from 95 degree weather to 60 degree weather (which totally happened this past week) in one fell swoop. There was no middle ground, I went from not having time to do everything I wanted to do to ignoring things that I wanted to do in favor of really doing nothing. Since I really don’t want to go back to the idea of having too much to do, and clearly having nothing get done isn’t an option for me, I have to find that balance between the two. Over the next few weeks, I am going to focus on trying to find that middle ground. How? Here are a 3 things I plan on working on:
- Bring back the to do lists. Even if they aren’t pages long, they still help keep me focused.
- Spend some time getting “re-inspired” on some of the projects that I put on the back burner.
- Try and create a workflow for completing projects as well as just “chilling out” sometimes.
I am hoping that these will help get me back on track and get me inspired to start really focusing on some new projects. As always, it will be a work in progress, and I’ll be sure to share the results with you.
What strategies do you use to stay productive when you’re not super busy?
Great post, Jennifer! I fit this description perfectly and suffer the results you mentioned constantly.
Until now I have not had any strategies, but will try what you suggested. Thanks!
Not only do I keep a daily list but I also keep a monthly list of things I want to accomplish. Working on these monthly goals makes it possible for me to either stay really busy or just chill- depending on what kind of a day it feels like.
I too keep a daily list and a master list. The daily list I update every night so I have a clear idea what I want to accomplish tomorrow, the master list I try to review monthly and re-prioritize. The problem comes when I think I can keep these lists in my head! I HAVE to write things down, even if there’s only two things on the list!!
What is this “not super busy” you speak of?? 😉
Seriously, I am a die-hard list girl, busy or not. If it’s not on a list, I’m not likely to get it done.