productivity | Reflections of A Summer Moon

It’s September. A new season is on the horizon, the year is more than half-way through. Summer vacation is just about over, school is now in session. Besides the start of a new year, I noticed that many people like the concept of fresh start for this month as well. And if people are looking for a fresh start, I can’t help but wonder what happened between the start of the year to the end of the summer that a hope for change will come with the start of this new season?

Sometimes we just need to recharge the batteries we already have

As I was wrecking my brain trying to think of new services I could offer through my social media marketing company, new relationships I wanted to build with the people I’ve been exposed to during my summer networking, new recipes I want to attempt to cook for the upcoming holiday, and a new short-story to outline since inspiration hit me while I was dreaming one night; I decided it was best to revisit some of the goals I made at the start of the year. I was on a fast track to doing busy work when I seriously needed to excel at the work I had already started. It was more important to tie up any loose ends (and there are plenty of them) and readjust some goals that were just too unrealistic for now or no longer a priority in my life.

At the start of the year I was irritated because I was always tired and felt I was running around in circles with goal completions never feeling anything of importance was getting accomplished. I started writing out a to-do list at the beginning on each week using my favorite productivity app Evernote (ok I slip up from time to time) and decided that the only way to know if I was being productive was to literally write down everything I did at the end of each work day. This method has really helped me feel more productive versus busy and now I’m at least aware of time wasters.

Taking a look at my weekly track record made it easier to “secretly” conduct my own version of a personal monthly review. If I’m dissatisfied with my monthly review or feeling that the steps I’m taking are not lined up with the goals set in each my 6 slices of life, I know it’s time to make a change. I have no interest in being busy it irks me almost as much as being bored. I ultimately strive for better work/life balance even though I’m not certain the scale will ever equal each other in weight.

What are some methods you use to be more productive and less busy in life and business?

Flickr Credit: Berna

: Flickr Credit: TTCPressimages

Lately, I’ve been noticing a sort of anti-social media whisper hovering around the web. Not surprisingly, the whispers are coming from those who have been early adapters of social networking. Okay, I’m over exaggerating a bit, not quite anti-social media, but somewhere along the lines of not becoming a puppet controlled by the “next big thing” that’s trending in the digital marketing sphere. As someone who spends a huge chunk of my waking hours with my face buried in some form of a computer screen, I know that I serve my clientele much better when I’m not a droid to my Droid.

Actually, I wasn’t too surprised with an infographic about internet use and its affect on our creativity.(The graphic did a number on my eyes it was kinda loud)As a social media practitioner I’m well aware of the fact that social media is a huge time sink especially when you are just starting out with it, or learning your way around a new platform has been crowned the latest and greatest, (this week) and trying to develop a healthy routine that benefits all areas of your social life. I

I said all that to say, for those of us who try to live by the neat and productive to do lists we set for ourselves, we need to schedule in time for a “not doing a darn thing” moment. Within that moment, turn off the smart phone *gasp* shut down the computer, and enjoy this beautiful yet (sometimes) ugly world we live in. (I actually just made an anime reference). By ugly I mean the ugly things people do to one another and this planet as a whole (another topic for another day). Life is happening all around us, and it’s the greatest blank canvas for anyone who can imagine all the possibilities to make it most fulfilled.

Even when I wrote out this post in a pretty turquoise pen on recycled notebook paper (yes, I don’t always just hammer away on a key board) I felt much more calm and ideas are flowing with next steps I wanted to take. It really helped that when I wrote this, I was sitting at the park looking onto the river with my phone, and all the crazy noise it would have brought me powered off, just for that moment in time. After that, I ran around from meeting to meeting and closed some sales for my smallbiz, talk about productive. Sometimes, you just need that break away.

The question then becomes do you have the will power to take a break from it all?

Can you stop checking for updates from your ex’s Facebook account (you closet stalker you)

Can you stash away some time to stop pinning about your dream life and work towards making your dreams come true?