So we’ve been talking about how to make the most of our time at the start and end of the day. (If you haven’t yet, I highly recommend giving the earlier posts a peek.) But how should we address the work we do throughout the day?
You may or may not decide to set a midday routine. But more likely than not, our workdays have the extra factors of mystery, spontaneity, and unpredictability. Instead, I’d suggest applying a Strategy Mix, a combination of techniques working together to attain ultimate productivity.
With a Strategy Mix, you can:
- Formulate a plan.
- Build around that plan.
- Be ready for anything that occurs outside of that plan.
Win-win-win!
Recommendation
One mix I’ve recently been using to keep the midday momentum going consists of four ingredients:
Day Dive + Block Schedule + Bullet Journal + Pomodoro Technique
Let’s first talk about how each strategy works solo.
The Ingredients
Day Diving (also known as “dirt diving” in an article by Mark Divine) is a productivity technique where you list out everything that needs to be done then order these tasks based on importance. This strategy is best used at the start of your workday and can be revisited later, especially when you feel that certain tasks took more time than anticipated.
Block Scheduling is an agenda strategy where you assign “blocks” of time to particular tasks. For example, I might block an hour for outlining and researching blog posts, an hour and a half for writing as many blog posts as possible, and another hour for designing graphics. These are only rough estimates and should not act as limitations. They give you a frame of mind of what can realistically be done within your day. An alternative to a block schedule is the Chronodex.
Bullet Journaling is a system that gives you the space to dump all information into one notebook, which is set up for easy reference to all your material. Minimalism and productivity at its finest, ladies and gents.
The Pomodoro Technique is a way to set limits (and have guilt-free break times) while tracking your time usage through 25-minute increments.
The Strategy Mix
So how do these individual techniques combine to work their productive magic?
When you combine day diving + block scheduling, you can forecast how you’ll be spending your time. In addition, you can delegate the most pressing needs to save menial tasks for another day if necessary. (Remember: your workday should end early enough for you to have Me Time. Self-care is a necessity, not a suggestion!) And if deadlines are looming, you can also figure out who you need to contact in order to inform of delays and to discuss extensions. Feeling like a rockstar yet?
Then when you include the layout of your tasks into your Bullet Journal, you have a place of reference not only for that day but also in the future. If you ever forget when you completed a task, all you have to do is read back on your log to know when you did them or scheduled to have them done. No more guessing games. Yasssss!
Now, here’s where they all come together. With the Pomodoro Technique, not only do you honor your time blocks, but you can monitor your patterns through how many Pomodoros each task takes on average. You can also determine if the time you allotted was needed or if you were simply being a perfectionist. In addition, knowing that you have an alarm set for you relieves the pressure of tracking time, giving your creativity the space to get the work done. BOOM.
Most importantly . . .
These strategies are not the only ones you can mix together. If you have other techniques you’d like to use to supercharge your day, go for it! The point is to take away as much of the guesswork and pressure so you can focus on getting things done right the first time.
Use the strategies that push you forward. If you feel bogged down rather than lifted up, get rid of unnecessary. You’ve got a lot on your plate as it is. It’s high time to start making the day work for you instead of you working for the day.
Write Time
What other techniques do you include in your Strategy Mix? Share in the comments below, warrior. Perhaps a fellow creative might need other suggestions.
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