How to Get Out of a Productivity Slump
I want to have a successful day, and there have been times where I have got into a slump, and the bed was more appealing than my laptop. Some may say that it's a consequence of the entrepreneurial life, but I think its poor planning and bad habits.
Productivity slumps can be very depressive, negative and they can knock your confidence in a big way, and the two areas which caused clutter in my mind were checking and responding to emails (I hate email) and task management. Firstly I get a lot of emails, and I had a bad habit of trying to address messages first thing which made me exhausted. I then had a bunch of tasks that I needed to complete, and I couldn’t be bothered to be obedient to my reminder app on my iPhone!
How do I set myself up for success?
- Get 8 hours sleep
- Sleep by 12 am as much as possible (4-5 nights per week)
- Use my iPhone alarm to wake up
- Drink 1L of water including a cup of green tea for breakfast
- Going for a 30-minute walk/run everyday
- Have two oranges (if it’s the winter) — Vitamin C is a major key during the flu season.
- Use as many apps possible to help declutter my mind.
- Notes App (Ideas)
- Reminder App (meetings, when to eat, phone calls, etc.)
- Water App (log my water intake)
- Fitbit App & Dashboard (measure progress)
- Slack (email killer) — Must download
- PowerPoint — Business Plans / Ideas
- Excel — Tables to help me track everything I am doing.
- Eat the right foods at the right time (Perhaps this is another article)
How do I execute my tasks?
- List my tasks
- Set deadlines
- Figure out and label what is important, urgent, irrelevant or needs addressing later
- Plan the week based on the above
- Plan the day the night before
- Make sure I rest rather than giving up
If you follow the above in principle, you will slowly start to form newer habits, and you will notice your mind having to remember less and of course that will make you more reliant on technology but it frees you to think with innovation, passion and motivation.
Positive thinking isn’t living in the clouds, but it is making active and progressive decisions that will help you have a successful day.
Respect your mind and body.