Productivity Tuesday: Your Productivity Framework

In the prior post, I talked about the guidelines I’ll follow in governing the activities I carry out in 2020. And, I feel inclined to further discuss how guidelines, or frameworks, can help direct us in making the most of each day. So, today’s “Productivity Tuesday” will focus on a structure that will guide you toward GETTING THINGS DONE.

I’m going to fudge a little bit and pull some prior verbiage from my post, entitled 10 Productivity-Producing Questions for Content Creators . This post contains questions that will create the perfect framework to get you going on your productivity journey. There’s no use in recreating the wheel when the wheel’s already available for use. (Do you see how I’m using a productivity tactic in this very blog post? I’m taking my own previously-published content and repurposing it for this new post.) However, I’ll have to slightly adjust some of the questions so they’ll apply to any working situation where you’re trying to complete tasks (not just for a content creator’s purposes).

So, your homework assignment is to complete the following:

• Think of those times when you’ve been the most effective, focused, rearing to go, energized, purpose-driven, alert, awake, positive, task-oriented, mentally-charged, excited to take action, encouraged, and motivated to move. You’ll consider those times to be your prime productivity periods in life . . . the times when you work the most efficiently.
• Then, complete the following questionnaire (10 questions below) that will form the very framework in which you’ll get the most accomplished within your day.

Your Productivity Framework

1. What time of the day do you work your best? Do you work best in the wee hours of the morning, early morning to early afternoon, mid-afternoon to early evening, sun set to late night, or a combination of periods throughout the day?
2. Where is the best place to conduct your work? Is your ideal work setting at home or at a location outside of the home? If outside of the home, do you prefer to be at a more private setting like your own office space, studio, or storefront OR do you want to be in more of a public place like a Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, library, park, or cafe?
3. Does noise hinder or help you along with your work activities? Consider how sounds, such as white noise, instrumental music only, music with singing and lyrics, background talking and movements, people using technology in close proximity to you, outdoor sounds, and nature sounds on audio, affect your ability to work.
4. Do you prefer to use electronic devices (e-calendars on phones, iPads, or computers) or more manual devices (desk and hanging calendars, planners that you write in, and charts and dry-erase boards) to help you organize and stay organized with your daily schedule?
5. What kind of equipment and supplies are the most useful while you’re in the working zone? Do you prefer a desktop to a laptop computer or manual writing utensils over electronic devices (and vice versa)? For on-the-go tasks, what equipment and supplies are needed that will allow you to be mobile while working or do your tasks call for the use of static items where you have to stay put in order to use them?
6. Are you a heavy lunch, light lunch (snack level), or no lunch person? I definitely think that people should break their fast by eating something healthy and nourishing for breakfast in the mornings. You need an energy boost to get your day going, but the rest of the day is negotiable in my estimation. I’ve heard that some individuals feel bogged down and unproductive the rest of the afternoon if they eat a heavy lunch. Some just need a little nutrition to keep their productivity flowing in optimal mode. And, others prefer to eat a heavy dinner and forgo the lunch because they do their best work in the afternoon and don’t want any distractions to slow them down or disrupt their workflow altogether. I say do YOU. Just make sure that you’re not forgetting to eat because of working through breakfast, lunch, and dinner and creating destructive eating routines. In any eating habits you adopt, make sure you establish and maintain consistency in your healthy eating lifestyle.
7. Are you able to sustain your productivity mode more successfully when you take periodic breaks throughout the day or do you stay revved up when you continuously work through big chunks of time?
8. Are you more productive when you’ve had a chance to prepare what you’re going to accomplish for the day (ahead of time) or do you perform your best work in sheer spontaneity? In the writing world, this would be a plotter (person who outlines and plans) versus a pantser (person who flies by the seat of his or her pants) type of scenario. Which one are you?
9. Do you prefer to complete all the tasks for the work that you do or are you good with delegating some tasks to others?
10. What incentivizes you to get work done: motivational sources (see below), rewards (monetary awards, perks, and benefits), or a combination of both? What makes up your ideal care package of incentives?

Once you’ve had a chance to give some considerable thought to your answers, make sure and record them somewhere. You can handwrite them or type them up and save them in your computer. (I would suggest doing the latter for the following reasons: your responses are saved in a centralized location, you can print out as many copies of them as you want and whenever you want, and you can easily update your document as needed.) After recording all the answers to the questions, I would post them where they’ll be a visible daily reminder of the optimal working conditions you’ll need to maintain for a productive day.

NOTE: Lately, I’ve been harping on the importance that getting enough sleep plays on a person’s productive state. So, I want to reiterate that it’s essential that you go to sleep at a decent time (the night before) in order to wake up refreshed, alert, and energized for your brand-new work day.