One day last week, I totally blasted through lunch — meaning . . . I missed lunch because I was so engrossed in other activities that completely took over my morning and early afternoon. This state of affairs happens sometimes, especially when I’m working on tasks around the house that need a little TLC. You know what I mean, don’t you? It’s like I momentarily function within a total lock-down of concentration when handling those pesky cleaning chores that won’t magically disappear with time.
Anyway, I can easily lose track of time when I’m in the flow of doing such household chores. And, it’s for this simple reason: It takes so much effort for me to get into a mood for cleaning (not tidying, but down and dirty cleaning), and in turn, takes just as much effort to keep me in the cleaning mode (flow) once it’s been disturbed. In my mind, I always figure that I better ride the detailed cleaning wave while I’m there, because those perfect waves come few and far in between.
Funny how that works. And after all these years, it’s too bad I haven’t figured out the secret recipe for drumming up enthusiasm for deep cleaning more often. I’m working on it, though.
Getting back to this one day last week . . .
So, I was in the cleaning zone and making some major headway in the area of all things floors. I mean I was a sweeping, dusting, vacuuming, and mopping queen (only stopping short of deep cleaning the carpet and rugs, which would be separate projects for another day and time). No matter. Nothing was going to abruptly stop the flow of the real-time floor progress I was making . . . not even the rumblin’ in my tummy.
Remember: I blasted through lunch, right? And the old gut was reminding me that I was neglecting its importance in the overall household work I was accomplishing on this noteworthy day. My digestive system needed some major attention and fast. After all, a happy stomach fuels a more productive floor cleaning session.
I recall how the hunger thoughts in my mind kept getting stronger and stronger. However, I kept putting them off until I got to the point that those thoughts became too loud. They were overwhelmingly loud to the point that I had to stop what I was doing to address them.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
I remember thinking that if I stop working right now to eat lunch, then my cleaning productivity would be shot for the rest of the day. There would be no coming back to it that day, and who knows when I’d get into the floor cleaning mood or mode again.
I know myself and here’s what would’ve happened if I stopped to eat a generous lunch:
- I would make something filling to eat, which would probably weigh me down and make me sluggish in carrying out any substantial physical activity.
- Then, I would have to sit down in front of the computer screen and catch up on what one of my favorite YouTubers was up to. You know . . . see if he or she uploaded any new videos. (And I could reconcile that it’s okay to watch a little something while eating, because it’s not like you could do much else anyway.)
- Of course, I would watch a video that was less than 30 minutes and would take me through the end of my lunch, and then I’d go back to work. No?
- Oh, definitely no! Because if I watched one short video from this person’s channel, then I might as well get another short one in before going back to work.
- And, now that I’m caught up with the videos on the one channel, then I’ve got to check up on one more influencer’s channel, while I’m there.
- Two hours later, after watching videos and checking my social media, it’s quite possible that I’m out of the cleaning mood and mode. Don’t you think?
Well, I wasn’t having any of that. Not that day, anyway. So, guess what I did?
I conquered the hunger pangs. I did the next best thing, outside of making myself a full-fledged lunch . . . I grabbed a quick snack.
The snack consisted of a mixture of a couple handfuls of raisins, raw cashew halves and pieces, and miniature chocolate chip pieces (non-GMO, soy-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, real sugar — as close to a healthy yet tasty chocolate option that I’ve found so far). I hand-tossed them in a sandwich baggie and stuck a spoon in the baggie. And, here’s where I introduce another productivity hack.
When you’re cleaning and needing a little something to nibble on to satisfy the hunger craving so you can keep working, grab a nutritionally-filled, quick snack that you can eat (hands-free) in between cleaning functions. As you know, your hands or gloves get dirty when you’re cleaning, so use an eating utensil so you don’t have to touch your hands to the food and soiled food to your mouth.
Or, simply wash your hands in between your cleaning sessions, as long as your work flow isn’t disrupted too much. If you’re doing really grimy work, I wouldn’t suggest eating at all in the middle of the chore. Just wait until you finish the task, wash your hands thoroughly, and then partake of the munchies.
Woo hoo! Disaster averted! My productivity plan involved feeding my belly, while keeping my work momentum up at the same time. Overall, I would call this particular day last week a snacking victory.
But one thing I haven’t managed to claim the victory of is remembering to provide my Tip of the Week on Mondays. So, I’m going to tentatively switch it to Productivity Tuesdays and see how it fares. Seems like the weekly tip tends to naturally fall on this day anyway. So, let’s make it official for the time being.
Tip of the Week: When important thoughts are coming fast and furious, use a recording device (actual recorder or even your phone) to capture your thoughts while they’re fresh in your mind. This productivity hack has saved me many-a-time. And, let’s just scrap the idea that “if you forget something, then it probably wasn’t that important anyway.” We all know that thought process doesn’t fly in the real world.
Or, you might have heard it said like this: “If it’s important, it’ll come back to your remembrance.” Maybe and maybe not. I wouldn’t want to take the chance. So, I personally use this recording method as my regular go-to (especially with my blog post ideas), because a paper and pen or computer may not be handy at the time. I’ll record my thoughts on a handy device and then refer to the verbally-recorded word later for dictation purposes or simply as a reminder.
I just try to steer clear of leaving my thoughts to chance and in the hands of my memory, which is bombarded on a daily basis and needs to unload information at times. Unfortunately, I know my mind is susceptible to unloading some of the important stuff it’s needed to hold tightly to.
So, try this hack out sometime and let me know if it’s working for you or has been working for you. Maybe you’re already enjoying the benefits of recording and I’m not telling you something you don’t know. I’d love to hear someone else’s perspective on this productivity tip.
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