How I find ways to be Productive

Hi and Welcome to the A & J PEI Treasures E Jean Simpson Author Blog Post and Podcast. I’m your host, Jean coming to you from the beautiful Province of Prince Edward Island, Canada!! The blog post and podcast is an opinion piece and only reflects this author’s opinion and not that of any other entity. Today, I will talk a bit about how I stay on track with work and what I find helpful in scheduling. If you want to find out more, then stay tuned…!

I find that being out of work, I need to keep some sort of schedule of my own. If I don’t do this, I tend to be unproductive. Of course, lately, I’ve struggled with my energy levels. People tend to tell you to schedule every minute. For me, this is rather hard to do. There are the issues with my energy which come and go. I also seem to have difficulty with atmospheric pressure which can cause a headache and this month has had weird weather. It was bad enough that it literally took out our little dog pen fence. It was a mix of rain and muddy conditions and a wind that literally shook the house. So, the fact that the weather was up and down like a yoyo didn’t help matters. Still, one can’t stop living just because things aren’t going great.

There are tons of articles out there explaining the importance of scheduling, scheduling life, scheduling projects, etc. One short one, gives 5 reasons. https://automatedtrackers.com/5-reaso.... So, I won’t give the same discussions as are seen elsewhere. I will talk about why scheduling is important to me and how I use it to get my work done. Generally, my reasons seem to follow along with the reasons of many other articles that are out there. I just give you a view of how my mind works with regard to scheduling.

So, how do I stay motivated when I don’t feel like moving? How do I manage to still get stuff done? It’s not always easy. One thing I have to say is that it is not going to destroy anything if you actually decide not to do anything for a day. Lately, I’ve been taking the odd break. However, one of the things I tend to do is have certain days where I try to do certain things. I loosely schedule myself or another way of putting it is I add some structure to my days. People have their regular schedules where they eat and sleep at regular intervals and we know that it is healthy to have certain routine. This is no surprise. So, those life things are somewhat loosely scheduled in the day. I also have a household to maintain. So, generally my loose schedule for writing and other work is that Wed I do my blog post draft. I then get my husband the “A” of A & J PEI Treasures to give it a read over and he highlights anything that doesn’t make sense. Then the next day, I do another edit and fix the stuff he points out. By Friday, I do one last read over and get my blog post and podcast ready to be able to go out on Saturday morning. This is pretty much a schedule I stick to with regard to my blog post and podcast series.

The other thing I fit in between are laundries and other cleaning. Generally laundry is once every few days so I have a full laundry to do. My evenings, I leave for check in’s on Twitter, but mostly for crafts such as my boho sewing projects, colouring, reading and other things. It gives my husband a shot at the computer. Anything I do online at night is usually via tablet. This does result in some typos going out. Auto correct is a wonderful thing…sometimes. Then any house cleaning gets put between other things.

My afternoons, I either do some crafts like sewing or knitting or work on a writing project or photography project. For a lot of the projects, writing and photography are involved. However, when I am working on my writing, I tend to use afternoons for that. Usually early in the week before the Blog draft time. On Saturday, I make sure I get my Monday Montage done. At that time, depending on what else is going on, I may start my week official posts. That’s what I call them. I like to make a week worth of posts and have them scheduled a week in advance. This is done between Saturday and Sunday. Then any other posts, I put up after fill in. I have 3 posts per day every day on Twitter. I do check ins when I can and add when I feel necessary. I learn to do some stuff ahead. To be honest, if I’m sick, I’m not going to be very functional and it’s best I get some stuff done ahead. If you wonder how life is different for someone with a ‘disability’ or medical condition, we plan ahead. Sometimes I have to drag myself through the schedule. Other time, I accomplish a lot. Scheduling loosely works better for me. Giving myself permission not to always get as much accomplished as I would like is also part of the plan.

The one important thing about writing the blog and putting it on a deadline for writing, I don’t always have to write it on Wednesday. I sometimes do it earlier. I try not to do it later. This makes sure that I have actual time in my day/life to do the blog post. Even when I don’t feel like writing a blog post, I still make sure I come in and attempt the draft. If I can’t think of anything, I kind of skim some ideas lists. Something is always bound to appeal to me as an idea. Then I go from there. That was my approach today. Some days, the news just calls out something that sticks in my head and makes me want to write about it. Those are the easy blog posts to do. I have an idea, I have the inspiration, and I just have to get it down on the screen. At one time, one would have to get their article down on paper. Haven’t used that method since University days.

As Annie Dillard said, “A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time.” This is what makes a schedule of sorts important. If you do not have a schedule, the time slips away and nothing is accomplished. Even a loose schedule keeps one from losing track of what one is supposed to be doing. Having projects on the go gives you motivation to continue working on them. It helps you to maintain some control over the time you have in the day. Knowing I have a blog post to do and having it weekly on Saturday means that I know that it has to be done. It has to be released and it also helps people to know that there is a regular schedule. People begin to expect that the Monday Montage will show up about 10AM. The Blog Post and Podcast show up about 10AM – 11AM depending on how well I can manage the links in the WordPress Blog Post. Of course there are some things that might not be in your control. So, having a general time of release is useful. It keeps the writer on track and the followers know what to expect.

I think the most important thing one can do is put their mental and physical health first. Having something to look forward to doing and having a specific time to do it adds an element of predictability to life. It is a comfort to know that you can accomplish something even when you are not at your level best. I enjoy my writing projects, my various artistic endeavours, and my photography. In summer, the photography comes much easier as I bring my camera on all our walks. This makes it easier to schedule time to take pictures. They don’t all come out. But I love seeing nature in bloom and getting pictures ready for my various projects. I’ve always had an active mind. I seldom can sit and do only one thing at a time. I often watch documentaries and such while working on sewing or craft projects. Unfortunately, I do have too many projects in my head to ever do all of them. This does result in a list of things I might not always get to.

As Twyla Tharp has said, “I don't think that scheduling is uncreative. I think that structure is required for creativity.” So, I think that most people accomplish more if they have some sort of schedule. It requires knowing what it is that you need to accomplish and committing to getting it done. This might be the most important aspect of scheduling in some form or another. It is giving yourself notice that it is something that you think is worth doing and making sure you put time toward it. This is also what makes scheduling time for oneself and family important. You recognize what the priorities are in your life and how you want to spend your time. It makes your priorities more real and it gives recognition to the fact that time is precious.

Thanks for listening to my podcast and/or reading my blog post and thanks for your interest in A & J PEI Treasures!

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