Extreme Productivity
As a full-time freelance writer who typically juggles as many as 13 assignments at different stages of completion at one time, I’m very interested in increasing my productivity. I want to be handling my various tasks, from interviewing and researching to writing and invoicing, as efficiently as possible.
Why the big push for productivity? Why not relax a little? Well, I find that being more productive:
1. Helps me have more free time to spend with my husband, my baby, and my outside interests. After all, I have more free time later when I focus on a task and just get it done than when I dither around all day putting out small fires and not getting my most important tasks finished.
2. Makes me happier. When I have those inevitable days where I feel like I’m spinning my wheels and nothing gets done, I feel unhappy. When I’m productive, get my work done quickly, feel “in the zone” on my assignments, and come up with new ways to do old things, I feel excited and yes, even joyful.
I’ve been on a productivity kick this week, and I made several changes that are helping me do my work better and faster:
1. I had my husband change my password to the most time-sucking writer’s forum. I love this forum, really I do, but I find that I automatically check it every time there’s a pause in what I’m doing or thinking. It’s a way to procrastinate, a completely thoughtless action that breaks my concentration and makes it harder to get my work done. Even when Eric changed my password, I’d find my fingers twitching towards the tab where I usually had the forum open whenever I got stuck on a sentence in my article or needed to complete a difficult task. That soon passed, though, and now I can focus much more intently that I did before.
2. I downloaded an extension for Firefox called BlockSite. I used this extension to block a couple other writer’s forums as well as favorite timewasters like icanhascheezburger.com and failblog.org. Again, I found myself wanting to click through to those sites every little while, but the feeling soon passed and now I don’t even try.
3. I downloaded the donationware iGTD for Mac. This is a computer-based version of Getting Things Done context-based lists and projects. So far I’m using it only as a list-making tool, so I’m probably using only about 10% of the functionality of this software. iGTD lets you note the priority and effort required for various tasks, put tasks on hold, easily add in entire documents and website links, and more.
4. I downloaded the free software Freedom (also for the Mac). This software will disable your networking for any amount of time from 10 minutes to eight hours. This means you can’t surf the web at all. The only way to get back online before the time is up is to reboot your computer, which really helps you resist the urge to try to pop online. This is great for when you need to actually write an article and all your research is already done.
5. I do boot camp every day. I’ve mentioned on this blog that once or twice a week, I have a “writer boot camp” with my buddy Jennifer. We call each other every hour and go over what we did in the last hour and what we plan to do in the next hour. This helps me ward off that terrible feeling that no matter what I’m doing, I should be doing something else. I tell Jennifer what I plan to do, and somehow that cements in my mind for the next hour the fact that this is exactly what I need to be doing right now. Anyway, understandably Jennifer can’t do boot camp with me every single day. So on the days when I don’t have boot camp with Jennifer, I now have it with my writer husband instead. Now I get the benefits every day!
Whew! That was quite a productivity kick, and I feel so energized. I’m not only getting my assignments and other tasks done, but I’m making a lot of progress on a book proposal I’m working on with my life coach (which is easy to procrastinate on since it doesn’t have a deadline attached). I also leave my office in the afternoon feeling like I accomplished everything I needed to do, so I can go home and fully enjoy being with my family and friends.
Have you come up with any cool productivity tricks lately? I’d love to hear about them! [lf]
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Aug 9, 2009 productivity
Freedom looks like something I might find useful, as my main procrastinating takes place on the web. It’s just too tempting at times. I’ve actually got so annoyed with myself in the past that I’ve taken my laptop half to pieces and unplugged the wireless card. Extreme!
As for new tips, I recently did an experiment which really worked, even though it was a bit unusual. Basically, I filmed myself (well, stop-motion so lots of photos) editing my novel with the promise that I’d share the results with the world. It forced me to stay in one place and write, because I knew I’d get rumbled if I didn’t. I posted the video on my blog and shared it with my readers.
Again, extreme! But successful.
I think that productivity techniques are especially crucial for freelancers, considering the fact that we’re responsible to ourselves at the end of the day — rather than some external authority figure.
Personally, I’ve found that being able to see my to-do list for the day as I work helps, especially as I start marking things off over the course of the day. The visual reminder that I’m actually making progress keeps my motivated.
A while ago I designed this Adhd box that was supposed to revolutionize my productivity… I put buttons in drawers for completed tasks like a 3d version of a star chart. It hasn’t actually been much help to me, but at least it’s pretty, and maybe someone else will find it more useful. http://hadesarrow.com/blog/2009/01/06/a-big-box-of-adhd/
I now use the iPhone app “things.” That was $10, but for me completely worth it. I’m still not the MOST productive person in the world but I actually get things done (consistantly!) and rarely get that “I should be doing something but I can’t think what” feeling.
Freedom does look pretty interesting. I also find that if I go longhand and get away from the computer entirely, then I get much more writing done. It also just helps my train of thought. Thanks for the suggestions!
Thanks for your comments!
Iain, filming yourself — good idea! But does it work for you on a daily basis? Maybe you should start 24/7 IainCam. ;->
Thursday, where do you keep your list so it’s always visible?
Meagan, WOW! That is a beautiful ADHD box. Everyone, go look at it!
You’re welcome, Joshua!
You had to block yourself? I laughed, then remembered that I had to mark off calendar days to get myself off a seductive site called Women on the Web. I was the only anti-admin person on it, it seemed, and people were mean to me, so I left. I went back a year later, and it had reversed–I was in the majority. So then it wasn’t as much fun. I can’t win.
Linda,
I was interested in your comment about blocking writer’s forums. How do you deal with forums now – have you banned them completely, or do you have some limited time you give them? Also, have you honed them down to just certain forums, or those you find most useful?
Without co-workers around, I find forums useful to hear the concerns of other writers. However, the forums I know of tend to be mainly newcomers, which is fine, but the questions aren’t as useful to me anymore. So as a result, the time I spend there has decreased in its usefulness.
I’m able to limit use of forums w/o any special tricks, but I would like to make time there more useful somehow, not sure how that would be. if you’ve found any tricks perhaps that’s a subject for another post!
Star, too weird!
Debbie, I blocked the forums 100%. If I NEED to go on them I can unblock them. I may also unblock them if I feel I have a handle on the habitual surfing. But I find that if I have questions, I can get better, more thoughtful answers from my writer friends who I know in real life. I started a mastermind group with three writers I respect, and when any of us have questions we turn to the other three. That way we don’t need to rely on forums full of strangers! Is there any way you can meet with some writers in your area? Maybe there’s a meetup.com group, or you can use those forums to find local writers to meet. You can also cultivate offline relationships with those writers on the forums who have the same goals and are at the same point in their careers. Good luck!