Beer & Chocolate

I’ve been tagged. Actually, I was tagged ages ago but am just now getting around to it which is ironic considering the assignment is to write a post about productivity and any tips I may have to share on the subject.

Stephen asks me to: “Write a post on your best productivity tips. Challenge yourself by picking your single best productivity tip (although this isn’t a requirement; you can give us more if you want!)”

A productive day for me is something quite different than what it is for a lot of folks. In fact I’m still thinking I can really define it however I like. It could be a long day spent at the beach talking about shells and fish and the clouds and sea weed and eating corn dogs and wearing Ella out. That is a day filled with experience and education and activity and is productive. Or it could be a day where I sit Ella in front of two back to back movies with Play Doh while I do dishes, floors, bathroom, and get all the toys picked up and books re-shelved. That is a day spent toiling over chores that will need to be redone again soon but no less productive than the former. Or it could be a day in which I keep Ella entertained with crayons and hopscotch while updating many websites and doing laundry.

Now after I’ve thought about it, I suppose it matters not what I am doing when I am productive, what he is really asking for is something everyone can use, no matter what their post. Even when I was working in a professional office environment these held true. So, I give you, in order of importance Bombadee’s tips on being productive:

1. Get enough sleep. There isn’t enough coffee in the world to make you feel productive if you’ve had crap sleep. Unless you are working at getting a good nap.

2. Make a list of things you will accomplish in the day and then scratch them off as you go. It’s really satisfying.

3. Tell peers you are going to do a task, it helps you make the commitment to actually doing it.

I don’t know if those are revelations for anyone or not. I will also say it helps to love what you do. There are certain hobbies I have that will keep me up late into the night working in creative ways that mystify even myself. Or years pass by and it seems like just yesterday I started a thing. If you aren’t feeling that about what you do, keep looking and striving to find what it is that will give you passion and productivity will be the least of your worries. That's all I have, how about you? What makes you productive?