How to Find the Rhythm in Your Day
by Sean Platt on March 18, 2009
in blogging
Though each of us is different, we are all creatures and like it or not, creatures carry habits like turtles carry shells. Finding the rhythm that works best for you is an essential step in pulling yourself from meandering days to flourishing weeks. For me, I used to bounce between tasks like the dribbling of a ball, unwilling to stay focused on anything for any longer than the ding of an email would allow.
Needless to say, this was unproductive. As my plate grew fuller, my need for focus expanded, and I found there are definite times of my day suited to particular tasks.
From a hundred strategies, it is parsing my days into effective fragments that has had the most impact in boosting my overall output. I find I routinely have a stretch in early morning to early afternoon when I can consistently fire on all cylinders. My mind is clear, my coffee has kicked in, the caffeine is caressing my shoulders, and I feel creative, eager, and ready to roar.
This is the best time to turn off tweetdeck, ignore my inbox, and make my fingers fly across the keyboard. If I use this span of time to my fullest potential, I can close the lid to my laptop two hours later feeling surfeited with accomplishment.
Of course every sunrise is followed by a sunset and I invariably face dead spots in even the most delicious of my days. These nooks and crannies use to frustrate me, rendering me aimless, useless, and tired. My productivity during these patches would amount to little more than nothing, every to do only reminding me that what I really wanted was a nap. This, it turned out, was a grand time to bounce about a bit.
Open Tweetdeck and see what’s hit the inbox. Look at my reader, maybe drop comments. If I really want to party down, I can even go for a walk.
The point is, you really want to use your minutes unless you want your minutes to use you. The best way to find your best rhythm is to play around with different schedules. You will know when the right one clicks because you will hear the whisper of certainty start to compliment your day. Don’t be a slave to something just because it’s what you are already doing. Conversely, know that just as our taste buds change, so do our habits. Don’t be afraid to try new things and adjust your schedule.
We are creatures of both habit and evolution, it’s okay to toss them together.
Related Websites -
Save Time, Money and Space in Over 80 Ways If you're looking for handy gadgets, tools and various items that can save you time, money or space (or all three!) this list of more than 80 top products is just what you need. Everyone's got saving money on their minds these days. Some of us are always looking to...... - Review: Wimbledon - The Official History of the Championships by John Barrett The Wimbledon championships began their life all the way back in 1877. They were simply a summer past time back then, but now they are a worldwide covered two week championship in June that are held every year. This book was endorsed by the England Club, and chronicles the development......
-
Compounding and the Rule of 72 The reason why it is so important for you to start saving early is the magic behind the concept of compounding and the rule of 72. People who wait until they are later to begin saving are going to have to save much more and much more quickly in order...... -
2010: The Best of Times or the Worst? Pictured above is a graph of mortgage resets. In simple terms, a mortgage reset is when a mortgage comes due. In normal times, refinancing was a simple process…but these are not normal times. Some points of interest: 1. In September 2008, the mortgage resets hit $35 billion that month....... -
Twitter - Marketing Tool? or Waste of Time? Part 2 I won't tell you that you MUST use Twitter only that you should look at the investment of time that Twitter requires and judge whether using Twitter will add to your bottom line. I believe that Twitter WILL add to your bottom line if you follow many of the basic......
I’ve found ‘motivation’ is all about ‘rhythm’, Sean.
If I have no clear path or direction, or have no task planned and ready to start after the current one is finished, I find I just stop working.
The best way for me to be motivated and find my rhythm is to plan my day the night before. I open up my Blackberry planner and schedule tasks with challenging deadlines. I find if I give myself less time than I would normally, I always get the task done.
Jamie
Jamie Harrop’s last blog post..How to Find the Perfect Blog for Guest Blogging (Case Study)
http://tinyurl.com/cwguww — George Gershwin 1934 playing “I’ve Got Rhythm.” Now that’s rhythm old school style.
As for me, it’s tough to find a rhythm when I know I will be interrupted at any moment.
I’m personally working on this right now. I need to schedule my time for batch posting, guest posting, writing an ebook, even taking the dog for a walk.
It helps with productivity, motivation (as Jamie says) and is just all around healthier.
One of my pet peeves now is someone saying “I don’t have the time.” especially if it’s prefixed with “I want this but…”. Hey I have news for you. You have the same amount of time as everyone else, learn to prioritize.
Sorry, bit of a rant day today.
Marc’s last blog post..Giving Appreciation and Honor To Entrepreneurs
Jamie: I do exactly the same thing, well, minus the Blackberry. When I sketch out the following day I am 100% of the time more effective. This makes it absolutely mind blowing when I don’t do this simple task.
Lori: It’s hard to do better than Gershwin. Thanks for that, and the quote earlier. You are feeding my brain in all kinds of ways, Lori. Thanks.
Marc: Scheduling has an exponential effect on my productivity. I find it difficult to believe it wouldn’t work for others as well. You’re absolutely right. No one gets more minutes of daylight than anybody else.
I think we’ve got different rant-o-meters, Marc! That didn’t sound like ranting…you’re spot on. We’ve all got the same amount of hours in the day.
“As my plate grew fuller, my need for focus expanded,”
This line struck me as important, Sean. Sounds like you successfully stopped everything merging under the big headings’ blogging’ or ‘writing’. Writing comments isn’t the same as answering them; answering emails isn’t the same as twittering. Writing guest posts isn’t the same as writing your own creative stuff. If we can analyse all the things we do and why we do them, then we can figure out when we’re in the best mood to do each activity.
For me, the most crucial thing in life is to analyse what our roles and values are, what matters MOST, before we focus on what the goals are. It’s a bit like having a ‘To Be’ list as well as a ‘to do’ list. That way, it makes it so much easier to avoid overwhelm and to find the best rhythm and time for everything.
I have daily, weekly and long term goals for all of my roles, not just roles I’ve given myself like ‘writer’ or ‘coach’. I have goals for my role as a mum, a daughter, a wife, a friend, a homemaker etc and I honour all of them. If those goals don’t get written down and respected, it’s so easy to convince ourselves that career comes first.
In the Bigger Picture, there are rhythms too. My dad’s in his eighties and needs me more now than ever. Kids grow up and leave home so it makes sense to enjoy them as much as practicality allows when they’re young. In the winter, I enjoy being inside writing at a computer more than I do in the summer.
Thanks, Sean – enjoyed the post and the comments!
Marc—That is one of my pet peeves too! In fact, instead of saying “I don’t have time,” I have learned to be honest with myself and say what I REALLY mean: “I choose not to spend my time on that today.”
Sean– I loved this: “The point is, you really want to use your minutes unless you want your minutes to use you.” I am fond of saying something similar: “If you don’t control life, life will control you, and if something else is in control, that makes you the victim.” But, the victim mentality is another pet peeve topic altogether.
Randi’s last blog post..His Dentist Would be Proud
@Randi Sounds a lot more diplomatic to what I say to people at times; “It’s not a priority right now”. Talk about truth hurts!
And don’t get me started on the “Woe is me”/victim mentality
Marc’s last blog post..Giving Appreciation and Honor To Entrepreneurs
Janice: If I let everything simply fall under one or two umbrellas such as blogging or writing, I do believe I would have drowned quite a long time ago. I am like you, I have daily, weekly, and long term goals to keep up with. Fortunately, there are many tools to help with the tasks. My favorite usually just ends up being good old fashioned penn and paper.
Randi: I’m with you, don’t get me started on the victim mentality. No me gusta and I live in California where it’s thick in the air.
Writer Dad’s last blog post..Mia on the Mic
Sean,
Great post. I love the mornings because it is quiet and I utilize my creativity then until it runs out.
The first thing I do in the morning, after I exercise, meditate, and study, is read my emails, unplug the phone, and then get to creating.
Normally, I do not turn on my tweetdeck until I am done, and I don’t check my emails again until the end of the day unless I am expecting something important, then I check it at noon.
I notice that exercise and eating nutritious foods help with my creativity because of the energy it generates.
You are very poetic with words, btw.
Elizabeth Stanfill
Elizabeth Stanfill’s last blog post..DESTRESS YOURSELF WITH AFFIRMATIONS
Elizabeth: Yeah, nothing beats the morning for me either. When the sun is young and my coffee is hot, that’s by far my most creative time of the day. Thanks for the compliments, I hope to see you around.