Back to Work, Holiday glow, no more meetings

After a lovely weekend in a lodge in a middle of the forest, I wore the holiday glow proudly at the serie of meetings lined up for me on my day back in the office.

As the day back went on, my notebook became filled up by notes to process, more emails added to my to do list to send for Monday and my work hours just vanished...

I thought:

1. No more meetings on my way back from holidays

2. I shall limit the number of meetings to one a week maximum

3. I shall always ask for an agenda

4. Delegate so others write minutes 

What else?

About sending emails on Monday

I was asked to provide an update about My Monday Email Run

It is now my third week sending only emails on Monday. It remains very rewarding, though it is long stretch of work.

Today, I started replying to emails at 6am this morning. It is now 9pm and I am on the last stretch dealing with my personal emails. Why did it take me all that long? Well today, I changed slightly my schedule. I had a meeting with a coach to support Leicester Fixers - Durgha from Flow Finder (a bit about this in this Last Update). It meant that 3hours of my time were dedicated to travelling, chatting, planning and more. 

Writing emails on Mondays also include writing articles, newsletters as well as updating websites including Quetzal and Marlefeed plus doing a bit of design work. It is required since I want to update my teams about upcoming events and resources to share. I am working towards writing most of the content to send on Monday - On Thursday instead so I can reduce the workload for Monday.

Once my Monday run is done. I have way more time to dedicate to writing, meeting with people and planning and I am well grateful for this. 

During the week, I check my emails once a day between 12-1pm. If there is anything urgent, I reply straight away otherwise I snooze an email until the following week. If I have a meeting or discussion and I am invited to send an email to someone and it is not urgent, I use my asana and write that I need to send an email on Monday to so and so.

So this it, my update about My Monday Email Run.

I hope you find it useful

My week schedule for higher productivity

Monday - Emails

Tuesday - Publishing and Scheduling

Wednesday - Funding Application writing and planning

Thursday Writing Books, News & Schedulinh Marlefeed

Friday - Clear Eliminate & Plan

Saturday - clear eliminate plan

Sunday - rest

What's Yours?

Emails only on Monday

My new experiment for productivity is to send emails only on the Monday to my collaborators. Today was my first day sending emails to everyone. What can I say, it was intense and at the same time so rewarding. I feel that my list of things to do for the week just reduced dramatically by just dealing with all my planned emails first. Now I can focus on reading, planning and more. The plans for the rest of the week is to read through email 1hour during the day to see if there is anything urgent.Otherwise, they'll be dealt with next week. 

What about you? Have you got a productivity hack?

How do I used the Stay Focused App

Did you find yourself in many instances just scrolling down Instagram,  Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn mindlessly? Did you wish you could just stop the behaviour and focus on something more productive instead?

Did you answer yes yes yes.

You are here for the treat - the Stay Focused App.

Oh you've used it already? and it did not work for you? You kept resetting the times to access your favourite app?

I tell you, you are not the only. I have downloaded the Stay Focused app several times before finding my mojo.

What changed?

Reading Tim Ferris 4-hour a week comfortable challenge of not feeding ourselves with information during 4 days

A discussion with Muslim and Christian about the heartfelt decision to fast for a set period of time.

How do I use the Stay Focused App?

When I open Instagram or any other app first thing, I ask myself did I gather everything I needed it from there. Then I log on to Stay focused, then I make the decision to fast for 5 hours on my social media. When the times up, I check again the information and then do another 5 hours fast.

It works!

I am looking to increase the fast slowly slowly so that I check my social media only once a day and even better once a week.

We will see how that goes.

I hope this helps you in your journey ;)

How to find inspiration when stuck - blog writing

Here comes the struggle again.
The mind is blank.
You have no idea what to write next.
You are trying to schedule as many blogposts as possible so you can focus on other tasks to do. (inc. ''taking over the world''). So here is my 3 top tips to write as many pieces as you can as fast as possible:

1. - think about your life purpose.
2. - think about your audience and what they need
3. - think about the next tasks you need to accomplish.

Use the blog to define more appropriately each one of them to their utmost details, present the tools that you are using to help you define them further and here you have it. More than enough material to write about.

Responsibilities are Detachable so Start Cutting them off

Take a pen and paper. 

Breathe and

Ask yourself.

What are all the responsibilities am I holding at the moment?

Write it all down.

Pause

Order them into categories

Breathe

Ask yourself,

Do I have too many stuff

Too many possessionss

too many projects

too many commitments...

Time to detach yourself from most of them

Some you may not be able too.

Other may appear unimportant and non urgent.

Some may take time to get rid of but yet appear as priorities.

Tag them and Simplify. 

You will be better for it and a model for your peers to follow.

Hacking Adulthood or maybe not

Here are some lifehacks that will change your life if you follow them through thoroughly so you can achieve the life you always dream of... Lots of Money and a nice retirement pot:

1. Wake up every morning at 5.30

 > So you can do your yoga, read a book, take a shower, have breakfast, do your meditation and write on a piece of paper what you are grateful for (i.e. you have a 40hjob, that pays you £20000 and house not completely paid yet but still) 

2. Smile at work

> Because people like people who smile

3. Overload with stuff to do, you are so lucky, use an app to help you manage it all, or get an IPAD

> it will make your life easier. you will have just one more thing to manage.

4. Cook up your food on Sunday for the week so you do not have to cook at all and have more time for yourself > ...

5. Read 2min long story to your child, they will be happy and you will be quicker in bed

6. Put an alarm on your phone so you can remember to go to bed and to wake up

7. Do some sports cos your body is the most important thing particularly if you are sitting all day

8. Go out and have fun over the weekend, avoid doing it during the week, you will be wrecked

9. Remember to clean after something get dirty or get a cleaner

10. Start again.

11. there is more... please refer to the zillions of self-help books which remind you that you are not perfect and you need fixing.

Well for the more brave, ditch the list above, ask your company to reduce your hours of work, get people together to start pestering that they want a change within their workplace, take a sabbatical and go to the seaside. start living life as an adult not as...

Single task

There is a skill that you want to acquire. You are aware it you will need more mental energy, space, time and possibly money to make its application smooth and seemingly endless. Yet, you are no willing to give up any time. You choose to multitask. The main issue is that it is not a focused way of acquiring a new skill and your other project are paying the price of your carelessness. You are taking twice as much time. Your mind is scattered. You are feeling tired. What is advisable then. Stop for an instant and focus your time and energy on one task only. You will be more efficient, faster, freer.