Fading away is so much better than burning out.
Be easy on yourself. This blog series continues. There will be one more to finish and then I’ve got something a little different planned for you.
10. Constantly ask yourself if what you are presently working on is productive.
Obviously, this is why task lists and time blocking work because these guardrails will keep you on track. Otherwise, you will have far too many days that get away from you. The more focused you are, the more time you will have to actually invest doing the non-work things that you love.
I realize that this seems … un-fun. Lists, structure, committing to specific tasks at specific times. For those of you who know me, maybe even a little un-Dennis. I assure you it takes effort and structure to get as many weeks off in the summer as I do, and as many ski days logged in the winter. Order is liberation.
I can blow off a workday for a ski day because for 4 workdays, I’m as focussed as possible.
Productivity isn’t an accident.
11. Spend a few minutes pulling yourself together at the end of your day.
I learned this working in a wood shop when I was a university student. Take the last hour to clean up the shop, check your emails, and make a list of the first things you have to tackle when you come back in the next morning.
Get rid of the clutter, tidy your desk, clear out the coffee cups, the unruly stacks of papers, the quickly captured notes.
You deserve to walk in and feel good about it. It’s a gift first thing in your morning – a beautiful place to create.
12. Sleep.
Really good work requires you to burn calories and consciousness. Great fuel and a lot of rest are not just nice ideas, they are essential.
Your brain uses 20% of your energy when you’re resting. Can you imagine how much energy it burns when you’re creating something worth talking about? Why imagine -- you can look it up at www.brainfacts.org or you can let me save you some time. Lots. Lots and lots of energy.
Go to bed early, get up early.
Get time working for you. Rushing leads to stress, and stress sucks the will to work and the joy of life out of you. I literally hate feeling stress.
Why not get up early and actually enjoy the morning versus rush through it? Don’t have a coffee, try enjoying one and see how you feel. Waking up and putting yourself in a rush is a horrible way to treat yourself.
Entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint. Anyone can get lucky and win a sprint.
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