Are you a grasshopper?

I've just received a text from my best friend and I can really relate to what she said.

"Supposed to be writing. Finding my attentions are diverted to too many areas and not progressing in any area due to grass hopping about. Think I need to focus and manage my time more effectively!"

As a bit of back ground, my best friend has just left years of 9-5 working and is striking out on her own - exciting times! I'll be there to support and help her, and get her business online too!

I replied to her text:

"Yes, these new ventures can be time consuming and obsessional. A lot of it's trial and error, working out what works, what's worth your time and knowing when/if to ditch it. You really have to take control of it. I am still trying to manage it lol."

I think even the most focused individuals find themselves 'grass hopping' about at times. I know I do.

We have so many exciting ideas and also some mundane things to do, that it's easy to get distracted and jump from something that peaks our interest one minute, to something else that is vying for our attention the next. We want to do everything and we want to do every thing right now!

I'm still working on the best way to manage my time, and I think that's something that will be continual and evolving as my work and goals grow.

As an experiment, I am keeping a spread sheet (on google docs) and tracking how I spend my time.

Isn't it pretty? ;)

After a few weeks I'll turn it into a graph and see how I'm spending my time exactly.

However, just this exercise alone has made me more aware of when I am grass hopping, when I am not being productive and working towards my goals and where I can improve.

For example, I've been aware that this year I haven't been doing as many social things - mainly because I've been concentrating on work and my goals. Looking at the spread sheet I realised I really do need to spend more time with friends - it's always great to see them, plus it will go towards giving me a more balanced lifestyle.

I try to eliminate distractions when I'm working at home. No tv. Occasional radio. Sometimes I even turn twitter off!! (That's hard!)

I have asked my friends and family to help too when it comes to phone calls. When you are deep in concentration at work and then you get a social call you have to make a mental switch to accommodate the interruption. And then, of course, you have to switch back to work mode. It's not always as easy as it sounds. Your brain will be on a different tangent now and you will have to get it back on track.

So, I've asked my friends and family who would be prone to call during the day, to call me after 6pm (unless it's an emergency of course). It's working out really well.

Next time you find yourself jumping from one thing to another, take control of that grasshopper!

Share

Subscribe by email:





Delivered by FeedBurner

Read more...

When you write things down, you get things done!

When you write things down, you get things done. At least that is my experience.

I write things down all the time. I make notes of ideas & things to do.

This is how I store them. Each idea/thing to do has a little square piece of note paper. I store them in a little clear plastic container that comes with the square paper. As soon as something pops into my head that I think I need to do something about, I grab a clean sheet and write it down. This can lead to a very paper strewn desk by the end of the day!

I routinely (when it occurs to me) go through the paper square and re-prioritise them. Higher priority go to the top of the pile, or even their own separate pile. Sometimes there are 3 piles, in order of different urgency. Occasionally when I review my note, it's no longer relevant or I've gone off the idea so it gets binned.

There are currently about 400 to-dos for me to do. The pile doesn't really ever go down and I'm accepting of that fact now. No sooner do I execute one idea, another 2 will appear to take it's place! I guess I should worry if I ever get through all the to-do's, it will mean I am not thinking and creating!

As soon as I've done what that little piece of paper tells me that I need to do, I make a paper ball and aim for the waste paper bin - often missing. It's a good day when the bin is over flowing and little coloured pieces of paper are scattered around the bin!

I much prefer the pen and paper method of keeping track of things. Even though I am online in pretty much every other area, I just can discard my old tools for new on this occasion. I think I've dipped into Remember The Milk and Evernote, but neither lasted for more than the time it took to open an account and add things. I guess it's just not my preferred medium in this area.

"Yeah okay Karen, we get it, you like bits of paper and you don't like keeping your to-do list online! What's your point?"

I'm getting there! :)

Before I took to making a note of things, I used to get around the things eventually, no rush, put it off for another day, there's always tomorrow. I always finally got round to things, but hey, why to do day what you can put off to tomorrow? Meh.

What I have noticed over the last few years is that by writing things down, they actually get done faster! I achieve my goals no matter how big or small and none are overlooked or forgotten about. My level of productivity has soared! And it continues to increase with each passing month and year.

By writing things down you are making a commitment to do something for yourself. If I threw away all my bits of paper, I would be throwing away all my dreams and ambitions - I couldn't do that to myself. By making a note, you are marking a point of reference, you take it out of your brain and into another media relieving yourself of having to remember everything. Whatever you write it may be something that you will do in a day's time. It may be something you will do in 20 years time, but studies show that you increase the chances of making something happen if you write it down.

So, I've decided to take a few of my written-on-squares-of-paper-ideas and put them on my blog. These are some of the biggest goals I have & the most important ones too.

• Keep the 4am Project going. There is a huge momentum behind it and I want to continue the success of the 4th April and the past year. When I look back at all that's happened and how it's grown I'm quite simply amazed, immensely proud and grateful. I have invested much time and effort and cannot see it fail for any reason. I have ideas for the project such as an exhibition starting in Birmingham and then elsewhere, a book , and to take the project out onto the road at art and photography festivals in this country and abroad.


• Go to New York city for 6 weeks in September/October. I want to go for 6 weeks as I want to experience, as much as I can, what it's like to live in another city/country. I have a yearning for travel and NYC is calling me. I want to document my visit; blog, photograph, video and record using my social media skills to the max. It would be great to take the 4am Project out there too. Correction. I want to take the 4am Project out there too.


• To be able to continue doing what I love for a living. Doing what I am doing now brings me freedom and happiness. I treasure that.

Okay! Enough to be getting on with? I think so! Do you?

Of course, now I have to figure out a way of making all this happen! All of the above is going to be a real challenge. Is failure an option? Yes. But it's not an option I am going to even consider.

I'd love your input. How do you make things happen? How do you keep track of what needs to be done? Any suggestions for those ambitious goals?

Share

Subscribe by email:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Read more...