By: Janelle Jones
As a Libra, balance is a must-have for me. Finding my balance was a simple process when I was single, but once I became a mom, I had to figure out how to keep my balance and have my children. I found out that the main thing that I needed was a schedule. When I created my children’s schedule, I had to consider my sleep and work schedules. I find that kids typically keep the same schedule that you do. So once I got their schedule in place, I knew when I would have alone time and when I wasn’t.
I used the block scheduling method to create a schedule that worked for my family. Block scheduling is a method for organizing your work around time blocks containing similar tasks. For instance, you might use one block of time for all your meetings and appointments, so you only have to leave the office once instead of multiple times, thus eliminating travel time. Try block scheduling if you juggle many different projects/responsibilities. This method could work for you if you spend too much time in “reactive mode” and responding to emails and messages. You find your day chopped up by meetings and battle constant interruptions throughout the day. Block scheduling is also good if you struggle to find the time and mental space for big-picture thinking.
So here is how to use a block schedule to Boost Productivity.
- Prioritize your task list in advance.
- Take stock of what’s coming up for the week ahead, and make a rough sketch of your time blocks for each day.
- Review any tasks you didn’t finish at the end of every workday. Add any new functions that have come in and adjust your time blocks for the rest of the week accordingly.
- Dedicate weekly review.
I love to ground myself. I am sure you are wondering What is Grounding? Grounding yourself is balancing your physical, emotional, mental, and energy state and reconnecting them. So How do you ground yourself? Since balance is essential, I do a few other things to ensure that I get it.
- Breathe
- Prioritize your physical wellness through sleep, nutrition, and exercise
- Get out in nature
- Find magic in music
- Do something soothing and tactile
- Avoid catastrophizing
- Get a different perspective
- Identify your circle of control
- Take small steps
- Do something you’re good at
- Find support in connection
- Make friends with your inner-critic
- Root to your purpose
- Remember, everything is temporary
I also love to do a brain dump. A brain dump is a simple technique to help you declutter your mind and thoughts. To do a brain dump, you must transfer accessible knowledge about a particular subject from your brain to some other storage medium, such as paper or your computer’s hard drive. AKA: Write EVERY little thing in your mind and thoughts.
Another technique you can use is called a mind map. This technique lets you write down a central theme and think of new and related ideas that radiate from the center. Here are five steps to do a mind map.
- Choose the topic of the mind map and place it in the middle of the drawing
- Come up with three to five+ main ideas, then evenly space them in a circular formation around the mind map topic
- Draw a line from the mind map topic to each main idea
- Brainstorm supporting details such as ideas, tasks, and questions for each main idea
- Draw lines connecting each main idea to its supporting details
