616 - Ultra Productive People Understand How Different Time Passes
Organize 365 Podcast
Understanding Time Blocks and Embracing Flexibility
This chapter explores the perception and segmentation of time for effective planning. Through a personal story about a jury duty dismissal, the hosts illustrate how unexpected changes can reshape schedules and priorities.
Ultra productive people think about time differently and likely have kids that are older and are not totally dependent on them. When you are aware of HOW time passes, you can be very intentional and that results in productivity on a whole other level. I wanted to share how a normal person, a productive person, and an ultra productive person sees time. 42% of our lives are lived habitually. Ultra productive people audit their habits to support their goals to accomplish them faster.
One Day
A normal person has a general idea of how their day will go and they’ll try to check everything off the to-do list that never gets done. A productive person usually has a morning and night time routine that is habitual - they’re on autopilot. They have all of their work on their calendar, too.
However, an ultra productive person will have reviewed the plans the night before and have overarching goals for each day. I shared that mine are Monday/Thursday/Saturday; I am focused on the PhD. If a little free time comes my way on one of those days, I will do something to move my studies forward. Tuesday and Wednesday are for Organize 365®. Fridays are catch all to take care of loose ends or finish a task that kept getting pushed off earlier in the week. And Sundays are for family. However, if football is on I know I am off the hook and I can do something I’d like to do, like a puzzle or whatever.
One Week
Now let’s look at the differences when it comes to one week. Normal people are looking for anything out of the ordinary that may be coming up. Productive people know how to accurately anticipate how long tasks will take them and schedule the work accordingly.
But next level, ultra productive people have everything on their calendars. They have reviewed the week and are prepped and ready. They know drive time, how long breakfast takes, if they have time to start a new task, where they can squeeze in a bathroom break, when they are paying bills, and things like how much time they spend with their families. This also allows flexibility because they know how long things take and what they can squeeze into small pockets of time that become available, possibly something from next week to get further faster.
One Month
Again, a normal person is going to look for anything special, out of the ordinary that they will need to plan, like birthdays, holidays, or meetings. This person also has a monthly grocery list and to-do list and chores.
An ultra productive person is aware of the energy of that time of year. Summer may not be the best time for a remodel with the kids home. Or maybe it is because you can play outside. They think ahead of ways to reduce anxiety. Are trips scheduled too close? Do you have the right balance of activities to keep your kids happy? Before amazon, I’d buy the kids things from their wish lists to avoid the stress of trying to find it at a good price during Black Friday or, heaven forbid, telling the kids the store sold out.
Two Months/Quarterly
Some months lump together. A great example is November and December. Just look at those two months like an 8-week month. Which leads me to the planning days that we do three times a year. That’s the cycle because that’s how the energy is broken up. Three mini years, LOL. We plan for the most productive weeks and the holidays/winter being September to December, then January to April where you may plan a spring break trip or a house project, and then May to August, when the kids are out of school and it’s summer. Tag you’re it, the camp counselor; hope you planned on it! But you also consider time. Does Monday to Friday look different than Saturday or Sunday? Do you need to change chores to a different day? Will you be experiencing a Golden Window? When we understand time, we can better plan to get ultra productive. And that’s why we prep planning day and have planning day.
Food for thought until next week - I got called into jury duty. Right before we were to be seated, we were notified the parties had reached a settlement and we were done for the day and actually the next two days; so basically three days. What would you do if you got all that time back?
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