I love reading time management and productivity books. There’s something about getting more done in less time that gets me excited. Every time I find a new tool or technique that can help me get things done faster, my day gets so much better!
Last week, during a very fruitful meditation session, I came up with an idea to boost my productivity and I decided to test it for a whole week before getting too excited about it. Well, I did test it and it worked GREAT! OK, enough suspense. Here it goes:
“Do what you feel like doing.”
“What? Are you serious? What are you talking about?” I’m talking about listening to yourself. Sometimes you’re in the mood to talk to people. Great! Pick up the phone and call a few prospects. Meet a potential partner for lunch. If you feel like writing, blog. If you’re tired, rest. When you have energy again and feel like putting together that spreadsheet you’ve been thinking about, do that.
Why This Works
Two reasons:
- If you’re not excited about something, chances are you won’t do a good job at it. Think about it. What are your chances of closing a sale if you’re thinking, “damn, I have to call this guy again. I don’t feel like talking to him at all!”?
- When you do what you feel like, you’re happier. When you’re happier, you do things much better. Not to mention that being happier is by itself an awesome thing you can do for yourself.
Aren’t I Being a Little Naïve?
I don’t think so. I’m not saying that you should never do something you don’t feel like doing. Sometimes we have to. But I’ve found that this last week I’ve been more productive than I’ve ever been before. I wrote down a list of all my weekly priorities and worked on them in the order I felt like.
Give it a shot and let me know how this works out for you.