Right ladies. Its a new year, a new month and a new week which means that its time to get motivated in whatever you need to be motivated in. Whether its university (because you've got hella deadlines creeping near) or your career (because you need to pay your bills & also feed your shoe shopping addiction) - I hope you are able to put my tips and tricks into action & get shit done!
Im generally a really motivated and ambitious person & I don't tend to fall behind on work or miss deadlines (unless I'm overworked or stressed but we'll save that for another post). The below tips & tricks come to me naturally however when I haven't got my shit together, I'll notice that a few of these have fallen by the way side and without them, I just don't function productively.
So, here are the pointers that enable me to boss it through life, stay ontop of my workload AND have a life outside of paying my bills.
Prioritise Your To Do Lists
I never realised the importance of prioritising your to do lists, until I read
How To Get Your Shit Together by Sarah Knight
(which actually prompted this post & you absolutely must read it). The thought of having multiple to do lists used to make me want to die inside because who the fuck has time FO DAT?! But, once I implemented them - they literally changed my life in a matter of days.
I have my main to do list, where I scribble down e v e r y t h i n g that I need to achieve within that month or week - however far I need to plan ahead. I then have another to do list where I take everything on my main to do list, and re-write all my tasks out, but in order of importance - (Buying that £500 bag should not be anywhere at the top of this list NOTE TO SELF LOL). Then I take the tasks at the top of that list and add them to another list called 'my must do list' OR 'if you don't get these fucking things done you are a dick' list. Apart from the first general to do list I mentioned above, I add/sort to the other two every single day - its now a part of my morning routine.
Once I've got all my to do lists in order, I then work through them accordingly. My MUST DO LIST list has to be cleared first (everyday), and then I move on to the IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE LIST and then usually by that time my day is over and I'm slumped on the sofa eating a tube of Pringles (I still have Christmas food left over so don't judge me).
Breaking down all the shit I have to get done makes things more manageable and I am now getting way more stuff ticked off than I was before. Its like fucking magic. Try the 3 list system and let me know if it works for you too!
Example; (completely made up btw)
TO DO LIST
Book hotel for Belgium trip in March
Buy new gym bag
Reply to my landlord's email
Go through my wardrobe and sort out clothes
Set up a savings account
Tweet Trump telling him he's a douchebagshitheadwankstain
Book doctors appointment for weird mark on my arm
Update my scrapbook
Pay my phone bill
TO DO LIST IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE
Book doctors appointment for weird mark on my arm
Pay my phone bill
Reply to my landlord's email
Set up a savings account
Go through my wardrobe and sort out clothes
Book hotel for Belgium trip in March
Buy new gym bag
Update my scrapbook
Tweet Trump telling him he's a douchebagshitheadwankstain
MUST DO TO DO LIST (this has to be cleared daily)
Book doctors appointment for weird mark on my arm - health is important.
Pay my phone bill - don't fall behind on bills.
Reply to my landlord's email - its polite and its important to maintain a good relationship with the person that literally can kick your ass out lol.
Now look at the breakdown of your to do lists. Don't they seem less scary and more manageable? You can usually do everything on your main to do list within a few weeks. You just have to learn how to prioritise. Once this system is in place, you can add/remove and move around your tasks to where they need to be - in order of importance of course!
Did that make sense? I hope it did. Lets move on..
Get Enough Sleep
There is a misconception that lack of sleep/early mornings and late nights, means that you are being extra productive and even more on your grind. Although I have fallen into this trap massively throughout my life, please take it from me that it is not good thing. Yes - on the odd occasion, pushing yourself to your limit can sometimes pay off, but for the most part, you feel drained and overworked. You end up being unfocused, unproductive and moody. Don't sacrifice rest to finish off your to do list because your to do list is never ending and you will probably die with one lol. Prioritise enough that you get a healthy amount of shut eye every night.
Make Sure You're Not Hungry
This may not be for everyone, but if you love your food like me then listen up lol. There have been moments where I've been sat at my desk, not being able to do anything, with a slight headache & frustration growing and then it hits me. I NEED TO STUFF MY GOB lol. Whenever you're getting shit done, tackling life, bossing your to do list - remember to have regular meals and snacks. Its good for your brain and your stomach - two very important organs I'll have you know. I literally can't function without nutrients in my body (coffee is not nutritious so don't even think about it).
Have Regular & Planned Breaks
For the same reasons as 'get enough sleep', you must also take enough breaks - even better if they're planned. I often take breaks for food and to leave the house for some fresh air. If I take unplanned breaks however, I usually accidentally splurge another £200 on ASOS, or accidentally watch another 3 episodes of Orphan Black (watch it - its fucking amazing).
Whenever planning your MUST GET DONE TO DO LIST, factor in 15/20/30mins down time throughout your day/night/task. This is to eat, catch up on Twitter or go outside and get some wonderful fresh air. In doing this you eliminate cabin fever and that feeling of 'why the fuck did i start this stupid bloody task its so boring kill me now omg'.
Be honest with yourself on how hard you're working though. Don't take a break after writing 40 words of your next assignment (woman up biaaatch) - try 400 instead!
Use Your Calendar As A Bible
My iCAL is my life, my best friend, my left breast. If its not in my diary, its not happening - thats how heavily I rely on it. I have it colour coded too because thats how much I have my shit together. Red = meetings/work (this section is shared with my management so they can add/remove whats necessary and we can all see what I'm doing when etc). Blue = health, yellow = leisure. Get it? Im a visual person, so if I see colours, it makes my life easier and I am more likely to slay my day. You are not a computer so you won't remember everything, but your calendar will. If you make plans, put it in your diary straight away. If you have a dentist appointment, put it in your diary straight away. If you have a vagina and crack wax appointment, put it in your diary straight away. You get the point lol.
Start As Early As Possible
This may only apply to bloggers/freelances/people who don't have to leave their bedrooms lol, but if you like to get shit done on the weekends too, then this could also be for you. In my opinion, the best way to plough through a long ass to do list, is to start early. I'm talking 7/8am early - when the birds are waking up. The earlier you start, the more likely you are to have a productive day. A lot of creatives work better at night but thats useless if you need to send emails (and actually get a reply) or make any other form of human interaction, like calling your wax lady because your vagina is ridiculously hairy and you cant cope anymore (me, right now). Get things out the way so you can relax at night and have some you time.
I try to start every working day by 8am even if its small tasks like scheduling tweets.
Decrease The Stuff You Have To Do
If you're constantly bogged down with shit to do, always stressed and overworked, then maybe its time to look at the reasons why. Sometimes decreasing all the crap we think we have to do is the best way to move forward and make some progress. Stop adding 'lose some weight' to your to do list, if you know damn well you only want to lose weight because your newly ex boyfriend called you a whale. FUCK HIM! Really take a long ass look at your life and all the stuff you think you have to do, and start making cut throat decisions on things you actually must and importantly want to do.
Don't Be Too Hard On Yourself
You're only human and no-one can do it all. Even the ones who get shit done, have days where they watch TV, eat an entire pizza and cry about their life (once again... me lol). If you have an unproductive way, work out why, promise yourself you won't make the same mistake twice and move on. Life is too short for unkind thoughts - especially if they're about yourself.
And remember..
Take it day by day and don't think about tomorrow until the night before or the morning. Slow and steady wins the race and getting shit done takes time. You've got this, and if you haven't, you will.
