Peaceful productivity

Call Waiting by Nancy Seamons Crookston

Peaceful Productivity

As coaches, we work for ourselves in our businesses and coaching practices. As such, we need to be productive outside of client sessions to address the marketing and administrative tasks of a solopreneur. Beyond that, of course, we have the rest of our lives—family, friends, household, hobbies, etc. We ask a lot of ourselves being self-employed. And therefore it is absolutely necessary that maintain a certain level of productivity on most days.

It’s certainly possible and necessary to take breaks, be flexible with routines, insure adequate down time and self-care. We’re not talking about that. We are talking about the necessity of being productive more often than not. And, we are talking about how to insure that our productivity yields the desired results.

I like to call it peaceful productivity for a reason. I don’t want to feel rushed and pressured and under the gun when it comes to my productive time. I want to be in the flow, creative and effective, while at the same time feeling a gentle pull forward. None of this is rocket science but it does require attention to a few elements: your environment, your mindset, your sense of physical ease and well-being, your focus, your ability to ignore distractions, and your ability to make decisions beforehand about what you are going to sit down and spend your time on.

Tasks generally seem to fall into two categories: administrative and mundane tasks that don’t take too much mental effort (relatively easy, relatively quick, sometimes rote, sometimes black and white), and creative tasks (requiring significant effort and seemingly significant chunks of time). The first category requires something like a checklist: -respond to emails, -send invoices, -pay bills, -schedule client sessions, -return phone calls, etc.

There isn’t much amp-ing up that needs to happen in order for us to tackle these tasks and feel productive, unless for some reason we are resisting getting them done. But the second category (the more creative, less concrete category) requires a different approach. We might be dealing with indecision about what to tackle or how to tackle it (marketing for example), we might be dealing with resistance (writing a book and struggling with feeling ‘good enough’ to be an author), we might make excuses (not enough time, not enough research, etc.). Its this category (the important but not necessarily urgent)that makes or breaks our business.

So here’s what I want you to do. I want you to Ritualize Getting Started. This makes all the difference in being able to tune in, get started, and stay in the flow-in a peaceful and productive way. Ritualize Getting Started.

1. Set a beginning and end time. Short enough to stay motivated and long enough to get something done-somewhere between 30 and 90 minutes, but 45 is a good goal.

2. Set up your environment for success. Open up whatever document or program you need on your computer, or get your paper and pen ready.

3. Bring in ritualized elements like a favorite candle, aromatherapy oil, or energizing crystal like fluorite.

4. Set out a fresh hot cup of your favorite coffee or tea. Prepare all the items, do a quick sun salutation or sa-ta-na-ma meditation

5. State your intention for what you plan to work on

6. Ceremoniously set a timer for the designated time, and get started

Ritualizing the ‘getting-started’ process is amazing for helping you focus. It helps you tune into your inner strength and purpose as you set to your work. It’s well worth the 5 minutes of prep time for the peace and productivity you’ll feel as you work. It’s also a beautifully self-nurturing way to bring a sense of rhythm, flow, and femininity into a part of our work that is driven and masculine.

From On Being Fired Again by Erin Belieu

I’ve know the pleasures of being

fired least eleven times—

most notably by Larry who found my snood

unsuitable, another time by Jack,

whom I was sleeping with. Poor attitude,

tardiness, a contagious lack

of team spirit; I have been unmotivated

squirting perfume onto little cards,

while stocking salad bars, when stripping

covers from romance novels, their heroines

slaving on the chain gang of obsessive love—

and always the same hard candy

of shame dissolving in my throat;

handing in my apron, returning the cash-

register key. And yet, how fine it feels,

the perversity of freedom which never signs

a rent check or explains anything to one's family...