How to boost your productivity instantly

I heard something this week.

You can do something great in this world, or you can play on your phone but you can’t do both.

This really resonated with me.

You see, I have had a love hate relationship with my phone for many years and like an ex that just doesn’t die this relationship keeps coming home! I hear the ring of my phone and it always sounds so aggressive!

Endless group chats and texts that I feel obliged to respond to. Most people close to me know that I just don’t respond, or it may take a few days. Now there are a few slippery people that get by the keeper. My brother’s texts with photos of my 8 week old nephew seems to have an all access pass at the moment!

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t have this kind of contact, some of the group chats that I am in I love and completely adore the banter and updates. The challenge is that when you are driven to get things done in this world it interrupts inspiration, your creativity and your motivation. It delays everything. And I can hear the clock ticking.  

So now I have timeframes and boundaries on those types of things. I only access social media once or twice a day. I tend to respond to messages at the end of the day. I’ll check emails at the start of the day. I know that these may not work for everyone, but they work for me and keep me focused on what I want to achieve.

In today’s society and especially as social workers it’s almost a badge of honour to be constantly responding and reacting, and the problem with that is, that it puts you out of alignment. It makes our thoughts race, we chase other people’s demands and it can be addictive. Even in the midst of the most crisis driven roles, you can take a breath and slow it all down. I know because I have done those roles driven by chaos, death and overwhelm.  

In your life, what is a choice and what are the things that you are reacting and responding to on autopilot?

Small constant conscious choices throughout the day make a huge difference at the end of the day.