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If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you’ll know that the past five years have been a heck of a journey. And while I know the facts and plot points that happened along the way, when I was updating my avatar photo to match the new design, I was struck by how much I’ve changed since I first started writing here!

2008-2013

It’s a little wild, right?

I got married, decided to work for myself and became self employed after nine months of hustling non-stop, was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder & depression (hello, plot twist of the decade!) and learned to manage my symptoms, became a business partner & moved into a studio… and proceeded to overwork myself for two years straight.

Last year I when I started to work from home (love it!!) I realized that I’d been falling into the trap of productivity shaming myself and constantly being overwhelmed. Nothing about how I worked actually felt good!

I needed to take everything I’d learned about taking care of myself through dealing with depression & anxiety, and apply it to how I approached my work.

No big deal, right?

Realizing that I had been a huge source of the friction and discomfort I’d experienced at past jobs was a humbling experience, but it was also one where I started to see a lot of possibility. (Once I got past the sting!)

The motto for how I got things done in my early twenties could have been “grin and bear it”, but when I finally got brave enough to start asking for something better, I realized there was a completely different way to work!

So what is that?

To me, productivity means being able to sit down to work energized and brimming with ideas, getting the most out of every minute you sink into your passions, and making decisions that let you enjoy the experience of what you do.

I’ve blogged about how I batch my work day and made over my inbox before but if you want to bring more energy to your work and more fun to your life, these are my tips on where to start to make a huge impact, fast:

Opt out of the digital play by play

If you’re worried about email it makes sense to see them roll in as they arrive so you know what’s waiting for you, right? Unfortunately all those little “dings” and banner notifications have a real cost to your creativity and productivity.

Our brains have a very primitive stress response that can’t tell the difference between an email from an upset boss and a hungry bobcat. Every time your inbox notification pops up it interrupts you and spikes your stress response, which triggers your fight or flight instincts and all the brain chemistry that comes with it. On a chemical level your body locks down your higher abilities and puts energy into protecting you from danger… which never comes.

Those stress spikes and recovery periods wear you out over the day, and wastes the precious energy and focus you do have. Even worse? Theres no pay off because no matter how many notifications you get, you’re still going to check your email.

 

Gamify your to do list

I don’t like to use food as a reward (because I’m a chocolate monster and that’s my danger zone) but when I’m having trouble getting through my inbox or to do list I make an exception! There’s little that will make me work with more focus than when I have a little bowl of sour patch kids or M&Ms by my list and give myself a treat every time I reply to an email or check something off my list in under 3 minutes.

Call me Pavlov’s dog, but when I get stuck in a habit of procrastinating or putting things off, this can undo those bad habits in an afternoon and get me into a new rhythm.

 

There is only “Act, Reply, Schedule, Delegate, Decline”

Sometimes we forget that email isn’t about sending letters back and forth. For most of us, email actually holds lots of little tasks and research assignments. When you open an email, before you feel overwhelmed consider which categories it falls into: Act, Reply, Schedule, Delegate, Decline.

Without a system like this your inbox is like the Wild West! When you open a new email and anything can happen, from dust and tumbleweeds rolling on by to losing your Red River cart when you try to forge a river! My examples might be based on Oregon Trail, but this tool lets you view your email through a different lens so you can categorize & start taking care of business in no time.

 

Create a dedicated space outside of email to track what you have to do

Try putting in place a simple system like Google Tasks along side your email. Now you can break your email into actionable items that aren’t buried inside paragraphs, add notes for yourself, and link your to do list items to the emails they’re married to. That lets you archive things out of your inbox when you’ve dealt with them, and have them easy to find when a deadline reminder comes back.

Take a note from the inbox zero movement! It’s not about getting to zero emails, it’s about how much of your mind & energy you want wrapped up in your inbox: none.

To task track, multi platform support is the best way to guarantee you’ll stick with it, so test out a system like ToDoist.com. If you want to qualify for your email black belt, OmniFocus takes time to learn but is worth the effort and investment.

 

Build a life outside of work that you can’t wait to live.

Variety is the spice of life, sweetheart! No matter how much you love what you do (or how lucky that makes you), there is more to your life than the pace you work at or how focused you are while you do it. Creating a life you adore, slowly over time, makes it easier to wrap things up at a decent time every night, and gives you access to the support you need when things get tough.

Deciding to make things you genuinely look forward to part of your daily life is deeply joyful and rebellious, in the best way. You’re tapping into the positivity and possibility that comes from connecting with the part of you that’s in the moment and stress free.

Honestly, that makes you more fun to be with and better at anything you set your mind to!

 

Looking back at all the different “versions” of myself that I’ve been through the years, I know and love that where I am now is just another stage in the story of my life. It sounds simple, but it’s true: listen to your heart, follow your passions and work hard and you can end up in places that you never dreamed of.

And I hope these tips help you get some serious gorgeous work done today, and have fun as soon as you shut down the computer!

 

What’s a habit, strategy or system that you use to save time, and what’s one thing you use to reward yourself when you’re knocking it out of the park? Tell it to me straight: could you ever kill your email notifications?