Scenario: You’ve got your coffee in your favourite mug, you’ve got a mellow flow rolling through your noise cancelling headphones, you’ve got a blank Google document in front of you, cursor blinking. And you’re fighting off the mad urge to check your Insta feed.
What if it’s not motivation that’s blocking your productivity but momentum?
Some days start off like you’re pushing a boulder up a hill. On days like these, blank pages are intimidating and the siren song of social media calls you louder than ever. But just like that boulder, if you can crest that monster over the hill, things will pick up speed.
The first step in this scenario is pretty obvious – take the first step. Get started, one task in front of the other. If you’re unsure what the first step should be, write out all the tasks you want to get done today, breaking down bigger tasks into smaller, actionable steps.
Do the toughest task first.
When you take on the toughest, most intimidating task on your list first it’s called eating the frog. Brian Tracy, author of [affiliate] ‘Eat That Frog!’, developed this system of beating procrastination based on an anecdote by Mark Twain:
“Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”
Tracy suggests the highest performers will “develop the routine of ‘eating your frog’ before you do anything else and without taking too much time to think about it.” And as Twain says, the rest of the day will be an easy downhill coast from there.
Work in batches.
Consider this the mise en place of online business. This french term is often used in kitchens to describe the act of organization and preparation prior to beginning a recipe. When working in batches, this could mean doing all your content research before writing a series of blog posts, recording a number of podcast episodes in a row, or compiling your expense receipts.
Working in batches means you can set aside time blocks for tasks, i.e., entering your past week’s expenses into accounting software every Tuesday morning rather than one at a time or as they occur.
Work in seasons.
Seasonal work is a step further in the same direction of batching. Many podcasters use this method, similar to the season of a television show. Rather than finding a guest every week, they may source 12 guests at a time to create a 12-week season. Then they take a break from producing before beginning again.
While working in seasons could mean that you complete tasks in multi-week blocks for future distribution, it can also mean that you schedule your work around the ebb and flow of your year.
Scheduling your work around your year may mean that parents don’t publish during their children’s summer break. For those affected by Black Friday and holiday rushes, publishing might pause or slow to reflect this busier period. During slower times of the year, you may pound out content and put additional focus on creating products.
To best utilize this momentum building technique, plan your year in advance. (Create yourself a replicable template so you can use it for the next year, too.) This plan will inform your monthly, weekly, and daily task lists and allow you to work backwards from your goal, as well.
Watch out for momentum roadblocks.
- Multitasking is never as productive as we hope.
- Discourage disruptions and interruptions.
- Turn off your notifications.
Studies show that when we lose our flow it can take us at least 15 minutes to regain our focus. This means that when we step out of our zone, it’ll take 15 minutes to focus on the new task and, once accomplished, another 15 minutes to return to our original task.
Keep in mind, too, that perhaps what’s really holding you back from your flow of genius is the urge to do something you enjoy. Be sure to set aside time for yourself and the activities that bring you joy.
Do you have a playlist for your productivity? Tunes that help you get into the flow? Tune us in – share your go-to songs in the comments below.
