Themed Days Boost Productivity
TLDR - Single task in the short run, multitask in the long run.
If you’re an entrepreneur or you work for yourself, or even if you just want to improve your life and make more money or get healthier, then there’s a good chance you have a lot of irons in the fire on a daily basis.
That’s good! It shows your ambition, but it can also be draining, because you’re faced with the ever present temptation to multitask. And the problem with multitasking is that it leads to more stress and getting less things done.
And we’ve all been tempted by the multitasking demon. We tell ourselves that we can handle multiple things at once. “I’m different. I can manage this.”
But that’s not the truth. Because our brains aren’t built that way. Your brain is designed to be more productive when it’s engaged in deep, focused work on one thing.
The good news is that you CAN get many things done and be super productive, but it comes down to how you manage your time. One of the ways you can do this is by breaking your work into themed days. It’s related to planning which I’ve talked to you about before.
It sounds corny, and it sounds catchy, but who cares if it works. And if it doesn’t...that’s fine. The key to habit hacks is that these are potential ideas that anyone can use. Some will work for you. Some won’t. Pick the ones that work, and be open to whatever does.
What are themed days?
Themed days means that you pick a day and focus on one task. That’s all it means. There’s a lot of different ways to work that, because it’s also important to note that themed days are flexible.
Let’s say you have a steady rotating schedule of tasks you need to focus on. Media. Budgeting. Learning new skills. Writing or Coding. Networking. If you have tasks that you have to focus on regularly, pick a day of the week and knock out all the work for that week in that area.
And feel free to be creative and corny. Call the beginning of the week Media Mondays or hump day Writing Wednesdays. But pick something that is integral to your plans and that you think fits your schedule for that day.
For example, Monday might be harder to get into *serious* work. So pick something more fun, like getting all of your social media ready for the week. Plan your media campaign for the next few days. Maybe Wednesday seems like a good day to do the grunt work, so work on the code or design for your website. On Thursday people are looking forward to the weekend...so that could be a good day to focus on networking.
I can’t think of a catchy term for “Networking Thursday” but you get the drift.
Be Flexible
Remember the key is to be flexible. Habit hacks are suggestions that you can use if they help you, but you may also have to tailor them to suit your own goals.
For example, it may not work for you to plan out your whole week this way. You might only pick some days to give a theme to. You could plan Mondays and Wednesday to be a theme and then leave the rest of the week open to a mix of different tasks.
Or you could plan out your month and just pick a few days to work with a heavy focus on important tasks. Pick a day to work on marketing. Or your budget. You may not be able to do this regularly, but if you can take down certain hard tasks, the benefits can go both ways. When you isolate hard tasks and get them done, it relieves stress that gets in the way of other tasks.
Be creative
Again, whatever works. A different mix is right for different people, but regardless, it’s good to try to work days into your schedule where you’re allowed to get a deep focus on one task. And you’ll be surprised at how creative you can be.
For example, some things may seem like they can’t work with this approach. If one of your goals is to get healthier, then that’s just something you need to do every day right?
Obviously that’s true. You need to exercise and eat healthy regularly, but if you’re focused on a diet, then you could pick one day to meal plan and prepare food for the week. And clearly this works for exercise, because we all know the memes about “leg day.” You don’t work every muscle when weightlifting, because that would be counterproductive (hint, it’s the same with your brain)!
The point is to provide focus. And focus helps you be more productive. You can theme your health goals, but that doesn’t mean it has to take up the whole day. It just means that your brain and your body are exclusively focused on one task.
Be stress free
And that is the key to why themed days can work for you...because they take away stress.
I know I say this in practically everything I tell you, but hey, there’s a reason for that!
Your brain wants your success. It wants your happiness. The people who get things done aren’t superheroes, and they aren’t built differently than you. They’re built the same way as you and me - they just know how to work within their limits to get more done.
Your brain is amazingly productive, but when it’s stressed out by all of the tasks you need to do on a daily, ongoing basis, this acts as a drain on productivity. Themed days allow you to compartmentalize and FOCUS.
Look, stress is simply about energy. When you’re always juggling a million tasks, your brain also has to process stress. It’s constantly thinking about what needs to be done and how to move resources from one area to another. When you focus on one task, all this stress is taken away and you can focus on one thing.
And when you plan this out AHEAD OF TIME it actually lets you get more done.
Work with Anthony and hit the rocket fuel 🚀button on your success!
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