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It’s ‘I’ day and I’ve got a quick one for you:
The Index Card Process for Focus and Productivity
I have been doing this for years and was stoked to hear it mentioned during a podcast on productivity I was listening to a while back.
Every night, after you shut down your work for the day, grab an index card (or a half-sheet of paper, or a post-it note). Take a moment and hand write three things that you need to accomplish tomorrow. Number them, in order of priority – #1 being the one that you must do first thing tomorrow. Put the card on your keyboard.
These are your morning tasks, and you’re not allowed to do anything else before these tasks are done.
Once you get these three things completed tomorrow, you can check email, get online with social media, check voice mail, etc. Â By the way, your morning tasks don’t have to be colossal undertakings. They just need to be the things you must get done first. Set yourself up for success by being real about it. My three things are sometimes a writing goal, a phone call, and making the appointments for my dogs at the vet.
Hand writing a list of morning tasks does two things:
- Each Night: It clears my head so I get settle my mind and rest, knowing I have my morning set for the important things tomorrow.
- Each Morning: It forces me to focus at a time when the house is quiet and I am my most productive.
It’s the simplest thing, but it really helps make those first few hours at your desk quite productive! It’s a very simple habit to form, and it makes you feel great. There’s nothing like sitting down, banging out your three things, crossing them off the master list, and being free to move on to the next order of business.
Onward!
Great tips! Thanks for sharing. Everyone needs a little organization, some of us more than others ;-) Glad I stumbled across your blog in the A-to-Z challenge. This is my first year. Drop by when you get a minute and leave a thought or two.
Hi Shawn! Welcome here and welcome to the A-to-Z! I’ve done it for 4? years. I’ve been doing obscure words, and words writers need. But I think I used all the word ideas I have for a while. ;) I will stop by. Thanks!
I keep a daily planner book on my desk. most of the time it keeps track of my kids doctors appointments and meetings and the like… but when I have other things to do as well I’ll write them down in the space for that day- even if it is a simple note like pay bills and sweep the floors lol ;)
Found you through the atoz challenge! *waves*!
Thanks a great idea, VL. I do the same throughout my day, using my morning tasks card as the starting point and adding as things pile on later.
Visiting during the #Challenge, finding all my fellow writers. Thanks for the hard work in creating these posts. If you have a minute, come and see what I’m up to. We’ll have a cup of tea and talk about our writing. See you soon I hope.
I’d love to sit for tea. *sigh* That’s one of the drawbacks to online friends. We have to do tea over Skype! ;0
Another #AtoZ visitor. Thanks for these posts. I love your advice.
Thank you Shirley! I hope I am able to continue sharing useful bits!
Sounds like a good plan. Lists work well for me too.
Hi Joy! I love lists! By the end of the day, my morning tasks card is full of things. Also a neat way to visualize all that got done in a day.
Love this idea of the index card list. One thing I’m finding with the A to Z challenge is that I can do some writing each day. I want to take all the tools I’m learning about on the blogs and put them to use in May!