I was published in the FutureFemales.co blog, and the theme for November was around Productivity.
Here’s the introduction to the article, where I discuss Paul Graham’s ‘Makers style’ and ‘Managers style’ time management, and how understanding these different styles can help you be more productive.
PILOT YOUR WAY TO PRODUCTIVITY
Flow, also known as being ‘in the zone’, is that wonderful state where we can be most productive. When in this state of flow, we get to unlock our potential. It is when we are so zoned into the task at hand and have that enjoyable feeling of being energized and focused. Time seems to disappear for a bit, and we get so much done.
Yet it’s a resource we sometimes find difficult to reach in today’s always on, instant gratification culture where everything and everyone is vying for our attention.
We get into the habit, or in the reactive spiral, where we are constantly trying to just cope, and keep on top things, putting out fires, one after the other.
We rarely get the chance – or give ourselves the opportunity – to step back, find the root causes, deal with them and set things up so that we can prevent the fires in the first place.
Time management is one of those resources that can give us this chance, a chance to turn things around, if we have developed effective ways to manage how we use our time.
TIME MANAGEMENT
The way we manage our time should ideally include strategies to be more proactive and get the most out of our time. And it should also be made up of strategies to also deal with crises as they come up – because life does happen despite our best intentions and plans.
One of the ideas I have found most useful for myself and those I coach to improve their time management skills, is…
