Episode 126: One Productive Hour a Day
Often enough we tell ourselves "if I just had more time, I could get everything done” - well, what if you actually made LESS time?
What would it be like to make the new goal just ONE HOUR of productivity a day - how much could you get done? What would change? How would you honor that time?
In this episode, we'll be exploring what ONE HOUR of productivity can do for you, your week, and your next month, and how you can structure it to optimize your outcomes.
Let’s get into the episode….
Links mentioned during the show:
Steps to set yourself up for your first Productivity Hour:
How can you set up a productivity hour? Well for your first hour this week I want you to do this:
Get out a blank journal and ask yourself this: What are all of the tasks that I've been putting off doing? What are the reasons that I've put off doing these things?
Usually, it's not the task itself but that the task is actually tied to additional or "pre-work" tasks that must be completed, figured out, or found BEFORE we can actually take action.
Do a brain dump of everything going on in your head - if you need steps for this, make sure to grab the Daily Productivity & Brain Dump Book and listen to episode 53 where I talk about Strategies to Supercharge Brain Dumps, Reduce Overwhelm, & Declutter Your Brain.
Ask yourself, what's ONE thing I could work on that would give me the biggest return on investment?
If you're a business owner this could mean promoting a product you have that could result in additional income.
If you're feeling drained, this could be an action or a habit change that results in more energy.
If you're working on a longterm project like remodeling the kitchen, this could be gathering up the cost sheet and finally contacting your contractor. More often than not what we are delaying are simple actions and once we make time to do them, we start the momentum of a given project.
Transcript:
You're listening to episode 126 of The Mindful Productivity Podcast. I'm your host, Sarah Steckler, and today we're gonna be talking about what would happen if you simplified your days down to one productive hour a day. Now, this episode is for you. If you're thinking, how on Earth am I gonna get the things done that I need to do when it feels like my days are just totally running amok and taking advantage of all of my time and I can't seem to focus. I can't seem to get the right things done and you're thinking, how can I time block?
How can I completely revamp my schedule and in doing someone and having that desire, you're actually not making any progress. So today we're going to simplify it, and I'm going to ask you to think about what it would be like to just start with one productivity hour a day this entire week. If you're thinking that this could be a game changer, I'm telling you, it absolutely could. So keep on listening and let's get into it.
Welcome to The Mindful Productivity Podcast. I'm your host, Sarah Steckler, and this is the place to be to live a more mindful and productive life. If you're ready to turn daily Kos and to calm and start your days with intentions, then get ready to join me as we dive deep into mindful living and personal productivity. It's time to connect with your true self so you can live the life you want to live.
And it all starts. Now. If you're like me and you have a creative brain and it's nonstop and you're constantly wondering, what am I supposed to do with all of these ideas? And how am I supposed to make a decision on what I actually act on and what I actually focus on when so many things at once sound like they'd be super fun that I want you to pause this podcast right now and make sure that you go grab a copy of my daily Productivity and Brain Dump book.
You guys, this is the first tool and resource that I recommend that any of you go and use right away, especially if you're a new listener to this podcast because I'm telling you it will change the way you look at your day and your focus project, and it will give you so much more mental energy and clarity. I am telling you. So please go pick up a copy and then make sure to tag me on Instagram. I'm at Mindful Productivity Blog and let me know how it changes your days.
We're going to be talking about Brain Dumps a little bit in today's episode, so you definitely want to make sure you have that book in your cart and on its way to you so that you can utilize the things that we talk about in today's episode. You can find your copy on Amazon. You can also get a direct link to it by going to Mindful Productivity blog. Com BDB for Brain Dump book. Often enough, we tell ourselves if I just had more time, if I just had more time, if I could just have a longer time block in my schedule, well, I would be able to do this and, well, what if you couldn't?
What if you actually didn't have any more time and you never would? What would that change about how you looked at productivity and what you were capable of doing in a smaller amount of time? What would it be like to make the new goal of just 1 hour of focus productivity a day? How much could you really get done? What would change? And how would you honor that time a little bit differently? In this episode, we're going to be exploring what 1 hour of productivity can do for you, for your week, for your month, for your entire year, and how you can structure it to optimize your outcomes before we get into different ways to structure and our productivity, I want to come back to what is productivity in the first place.
This whole podcast is about mindful productivity, about finding ways to make and create sustainable productivity in your life. That's not just about hustle and getting things done, but it also takes into the fact that you're human, you're a human being and you're not a machine. So what is productivity, right? Well, being productive really, simply, I believe, means that you're taking action that is aligning with your intention. I'll say that again, productivity means that you're taking action in ways that align with your intention. If you want to get a project done by a certain date, then being productive for that means you're going to be taking the necessary steps each day to meet the deadline.
Now, if you really need to take a solid weekend to recharge and stay off your phone, then being productive is going to look like resting. And also, I think it's important to notice to note that we don't need to be productive all the time in order to be worthy of the things that we want in our life. Productivity is simply a mode of action, and its success or efficiency depends on what our desired outcome is. What our true intention of that time really is. If you look at the definition of productivity, there's a couple different ways that it's defined.
It's the state or quality of producing something, right? It's the effectiveness of productive effort, right? In the terms of rate or output per unit or input. Right. But if you look at the ecology definition, which I think is fascinating, productivity is actually defined as the rate of production by an individual population or community and also the fertility or the capacity of a given area or habitat to produce something. Now that is actually really fascinating. Right. So, for example, they have an example here that nutrient rich water are going to have a higher productivity in producing whatever it is that they're growing, right.
And if you think about productivity in terms of capacity, then you really realize how important it is to take care of yourself, because if you are not able to do something at capacity or do something or take into account the quote, unquote fertility, the things that you have at your disposal, the energy you have, the mental Samina, the resources that are at your fingertips or your ability to know how to access those things. Right. We thinking of burnout or all these other reasons or overwhelm or all these other reasons we sometimes can't access the things that will help us be productive.
If you think think of productivity in those terms, then it's really easy to understand and remind ourselves how important it is that we take care of ourselves, that we are getting enough sleep, right, that we are doing the things we need to do every day to sustain ourselves as human beings so that we can work and be productive in the ways that bring us joy in the ways that give us the outcomes that we're looking for and the success that we've defined for ourselves so that we can have those, quote, unquote, nutrient rich pools of accessibility within ourselves to get the things done that we want to get done.
Now. I also want to talk about what all of this really means because I'm looking at a new chapter in my life. And as we all adjust to this new way of life, many of us are realizing that we actually have less time. We actually have less time at home with the things that we going on. If you're a parent, if your kids are going back to school on Zoom or whatever that looks like, you might actually find that you have less time that's your own or you may have more time, or you may have different time.
But time in and of itself has shifted for many of us. So it's important to think about how do we utilize this time? And one thing I was thinking about is actually the power that happens when our time is minimized. One of the first things that I usually think of is like, I think in terms of more, I usually say to myself, oh, I just wish I had more time. I want more time, more energy, more free time, more time to do nothing. I want more, more, more, more.
But what happens if there's less now? If you listened back to episode 125 where I recorded an episode all about spending a week doing the things that I didn't want to do, then you'll remember that I touched on how much happier I actually was when I felt when my time was structured and I actually had less unspoken time. Less time. It wasn't claimed already less time. It wasn't completely free, but I was actually happier because the rest of my time was structured and I was actually getting the things done that I needed to get done to feel happier during that free time.
So even though that free time was less comparatively, it was free time that felt so much more honored and sacred because it was time where I truly could relax in bigger ways. So let's take into consideration a couple things. What what happens when you put time or things into a limited container? Well, it does a couple of things, right? It makes us get creative. You have to get so creative. If you're only able to work on something you love or move the needle in your business and you only have an hour a day.
If you only have an hour to be productive and focused, then you need to prioritize. You truly need to sit down and go, what's the most important thing that I need to do? And how can I make the most of this hour when you're minimizing time into an hour container? It also is gonna show you how long it really takes to get specific things done. How many times have you done this? Oh, I just totally need, I don't know, a few hours to just get this thing done.
I'm really stressed about it. I just need more time. And in thinking that you need more time, you postpone it more and longer and longer, and you never do it until the moment when you finally decide to just do the thing and realize, oh, my goodness, it only took ten minutes. I have been guilty of that so many times. I absolutely know you have to. And it's worth reminding yourself when you put space and time into a limited container. You also allow yourself to build momentum and create a speed round, if you will, for getting multiple things done in one smaller chunk of time.
Think about it this way. How many times have you been sitting in your living room or on the couch? And you thought, oh my gosh, everything in my house for my apartment is a complete mess. It would probably take me hours to get this place clean. And so you don't start right? The same kind of framework of thinking I was just talking about a moment ago, but have you ever noticed that if you make a little bargain with yourself or you say, okay, I'm just going to do the dishes in the sink, then the momentum builds, and before you know it, you've done the dishes in the sink and you decide to clean off the counters and then you decide to maybe vacuum.
And then before you know it, you have 90s music blasting throughout the house and you're vacuuming and sweeping like Cinderella, and you feel so much better. And when you check the clock, you may notice that only 45 minutes of time has went by. This happens to me all the time in creating momentum and making sure that you're not only starting your productivity hour, but then you're also just going so one thing to the next, right? Once you get moving, once you start plugging away at your emails or responding to things you've been putting off or looking for files or whatever it is that is on that list of things that are going to get lost at some point.
If you don't really make time to do them once you create that momentum, I'm telling you, you're going to be able to get a ton of things done in an hour. In fact, I'd love to hear from you guys when you do your productivity hour every day this week, or if you pick a day this week to do it, whatever that looks like for you, I'd love to have you come tag me on Instagram at Mindful Productivity Blog. And if you're doing a bunch of small tasks, keep track of it and let me know how much you actually get done in an hour.
I'd be really fascinated, and I'd love to hear this from you. Now. Focusing your hour putting things into this limited container also gives you energy and permission to rest for the rest of the day or to make the rest of the hours in your day. Look, however you need them to look or however you want them to feel. So this is again coming back to that week where I was doing things I didn't want to do when I did have that free time, then I really did want to.
I really just felt better. I felt like I could enjoy it that much more. So how can you set up a productivity hour for yourself? Well, I'm going to give you a little bit of homework this week and you'll find all of these questions mapped out over on the blog. You can find the show notes for this episode by going to Mindful Productivity Blog. Com podcast and simply just look for episode 126. And you'll find these questions that you can either print out or write down and get to.
But in setting up your first productivity hour, you're going to need to set up one first so that you can set up the rest of your productivity hours effectively. Right. So meta. So here are three things that I want you to do in your first productivity hour, be it today or tomorrow or whenever you decide to start this little experiment. But I highly recommend that you do it as soon as possible. So if you can do it today, why not do it today? Right. So step one, I want you to get out a blank Journal and ask yourself this, what are all of the tasks that I've been putting off doing?
And what are the reasons that I've been putting off doing these things? These are going to be micro things. Most likely, you guys, but I want to point something out. Usually it's not the task itself, but the task is actually tied to additional or prework tasks that must be completed, figured out or found before we take action. Right. So usually we're not putting off doing something because we don't want to do it. I mean, that can be some of the reason, but the reason behind why we might not want to do it, or we might not feel clear on how we can take action is because the task itself is actually a mini project, and it's actually attached to other things like, oh, well, I would send this email to someone, but I have to have these answers to this question or they sent me a bunch of things that I need to go do and then send back.
Right. It's like we had some auto work done on our car wall back, and it took me over a week. I felt so bad to get back to this guy because he sent me three PDFs that I needed to print out, fill out, scan and sign and send back. Right. And it didn't take that long, but because I had to do those additional things every time I went, oh, you have to email him back and answer this question. I also was like, oh, but when I do that, I also want to send back these PDFs, right.
So really get clear on what are all the things that you've been putting off? But then within each one of those things, what are the things that are attached to those things? Like, what are the things you need to know or find or figure out for all those tasks to be completed? And if you have time within this productivity hour, then make sure you have all those things ready to go. Right. And that is going to help you accomplish so much more when you go to do your next productivity hour, the second thing.
And again, these are three things that you can do in this first hour. If you start with the first one and it takes you the full 60 minutes, then do that and get that done. But that that list is not that long. Then you can move on to step two here's, step two, do a brain dump of everything going on in your head. This is probably something you're never gonna hear me. Stop saying, because brain dumps are so powerful and so effective. If you need steps for this, then again, you can go grab my daily Productivity and Brain Dump book.
And you can also listen to episode 53 of this podcast where I talk about strategies to supercharge brain dumps, reduce your overwhelm and declutter your brain. But seriously, doing a brain dump, literally everything going on in your head not just what you need to do and need to accomplish, but also maybe what you're thinking about having for dinner or something that annoyed you or what you miss about pre pandemic life. Whatever is going on in your brain dump it out on paper. It's going to help you so much, and it's gonna help give you a lot of mental clarity.
If you've made it through these first two tasks in your first productivity hour and you still have time, then move on to step three. And this is asking yourself what's one thing I could work on it in my next productivity hour that would give me the biggest return on my investment, the biggest ROI of my time. If you're a business owner, this could mean promoting a product that could result in additional income. If you're feeling drained, this could be an action or a habit change that results in more energy.
And if you want to get clear on what your energy drivers are and how to really create actionable habits that can help sustain your energy and give you more happiness, then make sure you go and check out my Energy driver and Habit tracker spreadsheet. You can find that over at Mindful Productivity blog. Com energy. Now, if you're working on a long term project like remodeling the kitchen or something, this could be simply gathering up cost sheets or finally contacting your contractor and getting them information that you've been putting off, giving them right more often than not, what we are delaying are simple actions, and once we make time to do them, once we start the momentum of a given project, then we realize that one.
It's not as labor intensive as we thought. We don't actually mind it as much as we thought. We actually feel good that we're making progress on something that we've put off because it actually creates a lot of mental strain in the back of our minds, right in the back of our subconscious when we're avoiding things or procrastinating. And then it also just really makes us feel good that we're getting the things done that we need to and you'll find that once you start that momentum right, once you start cleaning the house, so to speak in your brain on the projects you're working on, you're going to find that things move so much more smoothly.
So to recap today's episode, we talked a little bit about what productivity really is, especially in the human capacity. We talked about the power of your time actually being minimized and how it helps you become a more creative and think outside the box. And I gave you three steps that you can use three action steps that you can use for your first productivity hour to set up your next ones to come. So please report back. Come over to Instagram. I'm at Mindful Productivity Blog. Let me know how your first productivity hour goes, and if you're feeling overwhelmed, please start here.
You don't have to revamp everything in your entire week and try to figure out what you're doing from 06:00 a.m.. To 10:00 p.m.. Monday through Sunday. You simply need to start with the hour that you have every day and think about how you can be intentional and productive. In that 60 minutes window, you'll be amazed at how much you can conquer in 60 minutes and then it'll have you start rethinking productivity in general. If you enjoyed this podcast, please make sure to go leave a written review on itunes.
It helps other people find the show and it's always so amazing to hear what you guys have to say. I'd love to hear from you. Over on Instagram. I'm at Mindful Productivity Blog and you can always find more resources, courses and journals from me over on the website Mindful Productivity Blog. Com have an amazing week, you guys, I will see you back here next Monday.
