PRODUCTIVITY TIPS & TRICKS TO HELP YOU FIND MORE TIME & MANAGE YOUR DAYS with Kari Chapin

PRODUCTIVITY TIPS & TRICKS TO HELP YOU FIND MORE TIME & MANAGE YOUR DAYS with Kari Chapin

Do you need more time in your day? Are you tired, overworked, and overwhelmed? What would you do if you had extra time, more energy, and a clearer sense of direction?

A Great Day Starts The Night Before Sleep. You already know it s important, but if you can find a way to improve your bedtime routine and your actual sleep, your days will improve. Better quality sleeps helps you manage stress better, retain more focus, and improve your cognitive abilities. You deserve that beauty sleep, although you are already pretty good-looking. So think of it as focus sleep, energy sleep, and motivation sleep.

Tips For A Better Night s Sleep Figure out how to change the settings on your personal devices to lower the screen brightness. Dimming the screen can help improve your sleep. Even better, consider implementing an electronics-free hour before bed. Instead, use that time to wind down, relax, and prepare for the next day. Develop a routine that you can follow most nights. Taking the chaos and choice out of your final hour will allow your body and mind to power down more easily. Aim for 7 to 8 hours of sleep. If that seems impossible, I urge you to find a way to restructure your evening and morning routines.

Night Time Resources If you have trouble sleeping (like me) give these things a try: Sleep With Me Podcast www.sleepwithmepodcast.com Look for CDs at the library to help you sleep. (I like Brainwave Suite: Sleep & Rejuvenation by Dr. Jeffrey Thompson) https://www.amazon.com/brainwave-suite- Rejuvenation-Jeffrey-Thompson/dp/B000E4RHC6 Meditate. Boring, but that s kinda the point. Get anything that is taking up space in your head, out of your head.

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF Be honest: How do you really spend your evening hours? Do you feel good about it? Are there things you wish were different? Do you need anything to make your night time routine run smoother? A better or new alarm clock? To move the TV out of your bedroom? No coffee after 9 p.m.? Fancier pajamas? Blackout shades? What can you do to take control?

WAKE UP! And Warm Up. Start your day off with yourself in mind. Taking care of yourself first thing better equips you to take care of others and take care of business for the rest of the day. You deserve some me time, and if you have to take it while everyone else is asleep, then so be it! Pay attention to what you really want out of your mornings. What would make you feel like your day is off to a great start?

Tips for a Great Morning This is perhaps the toughest (but best!) advice I have for a good morning: DO NOT CHECK YOUR WORK EMAIL, PHONE, or ANY ELECTRONIC DEVICE FOR ONE HOUR. Normalize your a.m. routine. If you have to take care of others when you first get up, consider getting up earlier to take care of yourself first. Exercise. You don t have to go to a gym or do a super workout--a light stretching will do. Drink water right away. Think about the day ahead, but try to stick to activities that benefit the you-as-a-human, not the you-that-takes-care-of-others-or-takes-care-of business.

AM(azing) Morning Resources If you have trouble waking up (like I do), give these things a try. Change your alarm up. Figure out how to set your phone to wake you up to music or nature sounds or whatever you will respond to. I wake up to the Rocky theme song. My husband does not enjoy this. If you are going to work out, have your clothes ready to go. Sleep in them if you need to. Have the coffee pot set up and ready for action and your stretching routine queued up on your computer. I like: Denise Austin YouTube videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsou0m6e79o). They average about 12 minutes and really work! I do them while the coffee is brewing. Have a playlist that gets you moving and ready for your commute. Place everything you need to take with you by the door before you go to bed. Not having to worry about where your keys are or finding matching shoes can be real morning gifts.

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF What does your ideal morning look like? I m talking best case scenario here. How does your ideal differ from your real life? What could you do to improve your mornings? Get an electric tea kettle? Make a no-talking for one hour rule? Eat breakfast? Make time for an extra long shower? Not listen to any news? What does it take to get you out the door? How can you improve that? Would an easier, calmer morning help you to have an easier, more productive day?

Plan Your Day so that Time Works FOR You, Instead of You Working Against Time Do you spend the majority of your day reacting or responding? How do you plan your schedule? You are responsible for your time. Stand up for yourself, your priorities, and your daily abilities. Routines! Routines! Routines! The less choices you need to make, the more flexibility you ll have.

Tips for a Fantastic Day Time blocking. Make friends with time blocking and watch your days improve! Track your tasks for one week. Notice any patterns that can be improved? Delegate. Is there something you could pass off or pass on in general? Take breaks. You need breaks! Your mind needs breaks! Experiment with changing things up. Mixing it up can t hurt, and if it does, mix it up again!

Resources for Finding More Time. Sounds Good, Right? Pomodoro Technique: Try it! Remember when you tracked your time? Let s take a closer look at that. Break down your to-do list by time blocks. Batch your tasks. Example: email 4x a day at set times. Routines. Set times to do set activities. Break your brain. Make the time to create some free time to recharge your batteries. Turn your normal time-wasters into strengths. Decide what you need to do to make your day successful. Focus on that.

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF At the end of most of your work days, how do you feel? How can you either A) keep up the good work! or B) make things better? How often do you reward yourself for a job well done? No matter what the answer is, try improving upon it. Do you have a system in place to define your success and prioritize your daily tasks?

Other Suggestions to Improve Your Work Day

Permission to Experiment Try new things. If they don t work, try more new things. Organize your tasks into chunks of time. What can you do in 15 minutes or less? 30 minutes or less? 1 hour or less? Know what you need to get done, and make that your first focus. Try switching things up. Are your meetings generally in the morning? Switch them to the afternoon. Do you always eat at your desk? Try eating outside. Consider giving your work days themes. Monday: Meetings; Tuesday: Planning; Wednesday: Paperwork; Thursday: Organizational Activities; Friday: Catch up. PS: These strategies can also work with your home life--with some modifications

There is no better time to ask questions than right now. -Abraham Lincoln (Joke! I just made this quote up!)

THANK YOU! May your days be productive and your nights full of quality sleep. www.karichapin.com @karichapin