It’s Christmas time – mistletoe and wine, and all that jazz. Except that it’s about a million degrees in Australia, and being pregnant means that I can’t drink wine at the moment, but you get the gist.
Which feels like it is the perfect time to remind you that it is ok to take time off.
More than that, it’s ok not to be productive every day.
Spend some days doing nothing at all (and not just at this time of year… any time of year!)
And for the Christmas period, eat far too much food. Spend time with family and friends.
If you are here in Australia, float in a pool all day and enjoy the warm.
But don’t feel guilty for not working. You don’t need to
The Productivity Myth:
I talk to a lot of women who are disappointed in themselves for not getting more done each day, for not meeting deadlines or for not getting that thing done that they said they would.
And each and every time they blame themselves, I hear things like
“I should just be more productive”
“If I watched less Netflix….”
“If I spent less time on Instagram/Facebook etc”
They have this belief that everyone else is more productive than they are, spends less time doing other things, and works hard all day.
But the truth is… I’m yet to find ANYONE who is productive all of the time.
No one (with maybe the odd exception of a Gary Vee) is working from the moment they wake up to the moment they go to sleep.
We all need down time. Time off. Time for our brain to veg out and do something else. For you that might be playing Candy Crush, scrolling Instagram, or hanging out with family and friends.
This doesn’t mean you can’t change your habits.
You need time away from working, for your own sanity, if nothing else.
But you can definitely change how you spend that time.
Maybe you really do spend a lot of time on social media, and would rather spend that time with the family, learning a new hobby or reading. You can choose how to spend your down time, in a way that most relaxes you.
But don’t convince yourself that you’re not working hard enough, because honestly, I’m sure you are already putting in enough hours.
So Sam, how do I get more done if I don’t work any more hours?
Instead of just working more, try looking at how you are spending your work time.
There is no point working 10 – 12 hours a day, if all of those hours are spent faffing around or avoiding the income or asset generating tasks that you really should be doing.
I’d much rather work just a couple of hours a day, and get a lot done, than spread the task over 8 hours instead.
Parkinson’s law
Parkinson’s law states that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”.
And it’s true.
If you give yourself an hour to write a blog post, you’ll get it done in an hour. Give you give yourself the day, the task will take all day.
So, rather than just adding more hours to your work day, set time limits over tasks and make sure the time you are spending working is as fruitful as it can be.
But Sam, aren’t you writing this and emailing us about it over the Christmas break?
Nope, not really.
The wonders of the internet and scheduling means that this post could have been written at any point during the year… and the emails can be scheduled too.
When I have time available, I try to batch (or at least draft) content to make busy times easier (batching is a whole other conversation).
Because I’m a firm believer of working just a couple of hours a day… but making those hours count.
And because for the week of Christmas and New Years, I’m doing nothing. Glorious nothing. Other than eating far too much food, playing with the kids, and napping.
And you should too.
Have a wonderful time,
Sam
