Get More Done (Sanely) with These 5 Tips
People are always on the hunt for productivity tips. We want to cram as many tasks as possible into as little time as possible. But what if I told you that usually backfires? 🥴 When we overload our schedule and to-do list, we are left feeling burned out and exhausted AF. Plus, half the stuff on our to-do lists doesn't get done anyway so like...?
Keep reading this post to learn:
⋒ 5 underrated tips that will help you actually get more done without losing your mind
01. Have open-loop time built into your schedule.
Open Loop: a task or conversation that is partially completed
Open loops take up space in your mind because they quietly linger, sucking up energy without you realizing it. Closing open loops allows you to be present and productive because the fewer open loops you have, the more energy you have to focus on your true priorities. There will always be a few lingering open loops, but try to fully complete things in a timely manner so that you get that brain space back.
I have 2ish hours on Fridays dedicated to closing open loops. I don’t get bogged down by small tasks not getting done during the week because I know I have that built-in time to tackle my open loops for the week.
The goal is always to create a calm headspace. Open loops cause chaos, steal time, and rob you of purpose. And often, closing an open loop doesn’t take up too much time and energy. It takes more energy to house the open loop in your brain than it does to just close it. Focus your energy on closing open loops that you can control. Don't stress out about open loops that you cannot close because you need someone else involved, it's a recurring event, etc. The more open loops we have, the more clogged up our minds are.
Here are some examples of open loops:
Unfinished conversations
Work projects that you started but have not finished
Unfinished home projects like cleaning out your closet (maybe you’ve cleaned out the closet but you need to drop bags off at a donation center)
Knowing that you need to make a doctor’s appointment
Needing to schedule an oil change for your vehicle
Packing up something that you’ve been meaning to send to someone in the mail
02. Do a daily brain dump.
Brain Dump: a simple technique to help you declutter your mind and your thoughts.
Brain dumping helps you:
Gain focus on things that you need to do
Organize your time and efforts
Get clarity when you’re feeling overwhelmed
There isn’t one way to brain dump - you kinda have to play around with it and see what works best for you but the idea is to get tasks out of your head and onto paper so you can see everything at once and get a handle on how to best group, batch, and time block stuff.
So day to day, like for my schedule, I brain dump using my Hustle Sanely daily planning notepad. I write my Focus 3 tasks for the day, any other tasks I need to get done that day, and then time block everything out using the hourly schedule section. Doing this every day sets me up to not ever wonder what I’m supposed to be doing and I hardly ever have that feeling that I’m forgetting something or letting something fall through the cracks.
I also have a blank, lined notebook that I call my brain dump notebook. I use this mostly when I am working on projects for work (like creating a new course or launching a new product) so that I can just dump everything out of my brain like tasks that need to be done for a project, due dates, etc. Then I use that info to create a solid timeline and action plan for the project. It’s honestly how I crank out so many in-depth products every year without getting burned out.
Brain dumping keeps your mind from getting cluttered so you can use your brainpower to actually get tasks done instead of trying to figure out what needs to be done.
03. Set realistic timelines for your goals.
This is one that a lot of people, myself included, struggle with because, for whatever reason, we have this idea planted in our minds that we have to accomplish our goals immediately after setting them even if that means driving ourselves into the ground.
Let me give you a cliche that is true AF: Life is a journey, not a sprint.
Why on earth do we feel the need to plow through life, neglecting our mental health and the important relationships in our lives in order to accomplish a goal a little bit sooner? I mean think about it — accomplishing a goal is mostly about the process, right? The steps you’ve got to take to make the goal happen takes up more of your time and energy than the actual moment of accomplishment. So don’t you want to weave the working toward the goal into your life rather than bend your life around working toward the goal?
To me, goals are meant to improve our lives not to make us feel spread thin. When I get to the end of a goal and hit that accomplishment point, I want to feel excited, energized, and able to celebrate with my loved ones rather than exhausted, burned out, and wanting to hibernate for 3 weeks.
So, don’t be afraid to set realistic timelines for your goals. You are not racing anyone! Let your degree take an extra semester or 2. Launch your business a month later. You are worth taking care of as you pursue your goals, babe!
04. Schedule your Focus 3 when you have the most mental clarity.
Focus 3: The 3 tasks that you want to give your best time and energy to in a day. Focus 3 is part of Hustle Sanely 5! Want to learn more about how Hustle Sanely 5 can help you be more productive every day? Click here!
Figure out when you have the most mental clarity and do your Focus 3 tasks during that timeframe.
I recently tweaked my own weekly schedule outline and WOW, talk about a major difference. I’d gotten into the habit of doing my daily admin tasks (emails, hanging out in the BFF FB group, responding to DMS/Hustle Sanely texts) when I started my workday just to get the ball rolling. By the time I was done with those things, I’d expended a decent amount of energy but hadn’t touched my Focus 3 tasks.
I have the most mental clarity from 9-12:30. That’s when I’m the aptest to get plugged in to what I’m doing and not feel mentally fatigued or easily distracted. My mind is sharp and fresh so it makes the most sense to do my Focus 3 tasks from 9-12:30.
Well I wasn’t doing that before and it was causing my Focus 3 tasks to take so much longer than they should and they were draining me more than normal, too.
I’ve gone back to doing my admin tasks right after lunch and starting my workday with a few hours of deep work to hammer out my Focus 3 tasks because that’s what makes the most sense for honoring my energy. I’m working with myself instead of against myself. When my Focus 3 tasks are done by lunchtime, I feel on top of the freaking world and it makes the rest of my day feel like a breeze. Whereas when I was starting my day with admin and then moving into my Focus 3, I was feeling drained by lunch and I found it sticky feeling to work through my daily tasks.
The goal when Hustling Sanely is for everything to flow - to feel easier and in alignment. Honoring your energy by scheduling your Focus 3 when you have the most mental energy is going to help you achieve that!
05. Take a few minutes to re-align between high-energy tasks.
Raise your hand if you have plowed from one high-energy task to another all day and then wonder why you feel like a zombie at the end of the day? 🙋♀️ Stuffing your to-do list to the brim every day without pausing to re-align and let yourself mentally breathe between tasks will cause this to happen.
Thankfully, you can nip this by taking a few moments between my big energy tasks to re-align. Doing this rejuvenates your mental energy and gives you that longevity that you needed to be a present (instead of zonked) in the evenings.
Here’s an example of what I do between high energy tasks now:
I step outside, take 3 deep breaths, and say an affirmation.
That’s it! It takes me 2 minutes and it’s such a solid reset to jog my mental energy. For my affirmation, I choose one from the Positive Affirmations E-book (I am giving you a sneaky discount on it below!)
You don’t have to do what I do, but figure out a little 1-2 minute routine that helps you mentally re-align between high-energy tasks!
If you enjoyed this post, tune into episode 101 of The Hustle Sanely Podcast to dive deeper into this topic:
