most inspired

Having the motivation and inspiration to take on projects is great, but when you are not efficient and productive with work, your energy and design skills are not being fully unlocked to their potential. It can be hard to organise thoughts and projects such that they will bear fruits especially when you have a lot going on. Being self-employed hardly helps as this requires tons of self-discipline.

Schedule

In order to have a productive working day you need to work at the most appropriate time for the appropriate length of time. This means that if your work efficiency is greater in the evening/night and you spend all of your day working then you need to consider changing tactics. Scheduling will help you get there.

Figure out what time is best for you to work. Factors you need to consider are:

• Clients – If your client is in a different time zone and you have very slow communication due you being online at different times, you may want to schedule work during the times which they will be online
• Productivity – Different people have different levels of productivity at different times during the day. Personally I am most productive two hours after waking up.
• Family – Being a father I know the joy of my life is my daughter. So if I spend my entire day working and when she falls asleep I schedule my ‘free’ time, this would be pointless. I have several schedule ‘daddy time’ breaks where I will spend time with my daughter. I also have family slots for my wife and also for my parents, usually their time to tell me to get a ‘proper job’
• Social activity – This obviously means friends, and you need to spend time with them, but I consider this to mean shopping. If I schedule all my free time after 6pm, I would have to only go to late-night Asda’s (Walmart in the USA, I think).

There are several other factors which you will need to consider and you will be the best judge since you know most about what responsibilities tie you down.

Blast Focused Work Sessions

You can train yourself to work in periods of sessions where you have everything prepared and can just blast through what needs to be done. I find that this can be strenuous and therefore give myself a good reward at the end by having a longer break. I do not do all of my work to this level of strain, rather I pace myself through the day. I learnt this from jogging as I used to jog around my local reservoir and would keep the same pace going until I had covered around 80% of the run, I would then sprint the last 20% and reward myself with a walk.

When working I prefer doing this twice in the day, before my lunch break and toward the end of the working day. You can choose whenever it suits you.

Target Setting

This is a simplistic method which can be implemented very easily and you probably learnt this method as early as school. Set yourself goals and put them up on your notice board so that you can see them at all times. You can set daily, weekly, monthly and even yearly targets.

Work Hard – Play Hard

Your hours of labouring at your computer desk dreaming up the next sexiest design need to be balanced with the same level of leisure and rest. Ensure you have adequate breaks throughout your day, and be sure to schedule them. If you think you can work-work-work, you are mistaken. As far as I am aware, no one reading this is a robot, so no one can constantly work. See a break as a recharging session or you can even use a break as a reward.

This may involve spending time with friends and family, but also involves time for you to sleep. A good night’s sleep can make the difference between a productive day and a totally zombified one.

Conclusion

Remember to be loose with the rules. If you have had a spurt of inspiration and are working well and don’t need a break, then have a liquid schedule and adapt to make yourself better.

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