From the timing of this post (it's 1:26 ET) you can probably tell that I'm having trouble getting back into my work "flow" after the Thanksgiving weekend. Ironic, considering I find it hard to relax on long weekends. My anxieties about work pile up and when I couple that with my rule to only bother PowerToFly team members on weekends if it's an emergency, I find it's a huge, but surmountable, challenge for me to stay off email until Monday morning. One way I've stymied my desire to send weekend emails is through an app called Boomerang that schedules emails to go out at later times. So I'll write an email over the weekend to a colleague, but I will make sure it's not sent until a workday morning. I learned after years of having bosses who thought nothing of sending you late night or weekend emails, that it's not pleasant to be on the receiving end of missives that really can wait!
Okay, so now that I'm trying to get back into the workflow, what am I doing about it? And to be fair, it was extra hard to concentrate this morning with the news that Prince Harry is engaged... to an American!!! So my first piece of advice is to avoid reading the Daily Mail in you want to get anything done today. Aside from staying away from questionable tabloids, there were four other things I did to get back into the "flow" this morning that I recommend.
1. I wrote in my "Five Minute Journal"
I find this journal keeps me honest. There's a section to list the three things that would make you happy that day. If I list that I want to go to the gym or eat well, I find my chances of following through are much higher.
2. I wrote in my "Productivity Planner"
4. I started using a Pomodoro timer and logging the times in the "Productivity Planner"
If you want to learn more about my process then check out a piece I wrote on Thrive last year called "11 Productivity Strategies That Keep A Startup CoFounder (With A Toddler) Sane"
