How To Be Productive…Even While Not Working

Posted on October 30, 2008 by LJ

Welcome to Simple Productivity Blog! You may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. This will allow you to receive updates in your RSS reader every time new content is posted here. If you want to receive updates in your email, click on the envelope in the upper right corner, or use the "Subscribe" link below the blog title.

Please take some time to check out the content on the site. You may comment on any article by scrolling down and using the form at the bottom of all articles. Thanks for visiting!

One thing I wanted to avoid during this period of unemployment was falling into habits that would be not only counter-productive, but could be detrimental to my well-being. Too many people have warned me about the possibility of falling into depression, as they had done in the same circumstances.

There were things I knew I was going to have to avoid: sleeping late or oversleeping, overeating, non-enhancing activities (too many computer games, pointless surfing, etc). Each of these had led to periods of bump-on-a-log-iness in the past.

I determined that I would have a schedule and stick too it, including as many of the things I said I would do “someday” when I “had time.” Here is the schedule I stick to:

• Rise at 6 a.m. First on the business is my 20 minute session with my SAD (seasonal affective disorder) light. While I am doing this, I read my daily stuff, and wind up with my latest fiction book.
• Walk the dog.It’s still dark out, but I like watching the sun rise, and both the dog and I get some much needed exercise.
• Get ready. Get showered, dressed, makeup, the whole works.
• Eat a healthy breakfast. I fix my daughter her breakfast, assemble her lunch, and sit down and eat with her. Then we wait for the school bus.
• Writing. Besides the five articles per week I put out here, I have at least one on my personal blog, and a novel in revision, plus a novel in planning (for NaNoWriMo). I do at least 1500 words on the revision and then work on the blogs.
• Eat a healthy lunch. I get up and get away from the computer for a while. I may read while eating lunch, or sit outside.
• Household cleaning. I still do 15 minutes of “zone” cleaning ala Flylady. I set the timer and do what I need to, plus clean up the kitchen and do a general house pickup.
• Exercise. I discovered I like walking the treadmill if I am watching a video. Right now I’m catching up on The Office via Netflix Watch Now.
• Reading/Other Projects At this point I usually have some time before my daughter gets off the bus. I may catch up on email, do some reading, practice flute or do a craft.
• After School Routine. When my daughter gets off the bus, the time between then and dinner belongs entirely to her. She does her homework, practices piano, and then we will generally go to the park.
• Evening. After a family dinner, I have the evening “off”.

What I have found is that by sticking to this schedule, I am making a lot of progress on previously stalled projects, maintaining my spirits, and spending quality time with my family. The scary part for me right now is the thought that I would really like to keep doing this…

Photo by swimboy1

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

 Print Post

Related Posts:

Introducing the Other Blog

5 Ways to Organize Your Workspace

Using Bonsai With Getting Things Done: Working List Filters

Catching Data Entry Leaks

Using Bonsai with Getting Things Done: Working Lists

---

If you enjoyed this post, please buy me a cup of coffee!