Productivity Learned From Mom-isms
Posted on September 26, 2011 by LJ Earnest
Categories: Productivity
Mondays are productivity days at SimpleProductivity blog.
There are certain things that all moms seem to say. I don’t know where they started, but I know that my mom said them (or variations of them), and they can all be looked at in the light of productivity. Here goes:
If all your friends were going to jump off a bridge, would you do it too? Just because someone is using a particular system, device, email program, doesn’t mean it will work for you. Be careful of the fads. They generally are touted by the crowd, but they really may not be good for your productivity.
No, I don’t know where your socks are. It’s not my day to watch them. Do you know where your car keys are, right now? Not a general idea, but know exactly where they are? What about your wallet, phone, important papers? No one else is going to keep track of these items for you. Have a place to put them and always put them there.
Don’t you have anything better to do? I love this one. I am apt to go down rabbit trails, skipping through tangents in research or doing tasks that really don’t need to be done. This reminds me that I usually have something better to do, something aligned with my dreams.
Go play outside! It’s a beautiful day. How many of us spend too much time in front of the television or computer? Go on, admit it. I do too. We need fresh air and sunshine to be healthy, not to mention exercise. Keeping healthy keeps your productivity level up.
If you could stay up late last night, you can get up this morning. Modern society often pushes us to burn the candles at both ends. Remembering we still have to get up and do the daily thing can help us balance what we do late at night.
If you’re too full to finish dinner, you’re too full for dessert. In productivity, this has nothing to do with food. It has to do with the things we take on. If we are too busy to do things that are mundane, but important, we should be too busy to do the “icing” activities. We should never trade a daughter’s ballet performance for a bowling league, for instance.
What part of NO don’t you understand? Moms know that NO is a complete sentence. But too many of us forget that and start explaining our “no” answers, leaving room for people to get around them. Remember, NO is NO. You don’t need to explain.
Where do you think you’re going? I’m not one on having big plans and mapping out every step of the way. But I do have to have a direction, or I stagnate. I ask myself, where am I going? I may only have a vague idea, but I am going somewhere.
Did your mom ever say anything that could help you with productivity today? Share below. Or share your favorite “mom-ism” from your youth.
Photo by the bridge
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Comments (5)
You have probably seen this, but in case not… If you love mom-isms, you will love this one.
Thank you for sharing that! That is the funniest thing I have seen in a long time!!!!!
My mother always gave me this advice: If you really need something done, find the busiest person around and ask them. They will find a way to make it happen. The people who seem to have the time will never get the job done.
@Joe: this is very true…and it’s usually the busiest people who don’t know how to say no!
“@SmplProdBlog: Your mom was right. – http://t.co/oFrOenVs” Lots of people can relate to this!