A Habit for March: Time Blocking

My next habit in the I Think I Can series is a very much needed shift in time management skills. I had this habit planned for February, but ironically I couldn't find the time to think about it! But I quite like that, as it shows how much I really need to learn this one. 

you can buy this beautiful print here.

Blocking time is something I have been trying to master for a long time. I'm better than I used to be, but it seems that I'm only good at it when I don't actually have that much work on. As my schedule gets fuller, my time management skills go out of the window! What I would love is to be able to use the same good habits of time management, both when I'm really busy and when I'm less busy. 

The main aim of time blocking is to train your brain to focus on one thing at a time in short bursts of activity. I'm definitely guilty of trying to do everything at once and ending up achieving not very much... So time blocking is a great way to plan out the day and get more done by trying to do less. 

Here are a few time blocking tips that I'm going to try and put into practice this month:

1// Dedicate 10-20mins at the start of the day to plan. 

Consult to-do lists and be realistic about how long things are going to take and how many things you can get done. Create blocks in the day for each task/project and only work on that thing while you are in that block. 

2// Keep the blocks short and schedule lots of mini breaks.

Working solidly for 25mins at a time and then taking a 5 minute break is way more productive than procrastinating for an hour. This is called the Pomodoro Technique, you can read more about it here (there's also a cheesy but cute video). 

3// Use apps to help. 

I've just downloaded Countdone, which is a timer app that keeps you focused on your task and then tells you when to take a break. I'm using it right now for the first time! So we shall see how that goes... 

4// Find a calendar/diary that works for you. 

I have just switched over from iCal to google calendar as I prefer the interface and the syncing capabilities. But good old pen and paper is a pretty good way to visually block out the day ahead! 

5// Allow yourself the satisfaction of finishing something. 

Brendon Bruchard talks about this in an interview with Marie Forleo (a current fav of mine!) and it makes so much sense! Our internal drive for control naturally wants to see things through from beginning to end, so when we flit from task to task we are denying ourselves that satisfaction. 

So there is my habit for March! Do any of you have any time blocking tips? 

x Rachel 

A Habit for January: Response // Ability

I had some lovely words of encouragement from you internet people on my last post, so thank you for that! Following on from my introduction to the I Think I Can Series, here's a little about the first habit I will be putting into practice this month... 

My challenge for this month has come out of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and it is focused on the idea of being pro-active rather than reactive. A Reactive person might have moods that are directly affected by their surroundings and other people. The majority of their self worth may come from what others think of them. They might be grumpy whenever the weather is bad. A Proactive person has the ability to choose their response to their surroundings and situation, their sense of self worth is within their control. As Covey says very cleverly; a proactive person "carries their own weather". I would definitely describe myself as a reactive person up until this point. I am so often floored by things that aren't in my control and it seems silly because I would be so much happier if I just learnt not to react in that way. 

A huge eye-opener for me has come from Covey's explanation of the word "Responsibility". It's basically the idea that one of our most powerful assets as humans is that we have the freedom to choose the way we react to our situations. Instead of blaming our circumstances for our actions and feelings, it's about accepting some accountability. We feel the way we choose to feel. The book obviously goes much deeper into this idea, but I don't want to spoil the whole thing (I really do recommend it if you are into this stuff). 

RESPONSE // ABILITY - is the ability to choose our response. 

So my challenge to myself this month is to practice using my own Response-Ability. I want to get into the habit of carrying my own weather and not playing the blame game with my circumstances. 

What do you think? Does this idea resonate with any of you? Why not take up the challenge with me? I'd love to hear how other people get on with it! 

x Rachel 

ps. I'll be back to posting pretty things tomorrow ;)

I Think I Can - A New Series

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Happy 2014 everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful start to the year. I am a big fan of the refreshed feeling only a new year can bring, but I have mixed feelings about making resolutions. I love setting goals (mainly for the love of list writing) and I think it's a really important part of getting yourself on track and achieving what you want to achieve. My slight problem with new years resolutions is that it's often tempting to make hazy and unspecific goals ("be healthier"), which end up putting you under false pressure because they are hard to keep. 

This year I am not setting resolutions exactly, but I am going to start a life project that I've been sitting on for a while. It has stemmed from my struggles over the past few years to balance my life and various jobs and trying to keep my head above water. In my first year of uni I discovered that I have dyspraxia, which explained a LOT about why I was finding everything so difficult and having panic attacks. I was so disorganised and stressed, and that was having a huge impact on my self esteem and my ability to progress at the rate I wanted to. Luckily over the past four years I have learnt that it's not that "I can't do" things, it's more that I need to approach things from a different angle. I gradually taught myself good habits, which have now become second nature, and now I feel so much more competent in organising myself and I don't feel overwhelmed with stress all the time. 

The reason for that slight tiny violin story is that my project for 2014 is all about habits. I've been reading a lot of inspiring books lately, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey is one of them. I'm only half way through, and even though some of it is a little dated (first published in 1989), I am finding the basic principal of reconditioning your habits really fascinating. The word "habit" is often used negatively - to describe your bad habits - but what I am learning is that good habits are actually more powerful than bad.  

Even though I feel a lot more capable now than I did a few years ago, I feel like I'm still not working to my full potential. So this year I want to teach myself 12 good habits that will allow me to balance my life more efficiently and achieve more with less stress and anxiety. They are not all going to be organisation based - some will be really simple and some will be more about changing thought processes. I don't even know what they all are yet, but I am really excited to get going.

As always, it is much more useful to share these types of challenges with others, so I would love you to join me! At the beginning of each month I will set out the specific habit I'll be focusing on, then anyone who is interested in having a go at it with me can do so in their own way. Then at the end of the month I'd love to get some sort of shared posting/forum going on where we can share our thoughts and any tips we've picked up along the way. 

I think that's enough of that for now, and all will become more clear when I post about the first habit later on in the week. In the mean time, if anyone has any thoughts or ideas then please share - I'm hoping that I haven't made this sound really boring and that some people will be inspired to join in :) 

x Rachel