Category Archives: Appointment

Without fail, it happens every year. The sun gets brighter, the sky bluer, and all I want to do is enjoy the outdoors. But, I still have to get things done — which seems impossible as I keep hearing birds chirping and the sun inviting me to back in its warmth. And if I don’t get into the sun at least a few minutes a day — I think I get a little depressed.

Thankfully, there are ways to remain productive when all you want to do is be outside. Here are ten of my favorite strategies.

1. Plan ahead.

Unless you’re a notorious planner, this isn’t always the most riveting task. But productivity just doesn’t happen. You need to make a plan. And, this is especially true when you would rather be doing something else, like relaxing in a hammock while sipping on a refreshing glass of iced tea or lemonade.

There’s no need to overwhelm yourself here. You could go old school and just create a list of your top priorities. You could also try techniques like the Rapid Planning Method or setting SMART goals.

Whatever method you employ, the key is to identify what’s essential and necessary. In a perfect world, this should be no more than three items. As for everything else? Either schedule them for later, delete them from your list, or assign them to someone else. In short, you want to reduce your responsibilities so that you have less to do in one day.

2. Start your day earlier — or later.

I’m a fan of waking up early. It’s quieter since no one else is awake. There fewer distractions because your phone isn’t going-off with calls, texts, and emails just yet. Als, you haven’t had a chance to gauge how nice it really is yet. And, you get your most important work out the way so that you can play. In a way, that’s an incentive.

Moreover, it’s been found that morning birds are usually more productive. That’s because they’re more consistent, calm, proactive, and refreshed.

If you aren’t a morning person, there is some good news. You can train yourself to wake up earlier.

• Prepare the night before by planning how you’ll spend tomorrow and going to bed earlier.
• Take baby steps like setting your alarm 15-minutes earlier and working your way up.
• If you’re groggy, exercise, or take a cold shower.
• Eat more protein and fewer cards during breakfast.
• Resist the urge to take naps.

At the same time, if you’re more productive later on, then create a reverse schedule. That means if you’re a night owl, you can enjoy the sunshine all day and then begin work as it sets.

3. Schedule your work around attention levels.

“On an average day, you will have different levels of attention,” writes Graham Allcott, author of how to Be a Productivity Ninja. “For ease, a crude analysis might highlight three different types of attention:”

• Proactive attention when you’re “fully focused, alert, in the zone, and ready to make your most important decisions or tackle your most complex tasks.”
• Active attention when you’re “plugged in, ticking along, but perhaps flagging slightly.”
• Inactive attention is when you’re struggling “with complex or difficult tasks.”

With that in mind, you should schedule your day around these attention levels. Of course, you can only do this after tracking your personal production peaks. But, after that, the concept is straightforward.

For example, if your proactive attention management time is from 9 am to 11 am, then that’s when you knock out your most important work. If idle attention time is from 1 pm to 3 pm, then that’s when you go outside for exercise or conference calls.

4. Predict when you’ll be less productive.

If you’ve tracked your time, then you have an idea of when you are and aren’t most productive daily. But that’s not exactly what I’m talking about here.

When you have some downtime, go through your calendar and see when you won’t be as productive. I’m talking about holidays like Memorial Day or the 4th of July or vacations. Despite your best efforts, it’s unlikely that you’re not going to get much, if any, work done when you’re traveling, chilling, or enjoying the festivities.

5. Soak-up the sun.

Find opportunities to stay productive while still getting outside. Examples include:

• Scheduling walking meetings, as opposed to your office or conference.
• Sitting outside while making your phone calls.
• Dining al fresco. Besides getting some fresh air and Vitamin D, eating lunch at your desk is bad for your health and productivity.
• Take your breaks outside. For instance, instead of reading or meditating inside, take these activities into your backyard. You could also go for a walk, run some errands, or just relax in a hammock.
• Compromise by working next to a window.

In addition to getting creative here, you could actually work outside. Simply grab your laptop, preferably not your primary work device, and find a comfortable spot to work.

If you have a backyard, work from a picnic or folding table if you’re fortunate enough to have a pool, set up shop there. Or, if you have the budget, build your own outdoor office, like converting a shed or customize your own through companies like outdoor Office.

If you don’t have this type of space, consider public parks and find a bench to work from. Some other ideas would be cafes or restaurants with outdoor seating or botanical gardens. Ideally, you would choose a spot with WiFi. If not, work offline or use your phone as a hotspot. And, consider your working preferences. If you prefer silence, then public spaces probably aren’t a good idea.

The most important thing to remember, though is that if you’re going to fight back against the glare. You can do this by sitting in the shade or increasing your screen’s brightness. You can also buy or create filters or screens.

6. Get accountable partners.

Do you have like-minded friends, family, or colleagues to keep each other on track? If so, make a deal with them like work until a specific time, and then go out and play. Okay — COVID has about killed me off — by osmosis. The isolation is awful, and I’m afraid for those who are suffering from this terrible virus. But I was doing okay until the riots.

Now — I’m not so good with all the distancing. Now, I’m begging my accountability partners just to keep track of me — text or call. Thankfully, my brother Brad has been working with me on some digital learning and career goals.

I’ve learned you don’t have to meet with your accountable partners — before COVID-19, I didn’t know this fact. But a daily text helps immensely, and a weekly phone call is life-saving. Sharing each other’s highlight of the week and the goals for next week has made all the difference to me.

7. Take note of distractions.

Taking note or writing down your distractions is a common productivity technique that everyone needs to master — regardless of the weather. For example, when it’s time to focus on work, turn off your phone, or silence your notifications. It’s the simplest and most effective way to prevent phone calls, texts, or email notification from interrupting your flow.

The same is true of social media. You’ll get a severe case of FOMO if you see others having fun while you’re trying to get stuff done.

8. Bring sustenance.

I hate being in the zone only to have to stop to get something to drink or eat. And, if you aren’t nearby your kitchen, that can be a real problem having to stop what you’re doing and run to the store. Determine that you will never run to the store in the middle of the day again. That one decision will also cut down on decision fatigue.

Whether if you’re in your backyard or a public space, have a small cooler with you containing water and healthy snacks. Besides satisfying your thirst or hunger, staying hydrated and full of brainfood will keep you focused and healthy.

Also, don’t forget to bring along some sunscreen and chargers for your gadgets — hear me — every device. You cannot get much done when you’re burnt to a crisp or dealing with a battery that’s dead.

The best suggestion for gadget prep — always have your cords, braided together in your bag. Have your cords run through your backpack from your devices to the plugin. You’ll never leave a cord again. A travel battery pack helps too.

9. Reward yourself.

Let’s say that you need to develop a proposal, fix a bug on your app, or discover ways to innovate your business. You block out two hours for this personal venture as a top priority — occasionally, take a friend if you feel like it. And guess what? You’ll complete them under that timeframe. Now it’s time to reward yourself by going to the park, beach, or your balcony for some much-deserved R&R. Sit in your hot tub or sit by the pool if you don’t have time to hit the beach.

I have a hard time not working. But it’s essential to rest, and it is beneficial to reward yourself. I read once that we need to finish many short term goals for good mental and physical health.

10. Give yourself permission to relax.

It’s not uncommon for things to slow down a bit during certain times of the year. And, this is particularly true during the summer. They say productivity drops by 20 percent in the summer and attendance dips by 19 percent. Project turnaround times increase by 13 percent — we’re more distracted and likely to socialize with others. I wonder what life will be like after COVID? Likely to over-socialize with others? Yes, I think so.

Enjoy the beautiful weather while it lasts, and take advantage of these summer hours. It will keep you fresh and help you avoid getting burned out. Most of all — after what we have just been through — and it’s not over yet — truly, permit yourself to relax.

Healthy shouldn’t be hard. It may seem to a hungry mind that some of the most delicious foods are full of sugar, carbs, and fats. Fast-food chains with easy access can make it tough to be a conscious consumer of mindful, healthy meals. Here’s how to use our online Calendar for meal planning.

Watching what you eat is key to living a healthy lifestyle. That’s why many diet and nutrition specialists suggest meal planning. Scheduling your snacks and meals is an excellent way to ensure you eat only what fits in your diet plan.

The keyword? Plan. Unless you schedule out what you’ll eat when you’re going to struggle with meal planning. To help you make the switch to a healthier lifestyle, use an online calendar to map out your meals.

Making Your Meal Calendar

An online calendar is an ideal tool for planning meals: Here’s how to use it well:

Create a Schedule

A meal plan requires you to think through your future eating habits. In an online calendar, plot out your breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. Use color-coding to separate them from the other activities and reminders you log in to your calendar.

Decide on a day each week to meal plan, but don’t be afraid to update it as you go. If your colleague brings you a dozen farm-fresh eggs one day, don’t let them go to waste: Update your schedule.

The ability to quickly update your calendar is a crucial advantage of an online calendar: You can access your calendar on your phone, letting you adjust your plans no matter where you are at the moment. Your easy digital access to your calendar is also helpful when you come across a new recipe you want to add to your list before you forget.

1. Add Reminders to Promote Accountability

Once you’ve committed to meal planning, you need to stick to it. The benefits of meal planning are long-term, meaning they require perseverance. Use your online calendar to remind you to track your progress.

For example, you can create an event in your calendar to mark down your daily calorie count or plan your next week’s meals. Set these events to repeat daily or weekly. Build a routine that helps you keep moving forward.

Another way to keep yourself accountable is to share your meal plan with someone else — ideally, a significant other that enjoys your cooking. Online calendars are easy to share and can be viewed simultaneously by multiple people. You can even set a reminder to notify your partner of the night’s meal as they leave work, giving them the chance to stop by the store for a missing ingredient.

2. Link Recipes

When you begin meal planning, you’ll have to do a lot of experimenting. Until you get your favorites down pat, you’ll want to follow recipes.

Memorizing recipes can be tough, especially when you’re trying to learn many of them at once. With an online calendar, there’s no need to commit them to memory.

When you add a recipe to your calendar, link to it in the “Notes” section. You probably prefer to find recipes on social media than in cookbooks nowadays, and your calendar is a great place to store them until it’s time to cook.

Through trial and error, you’ll likely find several new recipes that you consider you “real winners.” If you want to attempt a great recipe again, drag and drop associated events (shopping, ingreds) to a later date. Once you build up a bank of favorite recipes, ingredients, where to shop for specialty items, etc., meal planning is as easy as reselecting old ones.

3. Keep Track

While meal planning means preparing for the future, learning from your past meal schedule is just as helpful. As you go through your week cooking and eating, there will be things that you want to remember — some good things and some planning that didn’t work out so well for you.

All of your cooking information can be stored in the above-mentioned “Notes” section of your online calendar. The Calendar search function is also a helpful feature to use when you need to check-on stored information. Use your search functionalities to:

• Get Plenty of Variety

Can’t remember the last time you had chicken parmesan for dinner? Just check your past online calendar events. They’ll tell you the last time you prepared a meal, helping you decide if it’s too soon to repeat. Variety is important for proper nutrition, not to mention keeping you satisfied with your diet plan.

• Suggest Recipe Tweaks

It’s tough to get a new recipe right on the first try. There will be some things you might want to remember for next time, which can be easily recorded in your online calendar. Recording in your Calendar needs to become second nature (a habit!) for you so that you don’t waste time. Your Calendar information can then become your at-ready-reference tool — so you don’t add too much salt during take-two trial.

• Rate Your Meals

What if you didn’t like a certain meal? Remind “future you” in the notes section of a calendar event to avoid making that meal a second time. You could develop a fun rating system for your own meals that the whole family can take part in. A meal that earned 1-star reviews from all five family members probably isn’t going to make the cut.

4. Plan When to Eat Out

If you like to eat out, know this: It shouldn’t be part of your meal plan every day, but it’s okay to reward yourself on occasion by eating out.

While home cooking is often healthier and more cost-effective, it can be arduous. Your time is valuable. Using your online calendar to schedule meals out (or in, if you prefer takeout) can mix things up and insert some food fun into your week.

Eating out can prevent burnout — sometimes — but it’s a slippery slope. When scheduling your meals, pick a couple of days each month when you would like to eat meals out of the home. Also, think about preparing meals and hitting a park or some other place to eat. In this way, you are still eating well (less fat, less sugar), but you are getting out. Hey, take your dog to the dog park and eat lunch there. (Professional Hint: take dog treats, or your dog will eat your lunch for you.)

Remember, sometimes you just want to “emotionally” eat out.  By incorporating periodic eat-out-splurges into your schedule, you can look forward to a calm dining experience, instead of a mad-rush toward the nearest fast food joint on a whim.

Don’t let meal planning scare you. Online calendars can help you live a healthier, more organized life. Stick to your planned schedule, and you’ll save money, maintain a healthy weight, and learn a new skill. Go ahead: Grab your computer and get going on a delicious new adventure.

No matter how hard you try, you’re bound to get distracted sometime during the workday. One study from Poly found that 99 percent of employees report they get distracted while working at their personal workspace. And, when a team member gets distracted — productivity suffers.

While there are distractions that you have no power over, there are still plenty of ways that you can help your team avoid interruptions.

1. Introduce a formal process to handle distractions.

If you notice that your team is being distracted by the same things day in day out, it is time to introduce a process to handle it or reinforce an existing process,” states Ben Brearley.

For example, do “you notice that people in your organization are going directly to a certain helpful team member all the time?” If so, “you may introduce a process where that request is sent to a support queue instead.”

Another alternative would be to “introduce a gatekeeper,” suggests Brearley. The gatekeeper, which could be you, is “effective because it provides a barrier which is inconvenient.” Instead of bothering a colleague, and then can get sucked into a side conversation, they must come to you. That’s enough to make them solve a problem on their own.

2. Set clear goals with specific objectives.

“If you notice that certain employees have slowed down their productivity due to digital distractions, it helps to be transparent and direct about your expectations for their performance,” recommends Freedom Founder and CO Fred Stutzman. “They may not have realized how many times they were being interrupted by notifications and how this could impact their work in the long term.”

Also, when you provide your team with “clear guidelines and measurable targets for them to focus on, you can help motivate them to stay on track.” And, it’s a simple way for them to avoid giving in to common workplace distractions.

3. Redesign the workplace.

While there are some distractions that you can’t control, this is not one of them. This could be the one area that you do have the most influence over. But where to start?

Well, if you have an open office plan, you might want to modify it since they just don’t work. Research “shows that such offices result in 73 percent less face-to-face interaction, and a 67 percent increase in email interaction,” writes Pooja Singh. The reason? “All the distracting noise of an open office causes employees to tune out with their headphones, and they resort to sending their queries to colleagues via email instead of standing in front of them owing to lack of privacy.”

Other ways you can cultivate a less distracting work environment? Reduce sound pollution by asking your team to silence their phones and ditching lousy lightning. Also, provide them with ergonomic furniture like standing desks and let them personalize their workspaces.

4. Institute “no interruptions” time and “no-meeting” days.

Because everyone has their own biological prime times, I recommend that you ask your time when they prefer not to be disturbed. You can do this by conducting a poll or survey or simply just asking them. While this won’t please everyone, it could give you an idea of when to implement “no interruption” periods when your team can not interrupt each other unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Also, because meetings are a leading distraction, only hold them on certain days and decree “no meeting” days. For example, make it a point never to schedule a meeting on Wednesday so that your team isn’t getting pulled away from their work. But, if you must have a meeting, make sure that it’s necessary, short, and concise.

5. Recommend distraction blocking apps.

If your team members don’t have the willpower to ignore desktop or smartphone notifications, then suggest that use apps that block distracting apps or sites at specific times. Options would be Offtime, Freedom, Moment, or RescueTime. Or, if you prefer, you can set time limits on Android or screen time on iOS.

6. Establish a plan for urgent situations.

Even if you’ve suggested to your team that they block out specific times to check their phones or email, they may not be able to resist the temptation. I would say that this is most true when someone needs to be updated on an urgent matter. For example, one of my employees has a mother who is in the hospital and they’re constantly checking their phone for updates.

One way around this, suggests Brian Solis, is to “set up a protocol exclusively for urgent messages.” For instance, you could use “a tool that emits a special sound when something is marked as urgent. An easy-to-use setting on computers, phones, and tablets can block out all other notifications, allowing only urgent messages through.” Solis also recommends “making it possible for anyone in the organization to mark an email as urgent, rather than having all emails from certain senders (such as your boss) show up as urgent.”

The key is to use this sparingly. And, if someone is on vacation, please don’t contact them via email. If it is an emergency, then call or text them.

7. Stop overloading your team.

There are two ways that you can prevent overwhelming your team. The first is to stop throwing too much work they way. It’s a simple way to avoid multitasking and worrying about tasks that aren’t currently a priority. Let them finish what they’ve started before assigning them something else.

The second way is through information overload. That means bombarding them with too much information at one time. Or relying too much on technology which has been known to cause collaboration overload.

8. Allow longer breaks.

Your eyes aren’t deceiving you. As Choncé Maddox explains, granting “your employees longer breaks could work out in your favor.” As stated in a report from Salary.com, “employees who admitted to wasting time at work said that common time-wasting activities were talking with other co-workers (43%), online activities (34%), and texting and on personal phone calls (4%).”

“As you can see, nearly half of the employees that were surveyed said they wasted time by chatting with other coworkers, and over a third said they were browsing online,” adds Choncé. “These are all common time-wasting activities that tempt each one of us during the workday.” The reason? It’s just our mind letting us know that “we need a break to recharge our focus.”

“Instead of trying to force employees to work more, you may get better results by giving a longer break so they can do these time-wasting activities off the clock and recharge for the rest of the workday,” suggests Choncé.

Distractions are inevitable. But, instead of fighting against that urge for a break, encourage your team to increase break time by at least 30 minutes.

9. Allow for flexibility.

Remember how distractions pop-up because it’s a sign that you need a break? Well, sometimes that’s because you’re also working against your peak productivity hours. For instance, if you’re a night owl, then it’s counterproductive to force yourself to wake up early and start working first things in the AM.

But, that’s no all. Flexibility could also mean that your team works when there’s no one else in the office — or at their home if they’re working remotely. Because it’s nice and quiet, they’ll be able to focus without interferences like background chatter or massive smartphone notifications.

10. Provide time management training.

“Some believe that time management training doesn’t work,” writes my Calendar co-founder John Hall. “On the one hand, I can why this is true — particularly in regards to traditional techniques.” However, “I don’t think that means completely tossing this idea out the window.”

“Take, for example, a new hire you just graduated from college.” I doubt “that they were ever taught some necessary time management skills, like how to prioritize, organize, and communicate.” In this case, “you might want to sign them up for a time management course or mentor them in techniques that you find to be effective.”

“Moreover, if they tried out one technique that didn’t work, then suggest they try another,” adds John. Both John and I “personally feel that improving your time management is a process.” That means that you must keep making adjustments “until you develop a system that works best for you.” As such, advise your employees of that and “encourage them to keep trying out different methods.”

What’s the point of tracking your productivity? Hey, if you don’t know how fast you are moving, there is no way to get faster. The main reason to monitor your productivity is to find out where you may want to improve, and in what way you might choose to change. Tracking keeps you focused on your goal, makes you more efficient, and helps you maintain a healthy balance. Keeping track also ensures that you’re working smarter, not harder.

Finding out when you’re most productive has some serious benefits. You’ll also want to know where you work the best — in order to hit peak production times. But, how can you find out your personal production peaks? Here are six ways you can find out how you are doing and where you are headed.

1. Time logs: The simple way to identify your peak productivity hour.

Believe it or not, it’s really not that difficult to track your personal productivity peaks. You just need a pen and a journal. Your Calendar is also a great place to keep track. Yep. It’s really that simple.

Of course, there are more steps involved here. But, it’s still the most straightforward method you can use to track how you’re spending your time.

• Pick a day and mark it in your calendar to start tracking your time. Just begin — or you’ll never make this commitment.
• List everything that happened during the day from when you wake-up to bedtime.
• Take into account factors that may impact your energy. Examples could be drinking coffee or being kept up all night because your toddler is teething.
• Record everything that you’ve accomplished in an hour. Ideally, you want to rate your performance on motivation, focus, and energy level.
• When you have some downtime, like during a break or at the end of the day, reflect on what you’ve done. The reason? You want to pick-up any patterns. For example, are you more energetic in the morning or afternoon? What times do you usually get distracted? When do you feel like you’re ready to go or need a rest?

How long should you keep a time log? For some, a week is sufficient. But, if you want a more accurate finding, the longer the better. Usually around a month is more than enough. However, some people prefer to track their time for up to three months.

If you want to get more in-depth, here some other suggestions you can try when tracking your time.

• Experiment. Maybe wake-up an hour earlier or sleep-in. Switch tasks around in your schedule. Take longer breaks, meditate, exercise, and alter your caffeine intake. All of these can influence your energy levels.
• Wake-up and fall asleep naturally — that means no alarm clock.
• Be aware of your ecosystem. “What this means is that the bedtime routine you have with your 2-year-old is going to possibly affect your performance in your 8 am meeting the next day,” explains Vanessa Kettner, a coach with Personal Best. “Or that traumatic 4 pm deadline you had every day in that job ten years ago might still be exercising its influence today.”
• Check your temperature. Don’t worry; this has nothing to do with COVID-19. Our body temperatures drop when we’re tired. So, record these fluctuations throughout the day to give you a better idea of energetic peaks and lulls.
• Make use of time and activity tracking apps. Most of these tools, like RescueTime and Toggl, run in the background of your computer or smartphone. They then track the time you spend on apps, websites, and projects so that you have a report on how you’re spending your time online.

2. Work with your Ultradian Rhythms.

If there was one pattern that I hoped you noticed while tracking your time, it’s when you have bursts of energy. For example, you may be most productive for an hour or so before crashing. That’s because of biological cycles called ultradian rhythms.

“Ultradian rhythms have been made famous primarily through a sleep study,” explains Wanda Thibodeaux over at Inc.com. “The ‘father of sleep,’ sleep researcher Nathaniel Kleitman, figured out that people go through ultradian cycles whenever they get some shuteye.”

However, Kleitman also “discovered rapid eye movement (REM) and proposed that sleep included active brain processes.” He “also discovered that a Basic Rest Activity Cycle (BRAC) is present when people are awake, too,” writes Thibodeaux. “Generally, these daily ultradian cycles involve alternating periods of high-frequency brain activity (about 90 minutes) followed by lower-frequency brain activity (about 20 minutes).”

I don’t want to overwhelm you with too much science here. But, here’s the gist. When you track your time, you should be able to pick-up on these cycles.

Instead of fighting against them, use your ultradian rhythms to your advantage. Using any pattern or rhythm means spending those periods of high-frequency brain activity on your most challenging and essential tasks. For example, if your most wide-awake, alert time of day is between 9 am, and 10:30 am, then block that timeframe out for your top priority of the day.

As for the periods of lower-frequency brain activity? Those 20-minute blocks should be spent on activities that either don’t exhaust too much energy or help you recharge. Examples would be cleaning out your inbox, going for a walk outside, reflecting, or preparing for your next meeting.

3. Calculate your “Biological Prime Time.”

Coined by Sam Carpenter in his book Work the System, your “biological prime time,” as defined by Chris Baily, “is the time of the day when you have the most energy, and therefore the greatest potential to be productive.”

Obviously, your highest potential energy time is likely linked to your ultradian rhythms. But, you’re going to use a more systemic approach to calculate what your biological prime time (BPT) is.

To calculate his BPT, Baily charted his “energy, focus, and motivation levels for 21 days between the hours of 6 am and 9 pm.” Baily explains, “To control for any extraneous variables, I didn’t consume any caffeine or alcohol, worked out at different times every day, and woke up and fell asleep naturally.”

“My specific results aren’t too important, simply because yours will vary so much depending on your biology,” writes Baily. “But there are huge productivity benefits to charting your energy levels throughout a typical day.”

Likely the easiest and quickest method here is to use the time log method here. The key difference is that you’ll want to use a spreadsheet.

“From the moment you either wake up, or start working (it’s up to you), start tracking your Energy, Focus, Motivation, and Creativity on the hour, every hour,” writes Rob Nightengale for Make Use Of. “Set an alarm to remind yourself to do this. It should only take around 20–30 seconds per hour.”

“If you decide to only track from 9 am, you can leave the entries before 9 am blank,” adds Nightengale. “The same goes if you stop tracking at 5 pm.” With that in mind, “do try to only track during the same times each day. Otherwise, the data could be skewed.”

After that, it’s pretty simple. Just give yourself a score in “how you’re feeling in each area out of 10,” adds Nightengale. “Be completely honest with yourself here, and don’t fall victim to the Hawthorne Effect, where you may feel tempted to increase your scores just to make yourself feel better.”

“As you start inputting data, you’ll see the Totals and Average column will fill automatically,” Nightengale continues. “As will their respective tables and graphs on the right-hand side. You don’t need to touch these.”

Keep in mind though that if you only track 5 days instead of 7, “you will have to change the formula in the Average column to divide by 5 instead of 7.”

“By charting your energy levels (and focus and motivation levels, if you’re curious), you can schedule each day’s tasks based on when you have the most energy, focus, and motivation, and plan your entire day accordingly,” states Baily. “You can also visually see interesting trends in your day, like how much of a morning bird or night owl you are.”

If you don’t want to create a spreadsheet from scratch, Nightengale has been awesome enough to do the legwork for you. In other words, he’s created it for you, and you can download the Prime Time Calculator Spreadsheet here.

4. Follow the peak, trough, recovery cycle.

According to Daniel Pink, author of When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, we tend to through three predictable stages throughout the day; a peak, a trough, a recovery. Even without tracking your time or calculating your biological primetime, you probably already have some idea of these patterns.

But, let’s explore what they are in a little more detail.

The first stage is the peak. “Research shows we should be doing our analytic work during the peak, Pink told Sheryl Sandberg during a Facebook Live book discussion. “That is work that requires heads-down focus, attention, the keyword: vigilance,” he said. “Can you bat away the distractions?”

A trough is where our energy becomes limited. As such, this is when we make more mistakes. “What we should be doing during then is our administrative work: routine emails, all the variations of garbage we have to do in the course of the day,” Pink advises.

The lower production time is followed by a recovery where we feel re-energized. “We have a rising mood, which is good, but we’re less vigilant. It’s a good time for the creative work such as brainstorming, things where you need to be a little looser,” Pink stated.

Most individuals will move in that order. The exception is if you’re a strong night owl. If you are a night owl — the process is reversed.

These patterns are different for everyone. But, research from Priceonomics shows “that most people don’t really get going until 7 AM (a typical start time), and that after 5 PM (typical finish time), work quickly tapers.” What’s more, for most of us, our most productive time of day is 11 am, and it drops after lunch.

5. Match your work to your mental energy.

If you’re still trying to track your personal production peaks, then here’s a technique that Trent Hamm, founder of The Simple Dollar, has used:

Make an energy map of your days.

“Fire up your favorite spreadsheet program and open up a weekly planner spreadsheet, one that has the days along the top and the times along the left, split up into fifteen-minute or half-hour increments or so,” he writes. “Print off several of these (so that they’ll travel with you easily)”.

Now, you’ll just want to “keep it on your desk where you’ll notice it all the time.” The catch? Don’t use it for planning. Instead, “write in what you’re doing and use a number to describe how productive you feel, with a 10 being as productive as you possibly can be and 0 being asleep.”

After a couple of weeks, you should have some visual data on your natural energy levels.

Since you know when you’re most productive, Hamm suggests that you manage your energy by:

• Cataloging all of your routine tasks. The idea is to identify “which of your regular tasks require focus and concentration and which ones do not.”
• Making a rough framework schedule of your upcoming week the week before. Like Trent, I do this on Fridays. But, you can do this during the weekend if you prefer. Just make sure that you list all of your priorities and assign them to a specific day.
• Tighten up the framework the day before. “Each evening, I make a plan for what I intend to do the following day,” writes Hamm. “Since I already have a general list of the stuff I want to accomplish from my weekly plan, I just organize those items in an order that takes advantage of the natural ebb and flow of my energy throughout a given day.”
• Make “appointments” for specific tasks. For your vital tasks, schedule an exact time to focus on them. For Trent, that was writing his book. “8 AM, every day, one hour, then 10:30 AM, every day, a half an hour,” he writes. “This allowed me to make steady progress going forward, first with a detailed outline of the book, then filling in the pieces as I went.”
• Don’t force yourself to work through an energy valley. Even if you’re in the middle of something important, it’s best to stop and take a breather so that you can recharge.

6. Use your calendar as a self-tracking tool.

Even if you don’t live and breathe by your calendar, it can still come in handy in helping you figure out when you were most productive. For instance, if you reviewed last year’s calendar, you may have noticed some patterns. Did meetings occur at specific times? If so, what was the reasoning? Did you tackle a large project? How did you break it down? And, how long did it take you to complete each part?

How do you look up past data? Well, I recommend you check out this previous Calendar post from Abby Miller that lays out the process.

Even more promising? Online calendars continue to evolve; they’re becoming more intelligent. Take Calendar as an example. It uses machine learning to make smart suggestions on how you should spend your time and schedule events by using historical data.

Final words of advice.

After tracking your personal production peaks, manage them properly. That means reserving your most challenging or important tasks during your highest peaks. As for the activities that don’t require as much energy? Save them during lulls.

Most importantly, protect your time by saying “no” more often, single-tasking, and taking care of your health and well-being.

Even before COVID-19 put remote work in the spotlight, numerous studies highlighted its benefits. For years, flexible work arrangements have been able to improve the morale and health of employees. As a consequence, they’re more productive. What’s more, for businesses, remote work can attract and retain talent and reduce the cost associated with real estate and utilities.

At the same time, working remotely also comes with a cost. “For some people, the feedback and encouragement loop of the work environment is critical to their jobs,” explains clinical psychologist Ryan Hooper. Furthermore, if working from home, it can also be more challenging to set boundaries.

“It can be beneficial to get some household chores done in the middle of the workday, like switching laundry or picking up a child from school,” said Cara Maksimow, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist. However, “the lines between work and home can blur and make it hard to ‘turn it off.’” And, if you’re putting in more hours, then that may bleed into family time or even affect your sleep schedule.

Right now, we are all in the “remote team” giving us a lot of empathy concerning many issues. If you have been the remote team — you already know all about the issues. If you are a newly remote leader, you have likely learned that your remote team needs more contact than you had previously thought.

But that’s not all. “Remote workers often experience symptoms of anxiety and depression at a higher rate than people commuting into traditional office spaces,” reports Dr. Amy Cirbus, Ph.D., LMHC, LPC, and Manager of Clinical Quality at Talkspace. “Specifically, they report feelings of isolation and loneliness and high rates of worry about job performance and stability. Insomnia and sleep disturbance are common, along with increased fatigue, irritation, sadness, and feelings of disconnection.”

“Remote workers report a lack of concentration and focus that can compound and exacerbate these mental health challenges,” adds Dr. Cirbus. “It can lead to a loss of self-worth and a questioning of one’s abilities.” When combined, “these symptoms can have a significant impact on job performance, job satisfaction, and the efficiency of productive work.”

Thankfully, there are ways that you can maintain your mental health when working remotely. And here are ten of your best options.

Take breaks strategically.

“There is a tendency to work throughout the day to overcome some stigma that you aren’t working when not in the office,” says David Rabin, vice president of global commercial marketing at Lenovo. While you may assume that that will help you overcome your guilt, the truth is that doing so will only burn you out.

In fact, according to author and productivity expert, Julie Morgenstern, “Stepping away for breaks are part of productivity; they make you smarter and give you perspective and answers.”

When just starting, this may seem impossible. But, it’s possible if you try out some basic, but effective, time management techniques like:

• Tracking your time in 15-30 minute increments. The reason? It will help you “get a realistic picture of how efficient you can work.”
• Plan a realistic schedule in advance. That means not overbooking yourself and only scheduling what you can realistically get done in a day.
• Plan around your energy levels. Schedule your most important or challenging tasks when you have the most energy and focus. Plan to take breaks when your energy drops.
• Avoid pointless meetings. Never accept unnecessary meetings. Or, consider alternatives like phone conferences.
• Create gaps in your calendar. Instead of working nonstop from sun up to down, leave blanks in your calendar to address emergencies or take a break.

Upgrade your office.

Unless you don’t have the extra space, you need to work in a dedicated work area. Ideally, that would be somewhere that’s quiet and inspiring. Or, in other words, somewhere other than your couch, kitchen table, or bedroom.

After identifying this spot, set it up so that it’s not only functional but can also lift your spirits. At the minimum, this means investing in ergonomic furniture and having the right tools. You should spruce the place up with plants, painting your walls with a color that matches your job, and surrounding yourself with personal items.

Spend time outside.

It’s been proven time and time again that getting out into nature is a simple and effective way to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression.

“When people are depressed or under high levels of stress, this part of the brain malfunctions and people experience a continuous loop of negative thoughts,” says Dr. Jason Strauss. Getting outside can counter this thanks to therapeutic benefits like calming nature stress. “Having something pleasant to focus on like trees and greenery helps distract your mind from negative thinking, so your thoughts become less filled with worry,” adds Dr. Strauss.

Socialize.

“Don’t equate “remote worker” with ‘hermit,” writes Beth Braccio Hering. “Connecting with others eases loneliness that sometimes comes with remote work, lifts spirits, and generates a sense of belonging.”

“Look for regular ways to get a ‘people fix,’ perhaps by volunteering, taking a class, spending some days at a coworking space, or setting a weekly lunch date with friends,” she adds. “Likewise, keep in touch with others from your company through emails, video chats, and social platforms as a reminder that you’re part of something larger than your own home office.”

Another option? Foster or adopt a dog — if you don’t already have one. Dogs have been found to improve your mood, lower your stress, encourage you to be healthy, and make you feel loved. Oh yeah. Your four-legged friend also gives you some much-needed companionship.

Get moving.

As I’m sure you’re well aware, physical activity releases endorphins and other feel-good chemicals. But how much should you exercise?

Well, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states that those who exercise for 30 to 60 three to five days a week should suffice. Don’t have the time to squeeze in a workout? Even going for a short walk can improve your mood.

Take an “unsick” day.

Piloted by the folks over at Buffer, an “unsick” day is where you simply take a day off from work to take care of preventive appointments. These include visiting the dentist, taking a vision exam, and your annual physical. However, sometimes you may just need to take the occasional day off from work.

Keep stress at bay.

“Research tells us that stress overload not only intensifies symptoms of mental illness but can trigger relapses in individuals who are symptom-free,” says Deborah Serani, PsyD, a clinical psychologist and author of Living with Depression: Why Biology and Biography Matter along the Path to Hope and Healing.

The easiest way to achieve this is by taking care of yourself, like reducing stress-inducing events, not neglecting your health, and finding ways to decompress. “I generally take breaks out of the house — like a short walk, eating lunch on the patio, or just resting in a pool of sunshine on the sofa in my office,” says Serani.

Think about planning your next vacation when we are out of the COVID mess.

Wear your “happy” clothes.

Sure. You could stay in your pajamas all day. But, that’s not going to help your productivity. And, more importantly, it’s not going to put you in a good mood.

“For those who are new to working from home, there is certainly an art to being able to remain focussed and productive in a space which is inextricably linked with comfort and relaxation,” explains Charlotte Armitage, a media and business psychologist at YAFTA. “The key to ensuring a level of productivity in the home is to create a routine and structure that you force yourself to stick to.”

“One of the easiest and simplest parts of a routine to implement is ensuring that you change out of your PJs and into different clothes for working in,” she says. “When the routine of getting changed into new clothes for working at home is practiced enough, psychologically, you become conditioned to associate the changing of clothes with a change of mindset, psychological pace and focus, therefore preparing you for the working day ahead.”

Moreover, getting dressed is an easy way to improve your mental health.

“Routine is important for maintaining our mental health, and getting dressed is an important part of that routine,” she says.

“The idea of staying in PJs all day has some negative connotations associated with it, and therefore if we behave that way, we can start to feel lazy and demotivated which in turn leads to a lack of productivity and low activity levels, and consequently starts to create a negative vicious cycle.”

And, if you want to go a step further, dress yourself — happy — by looking into dopamine dressing.

Set parameters.

“Separating your work and home life is almost certainly the biggest challenge of working from home,” writes my Calendar co-founder John Hall. “It’s all too easy to go back to work after dinner or start working the second you wake up.”

“An unstable schedule or unplanned calendar happens more often with freelancers or people who make their own schedules,” adds Hall.

“While dedication is important, overworking will cause you to burnout,” he states. “Know the signs, and give yourself frequent breaks. Listen to friends and family if they suggest you’re working too much.”

Remember, working from home is a privilege. “Take it seriously, and you’ll take your productivity to new heights.”

Do you sometimes feel like your Phil Connors in “Groundhog Day?” Right now, during quarantine, I certainly do. You know. You are seemingly living the same day over and over again.

Whether if you’re in a rut or working from home, it can certainly feel as if every day is the same. As a result, it’s pretty easy to lose track of time. But why exactly is this the case? And, how can you snap out of it?

Our experience with time is malleable.

“Perception of time has this ebb and flow,” psychologist J. Devin McAuley, the director of the Timing, Attention, and Perception (TAP) Lab at Michigan State University, told The Cut. “Objective time stays the same, but people’s perception changes based on several different factors,” such as memory and external cues.

According to researchers, there are various mechanisms used to explain how a person perceives time. “One idea is that essentially you have some kind of internal clock that is your internal sense of time, which is clicking along at some rate based on physiology,” McAuley adds. Think back to your daily commute or running errands. You probably stop at the same light so much that you have an idea of how long it takes from it to go from red to green.

But what if your overslept and are rushing to work? Because your internal clock is ticking faster, the light appears to last longer.

The influence of timing mechanisms.

Besides that, some other external factors can throw off your perception of time. Caffeine, stress, exercise, boredom, and even your age are some common examples of these external cues. Or, to put it another way, time flies when you’re having fun and plods along when you’re bored.

Case in point, a study published in Psychophysiology analyzed 42 participants before, during, and after experiencing a version of the Trier Social Stress Test. The results showed that social stress could fluctuate time perception.

In addition to stress, mental representations can also play a role. A study led by psychologist David Ellis from the University of Lincoln in the UK shows that people tend to forget what day of the week it is because of our feelings associated with them.

Days of the week matter too.

“Midweek days are confusable because their mental representations are sparse and similar,” explains the team’s final report in PLoS ONE. “Mondays and Fridays are less confusable because their mental representations are rich and distinctive, forming two extremes along a continuum of change.” For example, terms like ‘boring,’ ‘hectic’ and ‘tired’ were associated with Mondays, while Fridays were linked to more positive words like ‘party,’ ‘freedom’ and ‘release.’

“Indeed, more than a third of participants reported that the current day felt like a different day, and most of those feelings were on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, reflecting the midweek dip in associations attached to different days,” added Ellis.

“Our research implies that time cycles can shape cognition even when they are socially constructed. The Bank Holiday effect implies that apparent weekday is not determined solely by the seven days of the weekly cycle: transitions between the working week and weekend also play a role.”

In other words, if you’re returning from a long weekend or vacation, “your body’s complex system of time processing — and your subjective impression of the length of the workweek — may be thrown out of whack,” writes Stephanie Bucklin.

Routines have been broken.

Routines tend to change. That’s just a part of life. Think about chaotic things are in your home when your kids go back to school, or you’ve had to change shifts at work. Or, like most of us, you’re working from home because of COVID-19.

But, how does this influence how we can keep track of time?

“You naturally did something different on work-out days, for example, like you packed a gym bag, or waked up earlier, which made those days distinctive,” Zainab Delawalla, a clinical psychologist, told HuffPost. “You knew it was Thursday, not only by looking at your calendar, but because on Thursdays, you set your alarm for 7 am instead of 7:30 am, or you picked up bagels for the team on your way into work.”

“Without these distinctions, all the days ‘feel’ the same, and it’s hard to keep track,” she added. Even worse, when routines have been broken, this can negatively impact your productivity, health, and well-being.

Interference in Our Sleep Schedules.

What does sleep have to do with telling time? It’s essential to keep your habits changing for the better. Well, it’s all about circadian rhythms and our internal master clock.

According to the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, “A master clock in the brain coordinates all the biological clocks in a living thing, keeping the clocks in sync. Invertebrate animals, including humans, the master clock is a group of about 20,000 nerve cells (neurons) that form a structure called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, or SCN. The SCN is located in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus and receives direct input from the eyes.”

It’s your master clock that controls your circadian rhythms. So, interferences like daylight savings time and traveling to a different time zone can mess with this natural rhythm that regulates your biological — which we aren’t doing too much of these days.

And, COVID-19 is also disrupting our internal biological clocks. How so? Between new sleep schedules, insomnia, and increased exposure to blue light from the devices that we’re attached to. “And with much of our time spent indoors, we are limiting our exposure to natural light, which is an important external factor in resetting our circadian rhythms,” Delawalla said.

No separation between work and play.

“If you worked Monday through Friday at a certain location, then the weekends marked a change, “said psychologist Rebecca Leslie of Living Fully Psychological Services. “If you are now working from home and have nothing different that happens on the weekend, there is nothing to signify a change in days.”

The same is true if you’re working more then usual. Examples could be putting in 7-day workweeks when launching a product or currently working from home while self-isolating. As a result, the timing of days can get confusing because there isn’t an end to either the workday or week.

Your “anchoring” is off.

“Essentially, your weekly mental calendar is anchored by Saturday and Sunday,” explains Richard A. Block, a professor emeritus of psychology at Montana State University who studies the psychology of time. Because Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are smack-dab in the middle of your routine, they will usually blend together.

But, what happens when you lose sight of these anchoring cues? Obviously, it’s going to make it more challenging to keep track of the days of the week.

To back this claim up, Block mentions a study published in Memory and Cognition back in 1974. Researchers asked students on a college campus, “What day is today?” Asher Koriat and Baruch Fischhoff, the authors of the study, found that when people were further away from the weekend, they had difficulty remembering the day of the week.

To make matters worse, these anchoring cures could get thrown off even more. For example, a long weekend throws or having your trash/recycle day pushed back a day due to a holiday can cause some slight confusion.

“Days of the week is another set of temporal markers that don’t really have inherent meaning on their own,” says Anne Wilson, a professor at the Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, and director of the Identity, Motivation, and Perception Extended in Time and Society (IMPETuS) lab. “We often recall the correct day of the week because it follows the same pattern every week.” That explains why any temporary disruption can throw us off.

How can you avoid losing track of time?

The prominent place to start is to add structure to your life. If possible, try to stick to your previous routine. For example, if you woke-up at 7 am and then leaped into your morning routine, then keep that up. If you held team meetings on Tuesdays at 2 pm, then maintain that recurring event. Keep in mind that your time is still significant. Treat your time as essential.

At the same time, you may have to be flexible. Take having to learn how to work from home with children. You’re probably going to have to adjust your schedule. Next, you’ll want to block out your day so that you can still get things done while teaching your children.

It’s also vital that you block out non-work activities and link anchors to them. For example, if you take an afternoon walk, then you could start dinner.

It’s also suggested that you differentiate your days and try out new traditions. An easy way to do to change things up is to create theme days for work, like doing all of your marketing on Mondays and taking all of your meetings on Tuesday. You can also do the same with your downtime, like Taco Tuesdays or taking a virtual fitness class on Wednesdays.

Other recommendations to keep track of your days:

• Making your workdays different from your days off.
• Getting outside every day.
• Adding a self-care routine to your calendar.
• Using grounding exercises like the 5-4-3-2-1 technique.

The most natural solution of all? Look at your calendar every morning to help your brain reset or stay on-track. It also wouldn’t hurt to set reminders for important tasks and events so that you won’t forget about them.

And, finally, make use of temporal landmarks. For example, if last night was Taco Tuesday, then it’s Wednesday. And, remember — we will be back on track soon. We have to!

Working from home can be pretty sweet—no long and lousy commutes. You can work around your preferred schedule. And, you don’t need to be concerned about distractions like talkative and sick co-workers.

At the same time, remote working does come with its own set of challenges. I’m talking about interruptions friends, family, neighbors, and pets, household chores, or lying on your comfy couch with the TV on. If you don’t keep these interferences in-check, then maintaining your focus is pretty much impossible. But, there are ways to remain focused and motivated when working from home.

Have a designated workspace.

No offense to your bedroom, kitchen table, or couch. But, none of these locations are exactly the best places to work. Take your cozy bed as an example. Working in bed creates a mental between work and rest. That means when you’re trying to drift off, your mind is thinking about work. What’s more, it can decrease the quality of your sleep since looking at a blue screen reduces melatonin.

But that’s not all. Having a dedicated workspace can help get in the zone when it’s time to focus on your work. More importantly, it removes distractions like household chores or binge-watching the latest streaming TV series.

If you don’t have the room for a home office, then experiment with various spots in your home. For example, your focus zone could be a hallway closet that you’ve made into a makeshift office. Or, you could get out of your home and work from a coworking spot of a coffee shop.

Stay off social media.

You don’t necessarily have to go to the extreme and permanently quit social media — unless that’s you’re provocative. But, you should, at the minimum, remove the apps from your home screen so that they don’t interfere with your focus. However, I would go a step further and delete the apps from your phone altogether. It’s easy to limit your usage since you have to log into your account.

To prevent anxiety from FOMO, you could also schedule specific times to check your accounts. I do this in the morning before work, after lunch, and before heading home for the day.

Motivate yourself.

Yeah. I know. You may be thinking that this is much easier said than done. But, in reality, it’s not all that difficult.

Science-backed techniques to improve your self-motivation include:

• Getting positive. Sound difficult? You can start by monitoring you’re progress and celebrating it.
• Rewarding yourself. Speaking of rewards, you can treat yourself, like buying a latte or going out with friends, when you cross off an item on your to-do-list.
• Surrounding yourself with highly motivated people. Stop hanging out with those who drag you down and those you get stuff done.

Structure your day for success.

“Maximize the effectiveness of your time at home by structuring it differently than a typical workday,” suggests Elizabeth Grace Saunders in HBR. “For example, if you work from home only one day a week or on occasion, make it a meeting-free day.” Not an option? Then at least reserve half of your day for focused work. Just remember to pick “a time that works best for you, based on any required meetings and your energy levels.”

“Then define one to two key items that you want to accomplish during this time,” adds Elizabeth. “These could be tasks that require an hour or more of uninterrupted attention, or they could be items that simply require more creative, strategic thinking than you may be able to achieve in the office environment.”

“It’s also helpful to shut down your email during this period — or at least stay away from it for an hour at a time,” she says. “Alert any colleagues of times that you’ll be disconnected so that they won’t be surprised by a delayed response.”

Schedule “lazy” time.

“Don’t make the entire day about work. I know, it sounds counterintuitive,” writes Colleen Trinkaus. “But oftentimes regular remote workers find themselves letting work creep into evenings and weekends.”

You can’t fault them. Without being burdened by a commute, they’ll just dive into work earlier in the day. Or, they may keep working “later into the evening because they aren’t seeing their colleagues leave for the day.”

To avoid overworking, which will ultimately burn you out, “monitor your daily workload – and if you realize you’re putting in overtime, sprinkle in some free time throughout the day to do what you please.” Whether if that’s walking your dog or having lunch with a friend, you need these “breaks will help reset your mind and prevent burnout.”

Adjust your Sunday routine.

I have a ritual every Sunday. I prepare for the upcoming week. Sure. It may eat up a couple of hours. But, it’s been an effective way to ease my anxiety and keep me focused on my work throughout the week.

While you don’t have to follow exactly what I do, here are some ways that you can spend your Sundays:

• Do any household chores and errands.
• Review and organize your to-do-list and calendar.
• Layout your clothes and prep your meals.
• Attend to your wellbeing, like exercising and engaging in a little self-care.
• Change your mindset about Mondays. Instead of dreading the start of a new week, view it as full of opportunities.

Swap your to-to-do-list with a done list.

“There aren’t any scientific studies that specifically examine the impact of a “done” list in the workplace. However, Laura Vanderkam, author and time-management sorcerer, extrapolates from some existing research in her book 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think, writes Melissa Dahl over at The Cut.

Vanderkam has written “that research has consistently found that dieters who keep daily diaries tracking what they ate tend to lose more weight” The reason? It turns out that writing everything down “allows people to reflect on their food choices honestly, and to notice patterns and identify trends that they can then change, if necessary.” And, that concept can be applied to keeping your eyes on the prize.

“Plus, it’s a nice little pat-on-the-back — proof that even if you didn’t get everything on your ‘official’ to-do list done, you did make some progress on something,” adds Dahl. “Sometimes people get to the end of the day and haven’t tackled various priorities, because other stuff has come up, but you did something with your time,” Vanderkam told Science of Us, “Something changed in the world (hopefully!). So what was that? Often it was good stuff. Write it down. Share it with your team. Celebrate it. Just because it wasn’t on the list doesn’t mean it wasn’t important.”

Program daydreaming into your schedule.

You’ve probably been told numerous times that you shouldn’t waste your time daydreaming. But, if you did that, then you wouldn’t have chased your passion and become an entrepreneur.

With that said, you should make some time in your schedule to wander off and daydream. When you, it will help you relax your body and mind, inspire innovation, and unlocks our real purpose.

Pretend like you’re going somewhere else to work.

I’m not saying that you have to follow a traditional work schedule or play by the same rules. But, you should establish a routine that gets you into work mode. I’m talking about waking up at the same time daily and getting into your workspace at a specific time and not staying in your pajamas all day. And, setting-up separate email accounts so that you aren’t checking personal messages.

Match music with your tasks.

“Music isn’t just a means of entertaining ourselves: it can also encourage creativity and help us become more productive,” Deep Patel writes previously for Entrepreneur. “Listening to music can also be therapeutic, relieving feelings of stress so you can concentrate better.”

“Research has found that certain types of music can be beneficial to us while we work,” adds Deep. “Some types of music seem to help with learning and improve our ability to process information. Other types help block out distracting background noise. And, there are “different types sync with our brain waves to induce ‘eureka moments.’”

So, what should you listen to? Research has found that classical, video game, cinematic, and anything between 50 to 80 beats per minute is ideal. You can also listen to the sounds of nature if you like.

Find your tribe.

I’m talking about your fellow entrepreneurs here. The reason? You can bounce ideas off each other, share advice, and help hold each other accountable. Besides, this gives you a chance to combat isolation and interact with people in-person. I suggest you check out local meetups, entrepreneurial organizations, and conferences.

Have a shutdown ritual.

“For many work-from-home entrepreneurs, work bleeds into all hours of the day (and night),” says Zach Obront, Co-Founder of Scribe Media. “Rather than leaving an office and leaving work behind, it’s always with you.”

“Counterintuitively, this leads to less productivity because you’re often half working,” adds Zach. “Creating a shutdown ritual for the end of the day allows you to focus deeply during work hours and recharge effectively the rest of the time.” Learn how to leave work at work.

We’re all busy, but some handle it better than others. There’s also a big difference between having a packed schedule and feeling completely overwhelmed day in and day out. If you feel like you don’t have any free time in your day don’t get frustrated.

The best way to remedy this is to assess your current calendar and routine to find ways where you can save time and still be efficient. Check out these 7 ways to free up a busy schedule to help you get started.

Set Goals

Setting goals is so important no matter what stage of life you’re in because it helps you stay focused. If you aim for nothing, you’ll hit it every time. Take some time to really meditate on your values and ambitions so you can narrow down goals.

Start with a 5-year goal plan then break that down to 3 years and a 12-month plan so you know exactly what to focus on. Sometimes we get so busy being busy that we forget we actually aren’t working toward any goals.

Track a Typical Day

Another easy way to free up a busy schedule is to start tracking your regular activities throughout the day. Just like someone’s who’s trying to clean up their eating habits would keep a food diary, track your activities in order to clean up your schedule so you can stop being so busy.

Be completely honest with yourself and don’t make any judgments until you’ve tracked the entire day or week. Once you have everything written out, you can start to pinpoint where you may not be so productive and can free up time.

Realize that no one is productive 24/7, but you can try to replace some bad habits and fill in your schedule with more meaningful tasks so you can check off your to-do list more often.

Plan the Night Before

The key to having a successful day is planning out the night before. My evening routine is probably more important than my morning routine. Sometimes my mornings seem chaotic and that’s because I don’t plan well the night before.

Take time in the evenings to map out the following day, resolve any messages in your email inbox for the day, plan out your meals along with what you’ll wear, help the kids pack their bags for school, and so on.

I call it ‘power hour’ where I basically do all these things and organize my home in just a short amount of time. This can help anyone free up a busy schedule because you’ll have fewer things to do in the morning.

Say No to Free Up a Busy Schedule

It can be hard to say no to people in the beginning but realize that every time you say no to someone else, you’re saying yes to yourself. Say no to commitments that don’t align with your goals.

Be honest when you don’t have time to jump on a call with someone or have an unnecessary meeting. The more you say no, the more you’ll get crystal clear on what your priorities are. That way, you can focus all your attention on what gets you results.

Time Block

Time blocking allows you to shift your focus from a running busy to-do list for the day, to actually scheduling your day based on the time you have alotted. As the popular saying goes, work expands to fill the time allotted. This means a 1-hour task can take 3 hours if you allow it.

If you give yourself a 90-minute time block to work with, you’ll be surprised at how much you can get done. Time blocking your schedule can be life-changing if you are super busy all the time. Start being honest about how much time you have for certain tasks and set strict deadlines with your time blocks you can get a lot accomplished.

Delegate

There’s only so much you can do on your own. Eventually, you’ll have to delegate if you want to free up a busy schedule. You can start small by outsourcing a few tasks or hire a full-on assistant. It just depends on the needs of your business and the daily schedule you desire.

Consider outsourcing tedious tasks that you’d rather not do, along with administrative tasks. You can hire someone to check and respond to your emails, schedule meetings, send invoices, perform research, etc.

Schedule in Downtime

Downtime is an important part of everyone’s day. Whether you’re taking a nap, reading a book, catching up with your spouse or doing any other leisure task, you need that time to relax and recover your mind and energy.

For busy people who never seem to stop, scheduling in downtime is crucial. If you put it on the calendar, you’ll be more likely to respect the commitment and actually take a break. Plus, you can assess your calendar and choose when to have downtime so you won’t feel guilty for taking the time off.

Summary

Being busy shouldn’t be a badge of honor. You can still be successful and efficient without having a jam-packed schedule. Start to turn things around by tracking what you do throughout the day. Find areas that you can eliminate, consolidate or outsource. Also, don’t be shy about scheduling in downtime.