As I write my blog today it is sunny with a high of 52 degrees predicted in Minnesota, the perfect time for spring fever to take over! Growing up, spring fever meant spring cleaning, which I loved when I was a kid. I completely overhauled my bedroom, scrubbed the walls, washed and hung the bedding on the clothesline and sorted and organized my dressers and closet. Together with my mom, we washed, rearranged and tossed with an end result of organization, cleanliness and a peacefulness that lasted for months.
I believe even as adults we crave this organization. What better time than the start of Q2 for us to do our office and productivity spring cleaning? To help you into this mode, here are a few of my favorite spring cleaning tips when it comes to our productivity and brilliance:
- Analyze your time by creating a list of how you spend it daily. Are you spending too much time in the whirlwind of day-to-day time-wasters such as email? How much time are you devoting to focusing on your most important goals? Then organize your time and tasks like you would organize your closet. (See Julie Morgenstern in Time Management from the Inside Out and my January Blog). Remember to pull out no more than three containers/goals at a time.
- Hold planning sessions with yourself weekly, monthly, quarterly and after the victory of big project completion.
- Work on ONE task at a time! Multi-tasking is one of the biggest time wasters around and many people believe that being good at it yields results. That is an illusion. According to Gloria Mark at the University of Californiaat Irvine as Chris Woolston reports, the average worker needs 25 minutes to return to their original task after an interruption. And according to David Meyer, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, juggling tasks can be very stressful. Our brains are just not wired to do multiple things and do all of them well.
- Clean your work surroundings from your computer files to your emails and clearing your mind will follow suit. Take time daily to meditate, pray and exercise — when at all possible workout or take a walk outside to breathe the fresh air. If you have the time and means, it’s also an ideal time to take even a short vacation. Even if you can’t afford an exotic destination for rest and relaxation, take a break from the routine of the day-to-day work schedule with a few days at home. It cleans your mind in the most refreshing way!
Armed with the tools of time analysis, planning sessions, single-tasking and a clear, organized work environment and mind, you can embrace spring fever and the start to Q2 with a positively productive and brilliant you!