Productivity Link Up with Uncustomary

Every month Mary from Uncustomary hosts a link-up and this month it's about Productivity!

This is something I've been thinking a lot about lately and I've really been trying to not feel like I'm on the brink of my life falling apart.

Last semester a few friends and I started what is commonly called a Mastermind group. I came up with the name that we are using now... are you ready for it?

P.L.A.N!     which stands for... Productivity Lovers Assemble Now!

Awesome huh?

We are a small group that gets together every other week to talk about the projects that we are working on. It helps to have people to talk to about the things you want to do that aren't just the getting by daily tasks, like checking emails. It's also nice to have people hold you accountable.

Each meeting we go around the group and give a quick update on our projects and how we are progressing. Some of my projects have been things like: submit a piece to the mail/art/book art call, figure out a budget, and some wedding planning details.  Then there is one person on the hotseat each meeting who gets to go into deeper detail about their projects.

One of the members of the group also gave me a copy of the book Getting Things Done by David Allen.  I haven't finished reading it yet, but I have started implementing the process. Basically you write EVERYTHING down. The idea is that if you have everything written down in a place that you can check frequently then you will be more at peace because your brain will calm down and not feel like it has to remind you about everything. He points out that frequently you remind yourself of (and stress over) things that you can't do at that moment.  I think that after implementing the system I do feel less stress over things.

There is also a big emphasis on next actions. You think in terms of projects (the overall thing) and next actions. What do you have to do next to get this done. This helps me a LOT because I frequently get overwhelmed by things. If I break it down into smaller actions then it seems less overwhelming. I can make progress.

This is just a very general overview, but it's really helped me a lot. I've also started using an app called Todoist. Previously I was just making lists on google docs, but I really like Todoist.

I've also learned that sometimes I really just need to call it quits. This is especially the case with the internet and wedding planning. Most of the time I really enjoy the wedding planning, but if I'm doing things for too long, like I'm looking for something specific online and I just can't find it, then I get stressed out and unhappy.  I've learned that I just need to walk away when I'm ahead, before I start to feel like that.

So, those are my thoughts about productivity. Thanks so much to Mary for hosting these and coming up with interesting topics!