Cracking the code to my productivity

I've always been a pretty active person but the last few months have been on another level!

Aside from obviously having time on my hands, my creativity is flowing and new ideas pop up every day, sometimes faster than I can keep up.

Well, the fact is that I am keeping up- woohoo!

I've developed a method over the years that works for me and it's pretty basic.

Lists. Phone notes app/laptop + lists.

But categorised lists and sub headings. And the categories changes as needed to ensure they stay relevant.

For example, previously, organising my list into types of tasks/topics was needed. I had one for Habili Club, one for other personal projects and one for general life admin.

Right now, I need to be giving my attention to everything as each thing has an impact on the next. I need to research companies, look out for vacancies that interest me and apply to jobs. But what would help those tasks is networking and growing my LinkedIn connections. And I can do that better by engaging with content and posting often. And having something of value to post relies on me creating some content by working through my knowledge and experience, and packaging it up into a tangible piece of insight. And I have more knowledge and experience to offer by working on my projects. It goes on, and on, and on, and on.

So, the current system I'm using to organise my list of to-do's is based on impact. The reason this works for me right now, is because time is my most precious commodity. It's what I have the least of (even though it's also what I have a lot of), because I want to be in my next professional role ASAP.

The categories i'm working to are:

• High Impact/Value- The things I need to do before anything else, this list needs to be as small as possible.

• Nice to-do- Things that are high value but not a direct, immediate benefit.

• Blog/Post topics- I'm having lost of great ideas yet the priority of putting it into a post is relative to what other tasks I have going on. Therefore noting down the topics means I can work on them when the time is right.

• Resources to look in to- I am currently a sponge and a magpie! I'm all over any support tool I stumble across as I'm opening myself to all opportunities, but I don't know how valuable or impactful something is until I've spent some time looking in to it. So saving it means I can give it my full attention once the priority tasks are under control.

• Once it's done, it's done- One-off tasks that may be less valuable, less impactful but are needed. So dedicating time to it is worth doing as it's more of a long term benefit.

• Keep an eye on- Topics that don't need me to complete specific actions as such, but good to keep on my radar as I could easily forget about it altogether.

• Ideas- My creative juices are running wild, every day I have a new idea for a project or initiative that I want to explore but creating more work and diverting my attention in another direction is counter productive. So i'm jotting down my ideas to be explored at a later date, then when i've got the capacity, I can consider some tasks related to this new idea that can be added to some of the more actionable categories to get the ball rolling. Or to cross it off altogether if it's not worth it!

The key is to keep reviewing my tasks and lists because every day something changes and gives my lists a new perspective. If something has been under 'High impact/value' for a few days without me doing it, maybe it's not as high value/impact as I thought. Maybe it's more of a 'Nice to do' and I over estimated it's importance.

AND what is especially useful.... Once i've completed a task, I'm not deleting it, im just cut/pasting it to one giant list at the end. Seeing all my completed tasks is a good little morale boost, and helps me feel like I'm moving forward rather than on a treadmill of never ending to-do's.

This simple system keeps me hyper-productive without being too overwhelmed.

I feel in control, I'm not dropping the ball, and I think I'm using my time well!

Cheers to me!