This afternoon, I spent about 15 minutes shredding unused checks. Our bank account was accessed “by persons unknown,” and we had to create a new account, and buy all new checks. This after I had just bought four boxes of checks a few weeks ago. So, check shredding (which maybe wasn’t necessary, since I’d already closed the account, but I figured you just can’t be too careful these days) was called for. I had to do it slowly -- a few checks at a time – since my husband is not amused when I feed too many papers at once into the shredder. (It really shouldn’t be that big a deal; my husband always claims the shredder can’t be fixed – until he fixes it.) But back to shredding. Yes, those minutes spent on this mindless task were boring, but they were also just what I needed.
A freelance writer, I’m up every day around 6, and I immediately head to my calendar and the computer to see what the day will bring. As a result, I’d already spent a few hours writing a case study for one of my business clients. Another couple were spent on a blog for an executive. I’d responded to a bunch of paperwork and emails that had piled up, too. I was tired of writing. Tired of paperwork. My attention span was nil.
These are the times I thank goodness I work from home, on an hourly basis, so I’m wasting no one’s dollar but my own. Because, I’ve found, I can only work pretty hard on a task for about three hours, max, before my brain starts to fizzle. And actually, as I think about it, three hours is on the long end of my attention span; maybe I should say it barely lasts two? At any rate, when my concentration goes, I take a break – fold the laundry, plan supper, do some mindless cleaning. I realize the ideal thing to do at this point is to take a walk, but I somehow haven’t added that into my afternoon routine. A cup of coffee is a nice pick-me-up, though.
So what happens if I don’t take that break? The writing I do after that point is, frankly, unpublishable. That’s why I often wait a day before sending my projects back to their clients; amazing the tweaks I can make at 6 a.m.! (My work usually gets an edit from one of my colleagues at 4-Clarity Consulting, too, but that’s another blog post.)
In spite of my frequent breaks, I put in a lot of good, productive hours throughout the day. I just do it in starts and stops, in small increments rather than with an eight-to-five, work-through-lunch mentality.
How about you? Do you, too, have a less than ordinary work schedule? I’ve heard of folks who swear by an afternoon nap, for instance. Or who wake in the middle of the night, can’t go back to sleep – and work! I’d love to hear about the ways you keep your concentration and productivity going throughout the day. And if you’ve managed to fit that afternoon walk in, maybe you can inspire me, too!
A freelance writer, I’m up every day around 6, and I immediately head to my calendar and the computer to see what the day will bring. As a result, I’d already spent a few hours writing a case study for one of my business clients. Another couple were spent on a blog for an executive. I’d responded to a bunch of paperwork and emails that had piled up, too. I was tired of writing. Tired of paperwork. My attention span was nil.
These are the times I thank goodness I work from home, on an hourly basis, so I’m wasting no one’s dollar but my own. Because, I’ve found, I can only work pretty hard on a task for about three hours, max, before my brain starts to fizzle. And actually, as I think about it, three hours is on the long end of my attention span; maybe I should say it barely lasts two? At any rate, when my concentration goes, I take a break – fold the laundry, plan supper, do some mindless cleaning. I realize the ideal thing to do at this point is to take a walk, but I somehow haven’t added that into my afternoon routine. A cup of coffee is a nice pick-me-up, though.
So what happens if I don’t take that break? The writing I do after that point is, frankly, unpublishable. That’s why I often wait a day before sending my projects back to their clients; amazing the tweaks I can make at 6 a.m.! (My work usually gets an edit from one of my colleagues at 4-Clarity Consulting, too, but that’s another blog post.)
In spite of my frequent breaks, I put in a lot of good, productive hours throughout the day. I just do it in starts and stops, in small increments rather than with an eight-to-five, work-through-lunch mentality.
How about you? Do you, too, have a less than ordinary work schedule? I’ve heard of folks who swear by an afternoon nap, for instance. Or who wake in the middle of the night, can’t go back to sleep – and work! I’d love to hear about the ways you keep your concentration and productivity going throughout the day. And if you’ve managed to fit that afternoon walk in, maybe you can inspire me, too!
RSS Feed