Write Your Way to Productivity

To Write or Not to Write

I am an advocate of writing, in case you didn’t read my entire bio. I love to write and I respect the craft. I constantly find myself writing everything down. If I don’t write at my “eureka” moment, then I can forget it. I have sticky notes all over my desk in the office; I carry a legal pad with my planner; I have notepads in my purse, the fridge, desk and nightstand at home. All of this is necessary for me to keep up with my busy life. What’s so awesome about this discipline is that everything I write down, I get accomplished. (This occurs with action of course. Merely writing things down and leaving them on paper will not help your productivity.)

You don’t have to be a writer to benefit from writing things down; all you have to do is get a pen and some paper and go for it. If you are having trouble remembering things, you NEED a pen and paper everywhere you go. I had so much trouble keeping up with my tasks as I got busier, it became almost impossible to keep up. I was forgetting things left and right. I thought it was old age, but really it was information overload. Writing things down gave me the opportunity to get my thoughts out of my head, plan and prepare for everything. The more time I spent in thought, the more I wrote, the more I remembered important dates and things I needed to get done.

If you’re not ready to invest in one of those fancy electronic mechanisms, you can get some inexpensive alternatives that will work just as well. Here are two examples:

Planning--I have an At A Glance Weekly/Monthly Planner, and I sit down every Sunday or Monday and write out what I need to get done for the week. (This usually works for work assignments. I use the Microsoft Outlook Task Manager for routine tasks and reminders.) For home and school, I use generic calendar templates.

Brainstorming--When I have a project to work on, either for home, the office or school, I spend a lot of time in thought and then begin to write down every aspect of the project that I will need to tackle. I usually go through several drafts, which is good. By the time the project is near, I am usually ready. When I have unexpected projects, I cut back my planning time, but I NEVER neglect to write. It’s still important and saves time in the short run.

If the project or task you are working on is common, like planning a party, spring cleaning your house, launching a special event, preparing for a presentation and so on, then you may benefit from pre-made checklists, which may expedite your brainstorm.

Practice writing things down this week. Start small, don’t try to take over the world, just try to conquer your life. You’ll be closer to sanity, more organized, experience less stress and yes, be more productive!