How to Get More Stuff Done for Yourself
Working seven days a week on three jobs, I can definitely relate to this one.
There’s so much stuff to do each day, that it’s very hard to fit it all in.
I love sleeping, there’s nothing more delicious, but regrettably I hate the feeling when a day has passed me by. Time is very valuable and if we want to achieve anything, we need to be productive and efficient with everything we do.
Here are some tips on how to do something you’ve always wanted: Your Own Thing.
1. Make a Deadline
The best way to make sure that you’ll get things done is to set up expectations. If someone else expects you to come to the party with the goods, and if you care about your reputation, you’ll deliver no matter what. Just like when you’ve got a boss breathing down your back, a city councilor or a curator can give you the same kick in the butt that you need to produce that final artwork.
2. Rent your own workspace
I don’t know about you, but I’ve tried to work at home. I also used to try to study at home for school, uni, and postgrad. It was a disaster. Mealtimes, TV, family discussions, siblings, mothers, fathers, pets, friends, all got in the way. Even once I moved out and tried to work in my bedroom in a share house with other students it was hard.
And then when you graduate to freelance. Whoah – that’s another story.
When it comes to your own survival, it is an excellent idea to rent a deskspace in a shared studio/office. Even though you may end up paying $80 a week for your desk, butted up next to another guy who’s trying to be a graphic designer, next to a guy who’s trying to be a photographer, next to a guy who’s trying to be a music agent; You will get so much more done. Hard to explain why it works. But once you try it you’ll wish you had started doing this when you were 16.
3. Wake up early at a set time every day.
I falter at this one on the weekends when snuggling seems like the best thing at 9AM and then a drawn out breakfast on the balcony. But if you are under the gun and have a deadline to meet, you need to pack in as much into your increasingly interesting and exciting days as you can. That’s why one of the best ways to ensure that you can achieve this is to wake up early.
The best way to start waking up early is to set your alarm at the same time every day. – say 6AM instead of 7 or 8. Don’t worry about setting a time to go to sleep at night. If you stay up checking emails until 1AM the night before, trust me, the next day your body will be begging you to turn out the light by 10:30 the night after.
Before you go to sleep write down the things you need to do the next day in your organizer. When you wake up in the morning, these tasks will be the first things you think about. Then start knocking them off one by one before you have breakfast at 7AM.
You just re-gained another hour of productivity towards your own interests! Once you have started to re-gain your life back, use this precious hour for exercise. It’s a great idea to hire a personal trainer to teach you how to exercise effectively and safely. Do a sunrise exercise program with a Sydney Personal Trainer or Melbourne Personal Trainer at your local park or beach.
