Peace of Mind Organizing

Do you know your prime time?

22 June 2017

This month, my personal theme is discipline and I’ve been working hard to keep up with the 30-day challenges I set out for myself on June 1. It’s going well. I’m particularly proud of the fact that I’ve done at least 30 minutes of genealogy research daily and that I’ve blogged four times a week (twice on this blog, twice on Organize Your Family History) every week this month.

One of the reasons for my success is that I’ve come to realize that my prime time of peak productivity is before 9:30 a.m. I do my genealogy research first thing in the morning, which I think is a fabulous way to start the day. I set a timer. If I didn’t, I might do research all day!

After genealogy, I blog. I’ve been trying to plan my blog posts for the week, so I don’t have to spend time figuring out what I want to write about. That planning is definitely fluid; nothing’s set in stone. Next I do the five to ten minutes of exercise I’ve committed to (baby steps) and only then do I turn to my task list to get going on other priorities.

Some mornings I have to leave the house earlier than others, so I adjust the time I get up (and, accordingly, the time I go to bed) so that I have enough time to get those things (and any other priority tasks) done before I leave the house. It helps that it’s June and it gets light so early. I’ve been getting up around 5:30 a.m. It’s a lot easier to get up when it’s light outside!

Your prime time might be late at night. Or smack dab in the middle of the day. Whatever it is, I urge you to try to reserve that block of time for tasks that require your focus and energy. That’s not the time to slot in appointments for the convenience of others if you can avoid it. Protect your prime time on your calendar.

Keeping a task list so that you know what you need to accomplish during your prime time is really helpful. I’ve been really good about this in June and I feel focused and not stressed. It’s a great feeling.

I blogged about powering through my task list first thing in the morning back in November. I feel fortunate to have come up with a strategy that allows me to balance my personal and professional goals with client and family time.

What’s your prime time?

Photo of a sunrise by Teknorat via Flickr

Tagged with: challenges, habits, productivity, routines, task list, time management

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