What's Stopping You?

The common American belief is, if you work hard you will be successful. But there's not picture of what that "hard" work looks like on a day to day basis. We have all fallen for the "early to bed, early to rise" way of working, but truth is a lot of these productivity habits are actually stopping us from being productive.

Let's bust a couple of work myths and reframe how we approach being productive; and of course, discover ways your bujo can help.

Myth #1 - Multitasking Makes You More Efficient
Juggling more than one task at time does not make your more productive, but it does make you more stressed out and increase you chances of making mistakes. Switching your brain from task to task, actually makes you less efficient.
Instead: Try using time blocking or time boxing method to allow time to attack multiple task separately but in a timely manner.
Bujo Tip: Use a Daily Log that includes an area for time blocking and track one task at a time as you go.

Myth #2 - Hustle Nonstop to be Successful
Work burnout is real. And overworking will lead to a quicker burnout, not quicker success.
Instead: Focus one increasing the amount of deep work, and limited your shallow work. Be sure to take breaks as you go.
Bujo Tip: Add a Self - Care Tracker to your weekly log where purposely plan time to take care of yourself outside of work. Also, plan break time on your Daily Log in between tasks.

Myth #3 - A Perfect Planner System will Solve Everything
I would like to believe this, but the truth is, a planner is only effective if you use it. You know my motto, your planner is a tool, and just like any other tool if you don't know how to use it, it won't be of much use.
Instead: Figure out a system that works for you and focus on ways to incorporate it at home and at work.
Bujo Tip: Explore different layouts, until you find the right one for you. Visit Pinterest or Instagram for inspiration, you can even check out my page @my_darling_plans.

Myth #4 - Being Busy Means Being Productive
Nope. Just means you are busy. Often times people confuse the two. You want to find ways to make real progress through out the day.
Instead: Prioritize which task needs to be done and when.
Bujo Tip: Write down just three high priority tasks for the day, block out time to work on them individually. Everything else, goes on a To Do List or a Brain Dump section, you set aside time to work on these after tackling the top three.

Myth #5 - You Need More Hours in The Day
Please don't think you have the same 24 hours as Beyonce, she has a team around her that attends to all her mundane task, freeing up much of her time to focus on what she deems important. You just have you and your planner. The real question is what are you doing with your time?
Instead: Again, time blocking!
Bujo Tip: Add a time audit spread or Done List to track where your time actually goes.

Being productive isn't about doing more, or even working more, its about using your time effectively and efficiently. Your bujo can be a customizable productivity systems that helps you stay focus, stay organized, and avoid burnout. But only if you use it, because unfortunately you don't have the same 24 hours as Beyonce, so plan accordingly.