Let’s talk about ways to amp up productivity during lazy days.
Things need to get done, but you don’t want to get out of bed. What to do?
One of the hardest things I’ve done as a busy mom.
As a creative procrastinator…
As someone who prefers naps over work…
Is carve out ways to navigate through my lazy days.
Work doesn’t stop once you wrap up client deliveries. That’s when you focus on your own business. Do things that need to be done even when there’s no deadline to it. I mean… I very well can go on without writing this blog post.
Or sending out a podcast pitch.
Maybe today, tomorrow. But how long can I skip that?
That’s when the big lesson manifests itself: Motivation is overrated. To sustain a business, you need systems and routines.
You need to have deadlines where there aren’t any.
And you need to learn how to navigate through those lazy days.
I’ve carved out some specific steps and quite a few tech + work hacks, that helped me stay put and productive during lazy days. If you’re an ambitious entrepreneur who wants to combat laziness with productivity and adequate rest periods, then keep reading!
Know Your Personality Type, Enneagram, and Human Design To Amplify Productivity
You must.
You MUST understand who you are as a person and how your brain works. If you’re a creative professional or entrepreneur, I believe you to be different than half the population.
Here are links to find out your Enneagram and Human Design. You can take any online test to find your personality type. And get information on how that persona performs in stress, action, and productivity.
I’m an Enneagram type 3 [The Success-Oriented Achiever] with wings in type 4 [The Sensitive Withdrawn Individualist]. As for my human design, I’m a manifesting generator. Knowing this has led me to be mindful and proactive in choosing everything from my reading list, to podcast list, and even the way I manage my day-to-day tasks.
These small things create a compound effect over time.
Productive entrepreneurs
Bare Minimum With a Cherry On Top
Do the bare minimum with kickass results.
Can I tell you a secret?
I’m writing this blog on my notes app. I kid you not. There are more than two RIGHT ways to do something. Your right way might not even be invented yet. You can be the one to invent it.
- I use text-to-speech to create my social media captions.
- Sometimes I write my blogs on my phone.
- I even create reels on my phone.
Let’s bask in the incredible opportunities we have thanks to tech. All ambitious, slightly tired working moms appreciate tech.
DON’T Do Anything Half-Assed
Lazy days aren’t to put your head inside the pillow and not get up. For a week. It feels like that’s what you need. But here’s what to do instead:
Increase your threshold to pain. Slightly.
An example would be swapping a steps-only-indoor-walking workout for a cardio session. Another example would be working from bed with light music or your favorite show on Netflix, instead of the home office.
Don’t do things half-heartedly on a lazy day. Doing things with less intensity instead of not doing them entirely, makes sure you’re not getting left behind.
The Non-Existent Productivity Hack!
On a lazy day, when I don’t want to create my social media content, loom recordings, google doc guides, or barely anything.
Sometimes… sometimes… I do something that isn’t on the list.
I get ready and do an Instagram Live or go talk up on stories or just promote an old offer.
Connecting with my community allows me to return to my WHY behind doing things. It’s not making money anymore. We crossed that bridge years ago. Now, I want to impact my community as much as I can.
Spice it up and do something that isn’t a part of your normal work routine.
Take Lots Of Naps
Take naps. At odd times. Don’t care what people think. I know my slightly ADHD-addled brain needs rest from external stimuli. I nap. Period.
Be fierce about your naps. Keep them short. Incentivize your naps.
If I edit this video, I’ll take a nap of 20 minutes and then scroll through Instagram mindlessly for a good ten minutes.
Don’t forget to use timers!
Timers are incredible for people like us who lose track of time.
Don’t Over-Mine Time
Don’t undermine time. But don’t over-mine it too!
I know over-mine is not a word. The red line is screaming that loudly. But bear with me.
Parkinson’s Law is the old adage that work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion. If you assign yourself a whole day to write an email, it WILL take you the whole day to write that email. If you assign yourself 30 minutes, it will take 30.
That’s all till now.
Use all these concepts wisely to trek through lazy days and embrace them like a pro while still being productive. Need more help? Book a coffee chat with me to talk it through, or check out my visibility coaching program for entrepreneurs who want to scale brand visibility.
See ya!