For this week’s discussion: What habits have you found work to keep you productive? It can be something you currently practice or have practiced in the past.
For me:
Good sleep
Morning weightlifting
Noontime cardio (prevents getting sleepy in mid afternoon)
10-20 minutes of mindfulness (especially in the sun)
Cold showers
Plotting out my day the night before
Automation tools like TextExpander
The two-minute rule: If a task takes less than two minutes, just do it instead of putting it on a list
Pomodoro technique (25 minutes of focused work followed by a 5-minute break)
What productivity techniques have you found helpful?
A few for me:
I need a good cup of coffee. My go to is a single-origin chemex.
A shower is a good wake up for me. Without it I notice I’m super sluggish.
A clean work space is a must. I find that I can’t organize my thoughts without.
Finally, I am a list person, so either a physical book with my goals for the day or a to-do software like Asana or Notion is my go to.
Setting my priorities the night before and then planning out my day first thing in the morning is huge (otherwise I autopilot straight into my inbox and slack messages!)
Okay, first, how do you STOP doing puzzmo? And second, how do you like TickTick? I am curious about it. I am suffering from mom brain and overwhelm at work where I am responsible for most of the process/procedure/workflow creation and need a good app (and some magical motivation).
Stopping Puzzmo IS the hardest part of the day for sure.
As for TickTick, I have to say I am a to-do list junky and have been through them ALL several times over. TickTick has the right balance of features, flexibility, and integrations. It handles lists, habits, Pomodoro, countdowns, and so on. I appreciate that you can use the product features as much or as little as you want and scale as your life changes. Give it a try! Would love to know how you find it.
I am loving this particular thread and want to respond to everyone individually! I could talk about this all day (the opposite of being productive, I know).
I wish I could report I have a solid morning routine, workout regimen, productivity setup, etc., but I don’t. I have a one year-old and a seven year-old, and honestly often feel like I am hanging on by a thread with a very active family life and a very demanding work life. I’m teetering on the edge of burnout and just generally feel pulled in so many different directions in any given moment that I often just want to curl up and cry.
To help me with focus at work, I have just started (like literally yesterday after a small cry) implementing blackout time, where I turn off all notifications and close all communication apps on my phone and my computer and just dig deep and focus, wearing noise-cancelling headphones so I can’t hear my family. Honestly, it feels amazing. I also sometimes work at night when I know my team is out and I can focus, but many nights I am just drained from already putting in a full day of work alongside parenting my kids and keeping the household running. (Of note, I have a fabulous, involved husband who shares the load very well and who tries to help with the overwhelm to the extent he has control.)
If anyone has any pointers, suggestions, or ideas to help me navigate year two of postpartum in my forties with a busy family and job, please let me know your tricks, hacks, and tips!
That’s hard, and I’m sorry. I am also in my early 40s with an 11-year-old, a six-year-old, and a three-year-old, and I know what you mean about being perpetually exhausted and pulled in too many directions. We also homeschool so they are always in the house. There’s no magic bullet other than just grinding out the toddler years. Toddlers are tough. Toddlers in your 40s even tougher.
I’m not sure I have anything useful to offer, but I’ll suggest three things.
Outsource as much as you possibly can. I pay a couple to mow my lawn and my wife has a cleaning lady come over a couple of times per month. This can be a lot cheaper than you’d think. My mowers charge very little because they were already mowing my neighbor’s yard. Our cleaning lady is Old Order Mennonite, so she really doesn’t need much.
Really prioritize your health. If I get sick or aren’t on top of my game things go to hell in a hurry. I carve out time for working out not because I’m Mr. Discipline, but because I know my overall effectiveness falls off a cliff if I don’t. I’m equally aggressive about getting good sleep. I’m also a big proponent of having your hormone levels regularly monitored and treated if need be—it makes a world of difference. (This is not medical advice, talk to your doctor, etc.)
Be kind to yourself. Sometimes you have to take it easy, even if it means letting a few things go, and I often find that those things aren’t as big of a deal as I thought they were. Good example: We’ve been rewatching all the Mission: Impossible movies the past couple of weeks instead of our usual nightly chores. Yeah, the toys are piling up, but so what? They pile up anyway. lol
I also try to remind myself that one day I’ll miss my kids being this little, no matter how exhausting they are today. I know that’s easier said than done!
This is your space to ask questions, find support, and share ideas with fellow TextExpander users and our product team. As a first step, take a moment to introduce yourself to the community.
Stopping Puzzmo IS the hardest part of the day for sure. 
