6 Tips to Developing Awareness
This Blog is about the ABC’S of PRODUCTIVITY
Today we will will start with the letter “A”
A is for AWARENESS
I really want to talk to you about AWARENESS. First, let’s define the word. AWARENESS is the state of being conscious of something. More specifically, it is the ability to directly know and perceive, to feel, or to be cognizant of events.
There are many different types of AWARENESS. There is TIME AWARENESS, TASK AWARENESS, RESULTS AWARENESS & SELF-AWARENESS. *{within SELF-AWARENESS there are 2 types; INTERNAL SELF-AWARENESS, which is how we see our own values & EXTERNAL SELF-AWARENESS, understanding how other people view us}.
For now, let’s just focus on TIME AWARENESS How we manage our time. Do you ever think to your self “where did the time go”? Whether it is first thing in the morning, mid-afternoon or even at the end of the day? Maybe you had a list of things to do but somehow you never got to it? Well, I have - I must admit. I wake up some mornings and immediately turn on my phone to check the weather {so that I can go walking outside} and also to see if I have any messages either phone or text {I turned off most of my notifications-which I will chat about in another Blog}. But, then I start answering messages and then begin to wander on to some of my social media apps and by the time I pick my head up, it is 45 minutes later and I have not even gotten out of bed!
This can be so frustrating. I am sure you have heard the phrase “You do not know what you do not know”
It all starts with Awareness. You cannot fix a problem that you are not aware of. So, below are..
6 TIPS TO DEVELOPING AWARENESS SKILLS {REMEMBER: Effectiveness is different than efficiency, with effectiveness being about doing things well and efficiency being about doing things fast. Both are critical}
FIND YOUR PEAK PERFORMANCE TIME Break your typical day into three to four time slots and, over the course of a week, rank-order these slots from your most to least productive (most productive is peak performance).
TREAT YOUR TIME LIKE IT IS MONEY Create a time budget that details how you spend your hours during a typical week. Categorize time into fixed time (“must do’s”) and discretionary time (“want to do’s”).
TRY TIMING UP Record how long you’ve spent on tasks with very clear deadlines, rather than how much time you have left.
EVALUATE HOW REALISTICALLY YOU ASSESS TIME After finishing a project, evaluate how long you thought it would take and how long it actually took.
TAKE A “FUTURE TIME PERSPECTIVE” Think about how the tasks you are doing right now will help or hurt you in the future (e.g., how do today’s project tasks impact next week’s tasks?).
AVOID “SUNK COST FALLACY” When you think you might be spending too much time on an activity, step back and evaluate its importance (e.g., how valuable is the outcome, who will be affected if it’s finished or not finished, etc.)
Hope this helps and remember, you can always come back here to remind yourself. XO, Estee
