The ever elusive “more time”

Often in the world of productivity, we get really caught up in the things that have to get done.

And the things we like to do or want to do get left on the sideline, waiting for us to have the ever elusive “more time.”

And the search for (or waiting for) “more time” might feel a bit like a wild goose chase. You almost feel like you’ve got it, and then it runs off in a different direction.

What’s on your “when I have more time” list?
What would it take for you to make “more time”?
What would need to change?

They might look like rhetorical questions, but they’re not!

Check out the Facebook Live I did on this topic here.

Share your answers in the comments below.

Changing the scenery

This weekend I learned a new word: muga (pronounced moo-ga).

It’s the Kimeru (spoken by the Meru in Kenya) word for hello.

I’m told that the more literal translation is “you have permission to speak.” And what it does is create a space for conversation.

I found the whole concept really interesting.

I love that fact that when you say muga to someone you’re basically inviting them to a conversation with you, you’re holding a space for that conversation.

———–

Last week one of my goals was to have a sales page up for an upcoming program I’m super excited about sharing with you (watch your inbox!). This program has been swimming around in my head for almost 5 years!

But I couldn’t stay focused on it long enough to make the progress on I needed to in order to write the sales page. I’d sit at my desk and stare, going in circles. Or I’d find something interesting, but very unimportant, to do.

So went the week.

On Friday the weather was wonderful and I decided I’d print out all my notes (some from 2012!) and head over to a forest preserve along the Fox River and work. Before I started I went on a walk and then found an unoccupied picnic table overlooking the river.

I reviewed all my notes and started writing. When I was finished I had finished what I had been trying to work on for most of the week. I assumed I’d been sitting there for at least 90 minutes (there was also lots of staring at the river time involved). However, when I looked at the time, I’d only been working for about 40 minutes!

I was floored by how much I accomplished in that 40 minutes that I couldn’t manage to accomplish in the hours I sat at my desk earlier in the week.

———–

So, what does muga have to do with the progress on my project?

Muga is about creating a space for conversation.

My project needed me to create a different space to get done what I wanted to get done.

Now, you might be wondering what this has to do with you…

What space are you creating to get the things done that you want to do?

Sometimes we need to plan differently and other times require a change of scenery, to be outside for a bit, or to just give ourselves a break from the “must force myself to get it done” attitude we might have.

In this week’s Wednesday LIVE with Evie, was about creating space for our big projects, for the tasks that require us to dig deep.

And I’d love to know the following from you:

  1. What does it look like when you struggle (change the word to something else) with this
  2. What do you do (or could you do) when you find yourself in that place?

Let me know in the comments below!

Messy Desks

Wednesday LIVE with Evie #20

I share:

  • What a messy desk does (or doesn’t) say about you
  • The tactic I used to tackle it
  • The bigger questions to ask

I also answer the question:

My desk is a mess right now and I never take time to clear it off. Seems like a time waster, yet I always stare at it and it bugs me. Is there a smart way to tackle this stuff so I can move on?

My desk is a mess

I’m looking at my desk and I think I need to clean it off.

My desk is big.

My husband made it for himself 10+ years ago when we shared this room as a home office (when neither of us worked from home). He made it specifically to be as long as it could be in this room—the desk is 8 feet long.

And he made it deep so he would have space for things between his monitor and keyboard (this was before super thin monitors were the norm)—it’s 3 feet deep.

So, as you can imagine, there’s a lot of space for paper to accumulate.

And it gives me space to leave a few things on my desk that I might not otherwise (pictures and books).

Basically, if I’m feeling cramped at my desk, it’s not the desk’s fault 🙂

I’m remembering a question that was asked a couple weeks ago in my the event for the Q&A I did:

My desk is a mess right now and I never take time to clear it off. Seems like a time waster, yet I always stare at it and it bugs me. Is there a smart way to tackle this stuff so I can move on?

You can see the Wednesday LIVE with Evie for that here.

Is your desk a mess? Do you have any specific questions around it?
OR is your desk clean? Share your tips and tricks with me below!