Rise & Grind - Take Control of Your Life

As busy modern day women, there is a lot of pressure to do a lot and do it well. Today we are sharing some simple, but effective ways to take control of your life. 


2020 may be half way over, but it's never too late to get organized and feel in control of simple things like your schedule and time.

Top to bottom, left to right

1. The Hustle Daily Planner is an all-encompassing, beautifully detailed planner to take you seamlessly from one day to the next. Not only is the Hustle Daily Planner broken down into goals, plans, and monthly calendar tabs for you to customize, but it is also filled with pages of content teaching you how to optimize your goal-planning and organization. Buy here

2. Passion Planner is the one place for all your thoughts. It's more than just a planner—it's a tool that helps you break down your short and long-term goals and incorporate them into your daily life. It has been designed to encourage you to plan for the future, reflect on the past, but most importantly, act on the present. Find this one here

3. 1canoe2 is an illustration company that spreads joy through cheerful, thoughtful paper goods and gifts. Each piece of artwork we create shows the hand of the artist and embodies our love of home-cooked meals, weekends spent in nature, and all things happy. These planners are gorgeous. You can grab these here

4. Failing to plan is planning to fail. Wanna stay on track for your #goals? Start making those plans! And why not make it cute while you’re at it?! It is a scientific fact* (*probably) that cute and colorful planners lead to longer, more productive lives. Find these cuties here.  

 

 

Deep Work: Rules For Focused Success in a Distracted World 
By Cal Newport
Deep Work, written by Cal Newport, is a book about the power of focusing on work. Mr. Newport, a computer science professor at Georgetown University, decided to write a book about the ability to do a great amount of work by developing the power of focus.
Focus and work habits will create something Newport calls “uninterrupted concentration,” something that will make our work flow. However, many things prevent us from being focused. When we look at our office places, we will easily notice that they are filled with many interruptions. Our offices, our homes, and every other place is filled with many things that draw our attention and focus away.
Things like instant messaging systems and e-mails are prevent us from focusing on what is important. Even the Internet, which is now accessible almost everywhere and something that has become an integral part of our lives and work, contains numerous distractions. In this book, Newport teaches us how to overcome these distractions and focus on what is really important.
Source: GoodReads
Too deep in work to read a whole book?  Try this summary HERE instead.
Ever feel like you've been running yourself ragged, but aren't getting anything done? If this sounds like you, the problem might be the fine line between
busyness vs. productivity. 
 

5 TIPS TO BE PRODUCTIVE, NOT BUSY 

TIP 1: STOP TRYING TO MULTITASK

Multitasking does not work. You split your focus by trying to work on multiple things at once or switch between different tasks. You end up feeling more tired because you’re wasting so much energy just trying to refocus every time you switch tasks. So you’re much better off giving all your attention to one thing at a time.

By multitasking you feel like you’ve been busy all day, but like you didn’t actually achieve anything. This is because you’re not focusing on any one thing enough to make real progress.

TIP 2: GET RID OF DISTRACTIONS

Distractions can come in many shapes such as phone notifications, emails, and chatty coworkers, They all have the same effect on your productivity as multitasking. You lose focus and waste energy trying to get back into the flow of what you were doing.

Set clear boundaries at work and at home. Turn off all your notifications, and set aside specific times throughout the day when you will check emails, messages, and social media.

TIP 3: HAVE A PLAN FOR YOUR DAY

Going into each day with a plan for what you need to get done will make all the difference in keeping you focused on the things that actually matter. Productivity is about getting the right things done so that you feel accomplished. So knowing what exactly you need to accomplish in a day is key to being able to be productive, not busy. (You may want to check out one of the planners above^)

TIP 4: ALWAYS HAVE A WAY TO CAPTURE IDEAS

Throughout the day you will suddenly remember things you have to do. Or you will think of a great idea that you want to pursue. Ensure that you don’t abandon the task you’re working on by always having a notepad handy to jot down these thoughts as they come up.

Also make sure that you’re setting aside time to review those notes periodically!

TIP 5: TAKE BREAKS

Another important thing you should be doing to increase your productivity is taking regular breaks throughout the day. Constantly working without adequate rest leads to feeling tired, overwhelmed, and having low energy.

You will also be less likely to be tempted by distractions during times when you’re trying to focus on a task by having breaks built into your day. You know you have time set aside to engage in those fun activities.

 Source: Life with Ovi