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Unlock Your Productivity Potential

Aries Yeo • May 14, 2024

Mindful Clarity


Juggler of academia, career, and family, whose pursuit of excellence knows no bounds! (Many of my clients are high performance women leaders who seeks to navigate the intricate dance of high-flying careers, familial responsibilities, with the extent of scholarly pursuits with unparalleled finesse). 


In the whirlwind of your extraordinary life, where every moment is a precious commodity, the quest for productivity takes on a whole new dimension. You're not just striving to get things done; you're on a mission to maximize every ounce of your potential, to carve out the time and space needed to excel in all your endeavours. 


In this grand symphony of life, productivity becomes the conductor that orchestrates the harmony between your various roles and responsibilities. It's about finding the optimal rhythm that allows you to excel in your career, while still being present for your loved ones, and making steady progress towards your scholarly aspirations. 


But let's be real - the challenges you face are as formidable as they are diverse. From the demands of a high-flying job that never seems to rest, to the complexities of managing a bustling household with two teenagers in tow, to the daunting task of completing a Ph.D. or MBA amidst it all - your plate is undoubtedly full to the brim. 


So, how does one navigate such treacherous terrain with grace and aplomb?  


 

Prioritisation? 


But they are all important, you can’t neglect your children who are having major exams,  you can’t don’t do your job,  you can’t ignore your thesis, you can’t.... 



What do you do? 


The answer lies not in simply working harder or faster, but in working smarter and with greater intentionality.  


I am going to share two very well-known techniques 


 


  1. The productivity matrix or some called Eishenhower Matrix 

 



The Eisenhower Matrix is a simple decision-making tool that helps you make the distinction between tasks that are important, not important, urgent, and not urgent. It splits tasks into four boxes that prioritize which tasks you should focus on first and which you should delegate or delete. 


 

If you are honest, you will find you spent most of your time in the “URGENT” column important or not because it is urgent, it must be attended to right away! 


 

This client of mine who was nearly at the end of her PhD but she just couldn’t get down to incorporating the feedbacks from her supervisor.  WHY?  She just couldn’t find the time and energy to do anything else other than her  Urgent columns,   


There is always something more important that needed her attention right away and she is so overwhelmed that she didn’t even has her own time for exercise, to recharge her energy, it is always relentless doing! 


The cycle continues... 

 


Take a moment  for yourself;  where are you most of your time?     


  • If you spend most of your time in the “Delete” quadrat, you will feel stressed and unfulfilled as it is soemthing that catches your attention surfing on social media where it does not increase your productivity 
  • Your Urgent column like delegate are tasks that you need to do yet it does not increase your overall productivity 
  • Your Urgent ‘DO’ is something important and needs done today like you need to use your project management tool to help to complete your tasks 
  • Decide are those that align to your long term goals and commitments that contribute to your overall goals, wellbeing.  Yet not spending time here implies your time is sucked up by the urgent as there is no timing space 

Now, fill into these 4 boxes and what do you notice about yourself? 

 


2.  Mind-Mapping 

In today's fast-paced world, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and scattered. With so many distractions or tasks vying for our attention, staying focused and productive can seem like an impossible task. 


 


Mind Mapping seem like an obvious tool yet many has forgotten its usefulness.  When we are able to lay out all those needed required tasks from our mind (brain) onto a clean sheet of paper, labelling into various buckets and sub-buckets.   We get a profound clarity as we can then see where are those tasks, what are those things, and how are they connected. 



Yes we are the able to objectively to prioritise: to delegate, to delete, to do or to decide what’s next. 

 


If you like more details on either of the techniques in further details; please email me with the subject:  Productivity Blog 




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