#67 How To Be More Productive Each Day & Enjoy It

It may have been my very strict, 1970s Catholic School education, or possibly the modeling of my extremely organized parents... saving, noting, filing, & labeling papers and keeping well-organized filing cabinets throughout my childhood. Name any document from any year and my father can put his hands on it in less than 5 minutes, perhaps it’s innate, but whatever the reason, I have always relished in the comforts of structure. I abide by a schedule, I honor habits, and I appreciate decisive people. That’s the reason why as a teacher, with two months not working in the summer, I would walk in circles for the first two weeks until I got myself on a schedule and took control of my days. Who wants to waste a summer, right? Ten months in the classroom demands some serious restoration for the nervous system, and it was essential to relax, restore, and reset during those days. That’s why, today, with the new school year upon us, I want to share with you and your family, how to be more productive each day and enjoy it! The school year is going to demand it from both you and your kids, so listen up- I’ve got an easy strategy for you to put in place and I know you will enjoy it!

3 Strategies You'll Enjoy

Today I’m sharing … 3 strategies to help you and your family be more productive each day and enjoy it through a simple and sustainable automation process.

I love new beginnings! And I’m pretty sure I’m one of a very small number of people who love Mondays…the beginning of a new week! You get the chance to do it all over again, and this time try to do it even better than before!

Even though I’m not in the classroom anymore, the month of August is deeply imprinted in my psyche for preparation for a new school year. I get an undeniable urge to nest during this month. For 25 years, I’ve used the month of August to purge my wardrobe, straighten up the basement, clear out the attic, make the Christmas cookie dough, and finish up the Christmas shopping. There have been Christmas seasons without cookies in our home if the dough did not get made in August. I just couldn’t fit it in with all the other demands the school year brought. 

If you’re a teacher listening to this, you get it, you probably do the same thing, and if you’re not, I’m sure it’s hard to understand just how all-encompassing the teaching profession is. Without careful planning and scheduling, there’s little to no time for taking care of yourself and your family, let alone all the added extras that pop up all day, every day, during the school year, whether you’re a teacher or not.

Enjoying your days as a happy and healthy functioning family needs to be first and foremost. I’m sure you feel this, but those days don’t just happen. 

The Bottom Line 

The bottom line is families who make the time to realistically plan out their days, consequently creating opportunities to regulate and restore, have less stress and overwhelm in their day.

And they spend very little time reducing that stress & overwhelm

BUT… YOU WON’T BE LIVING WITHOUT STRESS & OVERWHELM WITHOUT A STRATEGY IN PLACE.

So here’s the strategy:

#1

First, make a list of what’s important for you to accomplish each day, a list of what would make you feel good about having completed or participated in once you’ve tucked yourself in at night. Whether it’s chores or something that brings you lots of pleasure like playing piano or journaling, exercising, or reading a book. Write it down. Write it ALL down. 

Too many times I hear, women in particular telling me, “Yeah, but who has time for that?!” “There’s not enough hours in the day.”

There’s plenty of time, you just have to make it! And that’s what I’m teaching you how to do right here, right now. First, create that list of things you’re tired of missing out on once the weekend rolls around.

#2

Second, you’re going to list the hours in the day with which you have to work. Fold a piece of paper in half, and start by writing down the hour you wake up at the top left of the first column and the hour you go to bed at the bottom left of the second column, then fill in the rest of the hours in the day. 

Setting that bedtime and sticking to it will help you to sleep better and sleep more soundly because your nighttime ritual will begin when you wake up in the morning. Let me say that again, your nighttime ritual will begin when you wake up in the morning. Let me explain:

As you begin to give those things that light you up priority, and you plan to make them happen, going to bed at the same time each night is going to be just one more of those things that lights you up, and your body will respond in kind. It will thank you. You will begin to prepare for bedtime with a winding down ritual, just like you prepare for lunch or for that work phone call. Going to bed at night won’t just be a thing that happens mindlessly as you flop your head down on the pillow, it will become a routine that you’ve designed perfectly in place just for you.

You’re going to then fill in the non-negotiables for the day, like your morning routine, going to work, picking up the kids, & bringing them to soccer. If you don’t work or if you work from home, be sure to note all those little opportunities of time where you can sneak in a walk, organize a closet, sit and write, pick up your guitar or a paintbrush, do some stretching, or just sit and be still. 

Then compare the hours in your day to your list of important things, and begin fitting those important things into the hours you have to work with each day. Feel of sense of flexibility while designing your day, and know that this is a structure, not an edict. Light a candle, play your favorite music, and have your favorite drink close by. 

Once you create this for yourself, lead your kids through the same process and show them just how much time they have…AND BE HONEST. This is an amazing opportunity for you both to see just how much time is being spent on devices or being isolated in a room somewhere. (Which we know is a healthy and natural way for teens to begin to separate from their parents as they begin to find their footing, but I’m referring to habits and behaviors that aren’t as natural and healthy here.)

#3

And finally, the third part of this strategy is to create a final copy of the daily schedule you now hold in your hand. It probably looks like chicken scratch, so now you’re going to type it up and keep it close by so you can use it to guide, keeping you balanced as you take control of your day, making sure you get the chores done, and most importantly, that you’ve rounded out each day with those special things that bring you joy. 

Not every day is going to be the same. Maybe you have several creative things you’d like to add to your life, so plan to do a different one each day to add some variety. Maybe Monday you meditate, Tuesday you Tap Dance, Wednesday you Write, and Thursday is going to be the time you schedule to have lunch or a FaceTime with someone you haven’t seen in a while. Shake it up! Make it fun! Aim to end your week with a feeling of…Ahhh, that was a real treat!

So to recap: 

#1 - Create a list of things you want to make happen for yourself each day and that list needs to include all those things you’re missing in your life. 

#2 - Make an honest list of the hours you have to work with each day and fit in all of those things that bring you joy.

#3 - Type up your new schedule and use it to guide you through balanced, sustainable days.

This strategy also works well for your workday schedule and the schedule your kids have as they balance school, sports, work, a social life, chores, and extracurricular activities.

Which of these steps will be the most challenging for you? 

DM me on my Instagram page @jenncaputo to let me know, and follow for more!

Remember, it's not about being perfect, it's about being easy with the practice. xo