My current situation is that I want to create a company that I can sell in about 10 years for a largish lump sum to fund my retirement. That is the real priority, but I have a fairly urgent need to pay the bills in the short term. The plan had been for my job to do that but when I lost it I decided it made more sense to earn short term cash as a consultant.
This is all logical and is working as well as I can reasonably expect. The problem is that building two businesses simultaneously is a lot of work and so I need to get a lot more done in a wider range of different activities than I am used to or than the average person ever has to. This is only a short term requirement. as time goes by I will have got through the learning curve and the inevitable start up pains. But for now I have to cope with a big workload.
It has taken a while and some experimenting, but I think I am getting towards an approach that delivers the sheer quantity of results I need right now. This is it in outline.
1. Get up early. If I don't hit the day running and get producing results by 7.00 or 7.30 at the latest I a not going to get enough done.
2. Review my goals in writing first thing in the morning. I think this is a good thing to do just about any time, but it really helps keep my mind focused on what really needs to be done.
3. Set a daily goal for the number of hours I am going to work. Eight hours of actual work is a tough target. Being at a desk for eight hours is quite easy, but using every minute of those eight hours to produce some worthwhile result is tough.
4. Plan the day ahead and stick to the plan.
5. Use the pomodoro approach to keep track of what I am doing. I find setting the work target in terms of numbers of pomodoros is a very motivating way of doing it.
6. When I have met my work target I spend 15 minutes reviewing how it went - in writing - and looking for ways to improve what I am doing. For example, doing practical work over lunchtime means I take a shorter break later in the day which I find it easier to get out of.
7. Get the plan ready for the next day.
This has been my pattern for nearly two weeks now and the productivity gains are beginning to come through. My e-mail inbox is down to about a dozen items. My workspace is tidy. I need to spend more time on activities that get invoices out and more time on activities that lead to long term income improvements, but on the whole I am pretty happy with the direction I am going in.
Photo credit: VFS Digital Design via photopin cc
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