Create Focused Time to Start Finishing What Matters
I'm just returning from an out-of-country trip, and I'm happy to be home and back into the flow. I'd be even happier if some of the stuff that piled up while I was gone finished itself up, but, alas, that's not the way it works. That's why it's so important I create the focused time needed to get the stuff done that actually matters now.
Regardless of whether you've been out of the flow, though, you likely have a pile of stuff to work through, as well. There are frogs you haven't swallowed yet or things you know are really valuable and important but you just haven't gotten around to. Creative Giants always have multiple items that fall into both categories precisely because our work is never done, even before someone else gives us their work, too.
When are you going to create the focused time to start finishing those items up? No, really, when?
More often than not, it's not that Creative Giants don't know what needs to be done, it's that we get sidetracked by the Bright Shiny Object Syndrome and fail to create the focused time needed to make serious progress on real goals.
Since it's hard for so many of us to create focused time, myself included, I've started something I'm calling Creative Giant Coworking Sessions. Join us for our first Creative Giant Coworking Session next Monday to convert those someday/maybe items to "started finishing today" items.
What Creative Giant Coworking Sessions Are All About
In case you missed our announcement last month, the Creative Giant Coworking Sessions are a 3-hour block of time where we come together virtually to actually get our work done. You probably don't need more information or thinking about something as much as you need space and time to do what you know needs to be done.
You won't just have a three-hour chunk of time to figure out what to do with yourself, though: I'll be guiding the work session.
We'll start with planning, then move to doing something important that you probably would otherwise put off, then move to doing something fun and future-oriented, and then wrap up by doing some more follow-on goal setting. You'll be paired with a buddy who'll help hold the space with you. Yes, we'll separate the Chatty Charlies from the Quiet Quincys.
The Types of Activities You Might Need Focused Time For
Here are some of the types of things you might want to work on:
Finishing your taxes (Don't kill the messenger!)
Starting to develop a process so next year's taxes aren't done last minute next year
Rewriting one of the pages on your website that you've been meaning to get to
Reviewing your analytics
Fleshing out the table of contents for that book you've been mulling over (for plotters) or just sitting down and writing the overview for it (for pantsers)
Finishing a performance review for one of your teammates
Writing the job description for one of your teammates
Figuring out your strategic plan for the rest of the year
Doing some email triage
Invoicing your clients
Chasing down clients and customers who haven't paid you on time
Writing a progress report for your supervisor
Writing one of the people who owe you that progress report to tell them to get it to you
Reviewing the progress report that was sent to you
Scheduling appointments for the rest of the month so you don't have to be at their office at 7:30am because everybody else got the good times
Finishing your taxes (repeated intentionally)
Working through your prospect and lead list to figure out who should actually be on your sales board and who's turned cold
Actually processing the Paper Stack of Doom rather than continually looking at it
Finding a place for those books that have been grabbing your attention for the last three months
Cleaning off your virtual desktop
Backing up your critical files (which may mean you figuring out what's critical)
Sketching out or finishing posts or articles
Creating some of the design mocks that you've been wanting to do or are avoiding doing
Emailing the five friends you've been meaning to talk to for a while to see if they'd like to hang out sometime this month
Researching and ordering a gift or preparing a surprise for your loved ones
Figuring out what you want to do with that Amazon gift card you've been thinking about using for 3 months
Reading a part of a book you've been meaning to get to
I could go on, but you get the idea.
Finishing the stuff that matters - whether it's "work" or "play" - requires you to make space and time to get it done. (Click to share this - thanks!)
That's what our coworking sessions are for. I hope to see you there in a few days.
Click here to learn more about how we help Creative Giants be productive.