Dear journal, Wednesday, June 9, 2010 was the laziest day of my life.
I fully intended on doing a whole lot of things, but simply never got around to it. I chalked it up to rain and Akron, but at the heart of it was a lack of motivation and the comforts of my home.
I simply can’t get things done at home.
Have you ever just been in the zone and cranked out a ton of work in a short period of time? That’s never happened at my house. It’s like a black hole of productivity.
On the other hand, there are places where time flies by and I’m a well oiled machine of making things happen.
Here’s what I’ve found: you’ve got to “find your happy place”.
For me, my happy place is a Starbucks that’s only a mile away from my house. But in terms of productivity, it’s on the other side of the universe.
Coffee shops work for me. I don’t hear the bean grinders or the clanking and hissing of espresso machines. I put my blinders on and get laser-beam focus. Some people can’t take it. The ordering, chatting, laughing, indie music and sipping send them over the edge.
7 Factors
So how do you find your happy place of productivity? Focus on these factors:
1. Comfort. The more comfortable you are, the less likely you are to work fervently. The couch is a bad place, so is a bed. Find a place with a hard wooden chair. Sit up straight. Get after it.
2. Lighting. Get away from fluorescent lights. In a recent study of all the places I’ve ever worked, I found that the glaring lights that burn your retinas make me want to curl up in a ball and cry nine times out of 10. I like places with track lighting with a good amount of natural light. Which leads me to…
3. Windows. I have to have at least one I can look out of. You might prefer a dungeon because you have a tendency to watch every car that drives by when you can see the road. I have to have some sunlight coming in (or lackthereof in Ohio) to focus my thoughts.
4. Distractions. Get away from your normal distractions of television or doing things around the house that you simply use to procrastinate. I have a chronic napping problem that forces me to nap anytime a bed is within 50 yards of me, so I have to get out of the house. Chatting with strangers or bumping into friends in a coffee shop are welcomed distractions for me when they come intermittently, but I can’t escape the wrath of the nap. Figure out what distractions promote and reduce productivity for you and plan accordingly.
5. Internet. I have to get away from it or turn it off for periods of time to accomplish things. You might need to do the same. Starbucks unfortunately only lets you log on for two hours at a time, but it forces me to use my time wisely.
6. Energy. Being around people gets me pumped up. Eating scones gets me juiced too. Maybe it’s being outside or being in a white room for you.
7. Inspiration. Caffeine gets my creative juices flowing. So does people watching. You know where the two intersect. Decide what things inspire you and find where you can get them to intersect. Go there.
As always, good post! As for me, I’m most productive in a noisier coffee place with my iPod playing music that I dont enjoy, like techno (it doesn’t make sense, but it works). I think all of these noises, distractions and music work for me because my brain collects all of the outside noise and puts it all into one big cloud of white noise; so I have to focus on what’s in front of me and not everything around me. And, the worst place for me is a quiet room with no distractions, I will just zone out and stare at a wall.
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Thanks for the chiming in DJ! It’s interesting that in a bunch of chaos you’re forced to focus–keep doing what works for you. Get in the zone!