How I am Working Right Now | Theme Weeks
IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A MacBook Pro laptop keyboard beside a white piece of paper with a pen on top and mug partially in view. On the piece of paper the word August is on the top. Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5 is written down the left hand side.
My work and the work of all creative entrepreneurs are mostly self-driven, which means we are the sole motor keeping the projects going.
What happens when you have outgrown the motor you have been using?
You start looking for a replacement.
Theme Weeks.
Sounds and looks simple, and it is.
Instead of packing my days with busy work that may get me to my next goal or accomplished task, I have begun practicing looking at the month ahead and giving each week a theme.
These themes often only consist of one to three words encapsulating an idea, project title, goal or medium (radio, film…etc.)
By attaching a theme to the week, I am telling myself exactly what that week is about.
Busy work and often distracting work like social media, emails, grants, pitches, etc., can distract oneself from the primary goal.
With this new way of looking at my work week, I can focus on the most important task I need to move forward in a broader sense.
For example:
August Week 1: “Radio Pitch.”
No one knows what that exactly means, but I do. I knew what I wanted to see happen, my goal, and the project, and it kept me on task until I had accomplished all I could get done related to the intent that week. (Once a draft/pitch is sent off, you are in the waiting game.)
This has brought a lot of clarity to my life.
It’s incredible how fast or slow a day can go when you dread the list staring back at you. After implementing this new way of doing things, I have time left for professional development, reading/watching, passion projects, or simply stopping the presses, lying on the floor and letting my cat and daughter crawl all over me. At the same time, I process my next right step.
I plan on continuing this method into Autumn, and I have a sneaky suspicion it is here to stay.
Until the next work productivity revelation,
Onwards.