An Office with Wheels

I wrote this blog on our way home from our first leg of our Canada and US Book Tour for my new book On Toby’s Terms.
The front seat of our car had become my office and work environment for three weeks. My husband Christopher did the driving and I used the travel time to catch up, and get ahead on my work. I must tell you that without computer access during the day, my productivity has increased exponentially. I am sure that the beautiful scenery has something to do with my bursts of creative energy, but, I am seeing firsthand the value of having focused work time. This time in my moving office has allowed me to clear up a number of tasks, and start a number of new projects. As well, due to limited space in the front seat, the only paper I have out is what I am working on during that exact moment. Knowing that my office on wheels will not be permanent, the question of the day is “how can we maintain the same degree of creativity and productivity when returning to our regular office space?” Here are some tips I have for you:
• Every morning set the intention for the day. For example “I have enough time to complete all the priorities that face me today.”, “I am creative and manage my time and energy effectively.”, “I deal with deadlines and the difficult tasks first so that I give them my energy and focus.”
• Instead of keeping your email running in the background and checking it frequently, check it four times daily, and set aside time to actually deal with the emails using the 4D approach (do it, delete it, defer it with action plan, or delegate it) .
• Keep your work area free of distractions allowing you to focus on one thing at a time.
• Work towards task completion instead of having 10 projects/tasks started but none finished.
• Take breaks regularly to refresh, stretch and hydrate. You will find your energy is higher and your focus is crisper. Taking a few moments to enjoy your surroundings will give you a greater appreciation for the importance of what is around you that you are often too busy to notice.

My lessons during the 8000 km journey is that unplugging from technology can free up more time and productivity, a change of environment brings about new curiosity, and working smarter, not harder is one way to get ahead!