Tricking my brain into doing some work often involves creating a time-limited game, of sorts. In the morning, emptying the dishwasher becomes a race to complete before the kettle boils for my tea. Doing some writing in an hour-long co-working zoom, focuses me and tricks my brain into starting and continuing to write. How much can I get done before the time runs out? Go!
Part of being retired from teaching is learning how to get things done without an external schedule. After spending my whole life having chunks of time to accomplish work in, now there are no limits. There’s freedom to work whenever!
The Open Schedule Trap
However, that joy of complete autonomy quickly dissolves into a lack of motivation to complete anything. It can all be postponed until tomorrow. Ironically, that openness means less gets done than when there were tight timelines to complete things.
It’s probably why that adage that I’ve written about before, holds true: if you want something done, give it to a busy woman.** When there’s no other choice for when you can fit something in to your schedule, you just do it. Give me an open schedule and you’ll be lucky to see it completed any time soon. That’s frustrating and it’s easy to beat myself up about it.
The Time-Blocking Experiment
I’ve tried to tackle this issue a few different ways over the years. After watching a webinar on time management, I made a schedule and blocked out time for all the work that I wanted to do in the week. I reviewed the schedule and adjusted it to allow for realistic amounts of time for each item of work. Sadly, that didn’t work for me because I resented the schedule, and soon forgot to check it. *
Two Methods That Work For Me:
1. With A Colleague
Setting alerts on my phone works for me under specific circumstances. When I know that someone else is expecting me to show up for a class, the alert pushes me into action. I need that accountability. If the alarm is just setting aside a morning for me to work on something, I’m more likely to ignore it or avoid getting started. My brain knows that there’s no incentive to do it at a set time. Having someone else there makes all the difference.
2. By Myself
So, what works for me when I’m alone? That’s where tricking my brain with a time-limited game comes in handy. I learned long ago that I’m more likely to empty the dishwasher, or tidy up the clean dishes in the dish rack, if I’m racing the kettle. If I want to get some windows washed, I’m more likely to do it if I pop on a podcast, and race to see how many I can clean before the episode is over.
The Race Works
It’s a lot harder to adapt to an open schedule than you think it will be, and it’s something with which I’m continuing to wrestle. Today, I looked at the clock before I started writing this. I knew that I only had 45 minutes to start a blog post draft before I had to leave to meet a friend. It worked!
What have you discovered that helps you to begin work? Comment below.
* Maybe the time-blocking method will work for you. Check it out here: https://retiredandnowwhat.ca/2024/06/19/the-curated-day-experiment/
**More about routines and lack of them: https://retiredandnowwhat.ca/2023/01/29/routines-good-riddance-or-good-idea/
Retired, And Now What? 