It focuses on single-tasking rather than multi-tasking and doing the most important task of the day first. It also uses The Pomodoro Technique. The Pomodoro Technique is working on a task for 25 minutes without distraction or procrastination and then taking a 5 minute break.
Like any productivity journal the Productivity Planner has Pros and Cons. Here they are:
Pros
Cons
Its design is smart and business-like.
It’s compact and light to carry.
It’s dateless, meaning you can start using it at any time.
It prioritises tasks into: Most Important, Secondary and Additional.
It has Weekly Planning/Review sections.
It has a place for Notes on each day and a full Weekly Notes page.
Every daily page has an Inspirational Quote and a Productivity Score (1-10).
It has circles next to tasks to measure time. You set a Target and then record the Actual, helping you to allocate a more realistic amount of time for tasks.
It has a bookmark ribbon and an elasticated closure.
It is really designed for business use. It only has a 5 day week.
There’s no Done boxes to tick tasks off on the daily pages.
The planner only has 6 months worth of pages in it. Meaning you would need to buy two for 1 year.
It is expensive for a journal, being priced at £20+.
There’s no short term, medium term or long term goal setting pages.
There’s no monthly or yearly view pages.
It is black and white throughout.
There isn’t anywhere to record rewards for completing tasks. I find rewards really motivating.
There’s no way to organise tasks into groups, e.g. Personal, Business, Health, Family/Friends, etc.
Back in 2008, I wrote a blog post about People that inspire me. I could add so many people to that blog post.
But instead I decided to look at the qualities in people that inspire me. Here’s my list of qualities that those people display:
Accepting.
Authentic.
Balanced in their thinking.
Battle their inner demons.
Believe in fairness and equality.
Brings joy to others.
Can have a presence on entering a room or blend into the background in social situations.
Captivating Story Teller.
Careful in their actions.
Cares about others.
Comfortable with themselves.
Confident yet humble.
Connects emotionally with others.
Creative.
Describes their own thoughts & feelings through words well.
Determined.
Diplomatic.
Dislikes injustice.
Empathetic.
Enthusiastic.
Flawed.
Funny.
Generous.
Good communicator.
Has others following them.
Honesty.
Humorous.
Independent.
Influences others.
Intelligent.
Is a Collaborator.
Is a Doer.
Is a Dreamer.
Is Grateful.
Kindness.
Knows when, who and why to ask for help.
Makes others feel comfortable.
Makes others laugh.
Motivational.
Non-judgemental.
Occasional vulnerable.
One-step ahead of others.
Open minded.
Optimistic.
Passionate.
Patient.
Positive.
Relaxed in new situations.
Self-aware.
Sensitive.
Shares their Knowledge and wisdom.
Sincere.
Stands up for the rights of others.
Supports & helps others.
Unconventional.
Values community.
Vibrant.
Wants a better society for all.
Wants others to reach their potential.
Willing to fight for a cause.
Wise.
Works hard.
I’m sure there’s many other qualities that could be added to the list. I also know that as well as people, many other things inspire me. Things such as music, books, films, paintings, nature, animals and expressions of love to name but a few.
What qualities do you admire in the people that inspire you? Feel free to share by leaving a comment below.
Recently I’ve been thinking about being creative, but not actually doing anything creative. Creativity should be something I do everyday, as it has so many benefits, including:
It lights up my imagination, giving me pleasure and increasing my happiness.
It motivates me.
It is good for my mind, heart and soul. It makes my mind more active, my heart beat faster and enriches my soul.
It helps me deal with my feelings, good and bad. It also helps me to express these feelings.
It makes me a better problem-solver. When I’m feeling creative, I can come up with better solutions to problems.
It allows me to explore ideas.
It enables me to look at events, situations and people in different ways.
Helps me to hope for and imagine better or alternative futures.
It gives me hope, at times when I feel that I need it.
Other people’s creativity inspires me.
The way to be more creative, is to play, as children do inhibited. So when I was at Waterstones at the weekend and saw these books, I just had to pick them up. Here’s my opportunity to play and be creative:
I picked up both of these books along with a pack of felt tip pens. I’m going to draw or write something in these books at least once a day. I’ve already started.
I’ll be posting my progress here by sharing a few scanned images. Don’t expect any drawing I do to be an artistic master piece (for that see my fabulous Illustrator friend Sye); or that any writing I do will be literary genius. Just take it for what it is – me playing. I’m aiming to post a progress update once a week.
Reading Time: < 1minuteThroughout our life journey we travel a path that’s filled with learning. Here’s something I forgot along the way:
As a child I had a lot of self-belief and the confidence to try new things. I don’t quite know when I lost belief in myself or the confidence to try; all I know is that I did. I didn’t write for a long time because of this lack of self-belief and confidence.
But I’ve re-learned this lesson and now my writing is going from strength to strength. I’m now writing short stories and doing some journalistic pieces. It just goes to show that all it takes is a little self-belief and the confidence to try and you can do anything.
