How can daydreaming help you be more productive:
Lately, I keep hearing myself say the word “goodness.”
It started from this thing that I say to my dog Winston. He’s so sweet that I squeeze his face and say “he’s just the goodness of goodness.”
I didn’t notice I was saying this until the other day I was in the car with my son Jake and an email for work came through on my phone.
‘Nothing I can do about it now’ I was thinking but I opened my mouth and out came “Goodness.” Jake said, “Is that about Winston? You just said goodness like you talk to the dog.”
Now I catch myself saying it all the time.
Not like the other day when it started pouring rain when I walked my dogs, Winston and Cooper.
I tried to get us into house quickly. Cooper ran inside and Winston decided to backup instead of move forward. I tripped over him and totally face planted in a puddle on my front step.
This wasn’t a Goodness moment. Another R-rated word came out of my mouth instead.
I’m talking more about the moments when you tell your client that you’re out of the office for the day and they keep emailing you, asking you like a hundred questions. And asking you to do things that you can only take care of at your desk.
Goodness comes out of my mouth, like “Goodness … do you not get that I’m out of the office today.”
The Rocks and the Jar
I was deep in the zone and working through my list of things to do this week – finish creating the content for my Social Media free workbook { check }, updating the sales page copy for a new coaching program { check }, schedule posts for my LinkedIn account …. almost checked off because I started to stare out of the window.
I don’t know how long I sat there watching the kids walk home from their bus stop and the lawn guys riding around on their John Deere mowers. I shook my head really hard to come back to my world of work.
What was that?
I blamed it on being tired. Or maybe its because I’m getting older and can’t work straight through the hours like I could when I was younger.
I opened my mouth to say something and the word, “Goodness,” just came out.
I was just about to do the things I do to get myself back into into that productive work zone again when I had a thought about what just happened when I spaced out.
What if that moment of staring and dreaming into space was really a part of this productivity thing? What if this was like the story of the Rocks and the Jar?
We’ve all heard one of the many versions of this story: It’s either a teacher or speaker talking to CEOs in a meeting about how to prioritize your time. The teacher takes out a large jar and fills it with large rocks.
Is it full yet? Yes, everyone says.
Then he adds small pebbles and the same question and responses. From there he adds in sand, asks his questions one more time before he makes his point by pouring water into the rest of the space left in that great big jar.
The moral behind the story is to always put your big stones/projects in first on your calendar so you can find time to work on them or you’ll fill your day/jar with every little thing { busy work } and never get time to work on those big important projects you want to accomplish in your business.
OK so we all get that, right?
But what if we use the same Rocks and Jar story and we look at that last step the teacher did to the jar of adding the water, as some form of dreaming in our day?
How can we work to our full potential every day if all we’re doing is filling our jar with big rocks, little ones and all that busy work from the sand?
What if we really can’t be productive and get more done in our day if we don’t add the water into our day to dream and space out?
How can you get more done with daydreaming?
Almost every post you read about being more productive will tell you to take productive breaks in your day.
And when we read that paragraph, we say, “I know about that, let me just finish writing up this blog post and I’ll take some kind of break.” But we really never do take that much needed break.
As weird as this is going to sound, the reason you don’t take a ‘productive break’ is because you really don’t know what to do. Taking a break or – as I like to call it dreaming – requires discipline and a bit of planning on your part to actually do it.
So if you’re not sure what to do, here’s some ideas to get you started:
1. Meditation
A lot of people swear by this one. They’ll tell you that spending just 10 minutes mediating can make you feel like you’ve taken a nap for an hour.
I tried meditating but that one was a bit of a struggle. I’d close my eyes but my mind would wander,
“How long have I been sitting here? Maybe I should get up and just exercise for 10 minutes. Hey, what’s that meme about the word exercise sounding like eggs and sides. Exercise … eggs and sides … exercise … eggs and sides … I hear it now. Eggs and sides … like hash browns and bacon … and a toasted bagel. Eggs and sides … exercise … crap this isn’t working. Now I’m just hungry.”
2. Listen to 5 songs on the radio or your online media player
This one will definitely take you out of the work space in your head and get you dreaming. Maybe you’ll think about where you were when you first heard that song or it reminds you of one of your best friends.
Where ever you go with that music, just let it flow. And if you feel the urge, get up out of your seat and move a little.
Yeah I’m going to say it — dance like no one’s watching!
3. Laugh it off
Find a funny video on YouTube or watch a clip from your favorite comedian. And don’t hold it in, literally … laugh out loud.
Laughter really can help you recharge.
It reduces stress and increases your energy level, enabling you to stay focused and accomplish more. Seriously, you’ll be amazed at how quickly your mood will shift from watching a funny 8 minute video.
4. People watching
Watching people go about their business is the ultimate form of disconnecting from your world.
Whether you’re in your office staring out the window or at a local coffee shop, watching the world go by you with no one aware of you watching them, takes you away from your work and into a dreaming state deep into your imagination.
5. Step outside
Take a walk, sit on the porch or just go out and get the mail.
Whatever you do, make sure to leave your cell phone inside. Disconnect from everything and charge your phone while you’re charging your body.
You’ll come back to your laptop feeling refreshed and ready to get back into work.
Want to learn new habits to help you be more productive?
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