Society feeds us mixed messages about productivity.
Productivity can be a challenge for everyone, but particular pressure is placed on freelancers and entrepreneur for whom future work is the most uncertain and for whom consistent productivity practices are essential.
We have written recently on the modern expectations of workday lengths as corporate structure and workplace environments have become more and more flexible.
Mark Ellwood, President of Pace Productivity Inc. and producer of "The Calm Manifesto" mental relief for entrepreneurs and remote workers in the form of a seven step checklist:
- Stop rushing
- Stop working long hours
- Walk instead of drive
- Limit internet use
- Spend time with friends and family
- Stop procrastinating
- Delegate
#1 and 3 touch on how to more healthily pace your life. Entrepreneurs and deadline-driven freelancers often maintain the mindset that they must stay at 100mph until the work is done. Even though the work needs to get done, functioning at such a high level of activity and self-inflicted stress is not sustainable long term and is unhealthy for your cardiovascular system.
These points encourage the intentional addition of small moments during the day where you naturally can slow down, even if just for ten minutes walking to the coffee shop next door.
#2, 5, and 6 hearken to a recent post about avoiding burnout while also working fewer hours. This is the fluidity mindset in which allowing for adequate rest and relaxation outside of work makes time spent at work much more successful because you have allowed your brain and body to recover.
Ironically, relaxing more does allow you to achieve more in less time at work, but it is a slippery slope. Entrepreneurs and freelancers who work from home and must remain intrinsically motivated every day must find what work / rest relationship works best for them as well as what hours per day seem to be their most productive.
