So I’m leaving today for a 24-day trip to the Philippines. Part of my time there will be spent at Tropical Think Tank and the remainder of my time will be spent traveling through the country with my wife. Before I go, I decided to share this piece today that I recently wrote for The Productivityist Weekly. It seemed to be the most fitting. I hope you enjoy it.
I’m here in Florida. It’s been two days since the close of Think Better Live Better event. There’s no one around from the event. They’ve all gone home.
Me…I’m still here.
So I take some time for myself. I need some downtime after an event like this. Just to decompress. I walk to the beach.
I look out to the ocean.
I “FaceTime” my mother, who usually “winters” in Florida. I may be doing it a bit to show her what she’s missing out on…but mainly to talk to her and let her know I’m doing okay.
I “FaceTime” my wife, mainly so I can see her face. I ask my son if he wants any shells from the beach. He says he does. I turn the camera around and we search for shells together. He’s busy, so we only do it for a couple of minutes. I let him go, making sure I don’t let go of the shells we’ve scavenged in the process.
I walk home and decide to get dinner from Publix. I scour the table they have at the back which has discounted items on it. I find a bottle of water for a quarter. I grab that, pick up some sushi, and head to the cashier.
After paying for my light dinner, I head back to the resort.
I eat my dinner. I pack. I journal. I go to bed – far earlier than I usually do.
I get up the next day, go through as much of my morning routine as I can, and check out of the hotel. I have breakfast at the usual spot, trying something different as my last meal there. I walk along the Inner Coastal water walk to burn off the lobster and brie scramble, then head into the hotel lobby to sit down and write as I wait for my ride to my next destination.
I don’t exactly know what’s next for today, other than it’s my Writing Day…so I’ll do more of that.
I’ll call my wife and kids again. I’ll write in my journal. I’ll prepare for a long day of travel tomorrow. Then I’ll go to bed.
That’s a little over 24 hours of personal productivity for you. Doing what’s right and not much else. Sometimes that’s all you need to do – especially when you’re on the road.
How do I do it? Defining my days by theming them (no matter where I am) helps. Actually, it’s a game changer for me.
Leveraging technology like Slack helps. Mixing things up within the framework my themed days also helps. All of these things (and a few more tactical measures) help me work smarter. They help me work better.
Maybe they can help you too.
