Space.
My actual “word of the year” is far too secret to share. But, because I like being at least partially vulnerable to not at all… “space” is the essence of it.
Space in my brain, in my work life, in my personal life, space to think, learn, contemplate, create, BE.
Space.
Despite setting this as my intention, the first three months of the year have NOT exactly been spacious…
Instead, I’ve felt myself caught pulsating in my usual blender of tasks, obligations, things tugging at my attention and intention.
Needing to reset back to my intention, I was already in the process of scheduling in a much-needed whoa, whoa, whoa, Emily, REGROUP when this post by a colleague, Chantelle Davis-Gray (caught my eye):
“If your word-of-the-year doesn't feel like you anymore – good news, it's YOUR life. You get to decide, and it's your prerogative to change your mind about the direction you're headed and how you want to get there. Maybe you're like me, and you've just recently really been trying to embody your word. (Mine is nurture.) Or maybe you haven't yet.
Take this as a nudge to remember why you chose it.” - Chantelle
The Experiment: Crash test various productivity/time management techniques for a Content with Character podcast episosde I’m releasing in April and simultaneously, fine tune how I work best.
Hypothesis: I will find a new time management technique I love, and learn a lot about myself in the process.
Outcome: This experiment is currently in progress (hence the Part I) but I’ve already learned a lot!
The Quest for Space
People often ask me my organizational tips, time management tricks, and how I get so much done all the time. The truth is, a lot of it is just the way I am. (My name “Emily” means “Industrious One” for goodness sake -cursed since birth 😅!)
I’ve also read tons of books and have been obsessed with finding new ways to organize and streamlining and plan and be productive since I was a wee kid. I can make a plan where no plan has existed before and so… when people come knocking for productivity tips, I’m happier than a pig in 💩 to talk to them about it.
But, my answer is almost always the same. IT DEPENDS.
It depends on your brain, your profession, your life, your goals, your, your, your… it depends on YOU.
But, because I want to help more people figure out what does work for them, I decided to map out a time management experiment for myself, a thoughtfully-designed adventure in various productivity techniques and methods so I can report back and help you identify which one works best for YOU.
In this week’s article, I’ll share:
How I mapped out the experiment (since I’m mid-production at the moment but there WAS a nugget of goodness in the actual planning).
Something I tried yesterday that I thought would break me and didn’t
And the next time you hear from me, I’ll give you the full run down.
Laying Out the Rules of the Game
When I crossed the starting line, into 2025, I set a plan to have one week every month with NOTHING.
No calls, appointments, anything I had to do.
That went well for one whopping month: January, and by February, my calendar was back to its usual tsunami, dam, and flood like status. One log jam at the end of February, and I was officially back to where I started.
SO, for the last three weeks of March, I decided to implement my experiment. It was the best of times, it was the busiest of times, so the time was right.
To begin, I told Chat GPT the premise of the podcast episode I wanted to do and a list of the time management experiments I wanted to try
Then, I told it all the things on my plate over the course of the following three weeks
Chat GPT, being the genius it is, took that and created a day-by-day guide for me to do all these experiments!
I started experimenting and on Tuesday, April 29th - I have an episode of Content with Character where I’ll share the fruits of my labor.
The First Takeaway
Chat GPT is incredible at putting stuff like this together! I could see this being advantageous to anyone struggling with executive functioning, time management, seeing projects through to completion, procrastination, and more! It gave me things to consider I hadn’t before, and was extremely thorough in mapping out EVERY day (even my weekends!) in a way that felt fun and adventurous, while remaining productive as I worked towards my goals.
The Unplanned Day… “Flow Time”
One of the types of planning I wanted to try was called Flow Time or Intuitive Productivity… in my world, this translates to: HAVING NO PLAN.
Even on the weekends, I usually have a plan! The chores galore ain’t gonna’ do themselves, ya’ know!? Yesterday, I decided it was the perfect day to try this Flow Time because I had stuff to do but it wasn’t life-or-vacuum (aka death).
I first had to resist the urge to mentally map out my day and time block every last second of it: chores, calling my little brother, doing the laundry, taking a walk, a bunch of menial admin stuff I won’t bore you with, and date night with my husband. Then, I just let it flow….
I was going to start cleaning, but my husband invited me along for a morning hike with him and the dog, so I did that first. I came back and did some admin stuff here, some organizing there. I got into my cleaning and tried not to look at the clock and see if I was “on schedule”. I changed over the laundry, called my brother and missed him, and then decided to get some fresh air, walk, and enjoy the glorious sunshine. While I was walking, my brother called back and two hours later… I hung up with him and his wife and felt like recording a podcast episode! Recorded that, folded the laundry, did a bunch more admin stuff and before I knew it, it was date night time!
Somehow, it all magically got done without a plan in place.
But what was even more mind-blowing was how good I felt at the end of the day. Turns out you don’t need a perfect to-do-list to feel accomplished. 🤷🏻♀️
In fact, I even got MORE done than intended, despite lengthier interruptions and unexpected ramblings.
I probably will try the Intuitive Flow Time method for at least one work day, or at least a portion of it, but as a baby step for me, it was easier to try a weekend even though I know some people who employ this practice every day! It felt a tiny bit stressful to me worrying I wouldn’t get it all done, but seeing that it DID regardless was inspiring!
I loved the feeling of not being beholden to a clock or a block or both at the same time.
Like all productivity methods, it’s not a one-size-fits-all, it’s not even an everyday-fits-all. You have to adapt them for your lifestyle and brain and to-do-list. And two things I’ve had to keep in mind for every one of these experiments so far are:
Your “life” to-do-list will NEVER be fully complete. Your Brain Dump will never not be full. There will never not be more you could get done. Life isn’t just one giant quest to cross every “t”. That’s probably a good thing.
Productivity for productivity’s sake isn’t how I want to spend my one precious life. Lots can hide under overworking and always feeling the need to be doing. One thing I’ve learned over the past let’s say 5 years is to ensure everything I take on and add to my list is a “YES” and has intention behind it. Not simply productivity for productivity’s sake. If I catch myself in the pattern of just doing to do, I ask myself what I might NOT be wanting to face be it emotional or procrastination ;)
On that note, I’ll let you FLOW…
I’m putting my crash helmet back on and I’ll report back when my time management experimentation is done!
If you have experience structuring a workday in an intuitive or “flow” way… can you please share with me?!
I’d like to know what I’m in for and be prepared before attempting 😂
Feel free to share anything else that pops to mind -this is a conversation and I love hearing from Y-O-U!
YES! This! Space! Ah! Couldn't agree more here. I fee like I've been running a bit on autopilot, never quite being present with what I am doing because I have 5-6 things going on in my brain at once, and then...I crash. I need to try this and see how it goes!
Loved reading about your experiment with Flow Time. I've tried that before, but it didn't go as well for me...though I love the concept.
This year I've been playing around with an AI task management system, and I'm loving it so far. I can schedule due dates, priorities as well as how packed I want my days and what my "work hours" are. And if something takes longer than it should, extra tasks are sent to the next available time slot.
It's probably not for everyone, but it hits my type-A tendencies & allows me not to be overwhelmed by a list of unchecked tasks at the end of the day.