Anyone who knows me knows that I am a Type A, Get-It-Done-Now-and-Probably-Yesterday type of person. If you have been reading Momentum Mondays, you will know that I loathe “Fake-Work Projects” (aka any type of distraction that takes your attention away from the 2 or 3 things on your daily must-do list).
But sometimes you need to switch out of “Get It Done” mode and get into “Inspiration” mode. Sometimes what your productivity needs is a little break from the daily to-do’s to refuel and seek out new ideas (emphasis on the word LITTLE as in don’t turn ‘refuelling’ into another fake-work project that you fool yourself into believing counts as productive time).
Speaking from experience, if you spend all your time focused on productivity, you will start to feel a little burnt out. After a while, it becomes hard to switch out of “Get It Done” mode and you find your brain continually buzzing with the things on your to-do list. That and your creativity starts to feel a little less, well, creative.
What you gain by starting your day with reading is a fresh perspective, new ideas and even shortcuts that you can apply to your task list. That is if you choose your reading focus wisely. You didn’t think it would be all cat videos and celebrity gossip stories, did you? This is Momentum Monday where we jump start our week, remember?
How to Use Reading to Fuel Your Mind
#1: Set a Strict Time Limit — Decide how much time you want to dedicate to reading and set a timer so you don’t get lost down the rabbit hole that is the internet (between 15 to 30 minutes max should be enough time if you do it daily).
#2: Find Worthwhile Fuel — Research quality sites related to your industry that you can turn to for helpful advice and insightful articles and subscribe to their RSS feeds so you have a list of potential articles ready and waiting for you. You can subscribe to MOMeo Magazine here! Pro tip: if nothing grabs your attention, check out what your competitors are up to online.
#3: Scan Your Top Picks — Do a quick scan of the headlines and first paragraphs to see which articles are the most relevant for your business RIGHT NOW. The idea isn’t to archive loads of information that you will maybe, possibly use someday in the distant future. Look for stuff that will help you here and now.
#4: Read to Apply What You Learn — Have a pen and sticky note pad ready for any ideas you intend to implement (hint: if you aren’t finding any ideas you want to apply to your business, rethink your reading list and find ones that inspire action). This is another reason to keep your reading short and sweet as you only want to read what you can reasonably apply in your business.
#5: Save the Rest for Later — Don’t worry if you didn’t have time to get to every article you found interesting before your time was up! Add the rest to your bookmark list or Pocket for those in-between times when you need a quick to-do to fill the gap.
