My main job these days, besides being a mom, is writing a personal-finance book about estate planning. (The Juggle is a part-time labor of love.) But for months, I was plagued by procrastination and problems focusing on the book. There were simply too many distractions: the Web, email, Facebook, Austin’s beautiful weather, cleaning the house, paying the bills, not to mention the responsibilities of the Juggle and being a wife, mother and dog-owner.
Several months ago, on one of our evening walks, I griped to my husband about my inability to buckle down. He listened to how I structured my day: I usually started off writing and editing the Juggle, then surfed the Web looking for ideas, worked out around lunch, and usually relegated the book to the afternoons when, inevitably, I was feeling more sluggish.
He came up with a simple, but brilliant, solution: Change the order of my work day. Work on the book in the morning, when my mind is freshest and my creativity and productivity are highest. I followed his advice (luckily, my schedule allows for flexibility) and since then, I’ve been on a roll. My husband’s simple prescription–change your work schedule to do your most important tasks when you’re most on you’re A-game –is similar to the advice given by Winifred Gallagher,
Author of the recently- published book “Rapt ,” about the science of paying attention. In a New York Times article about the book, Ms. Gallagher recommends starting the work day focusing on your most important task for a solid 90-minute block. After that, you can take a break, say, by answering email, making calls or even sipping caffeine, which also helps attention, before returning to your task
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