{"id":4729,"date":"2014-12-15T03:16:21","date_gmt":"2014-12-15T09:16:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unk.com\/blog\/?p=4729"},"modified":"2024-05-02T08:05:38","modified_gmt":"2024-05-02T14:05:38","slug":"the-quick-guide-to-getting-things-done-for-the-solo-practitioner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unk.com\/blog\/the-quick-guide-to-getting-things-done-for-the-solo-practitioner\/","title":{"rendered":"The Quick Guide to Getting Things Done for the Solo Practitioner"},"content":{"rendered":"

This piece is written by Uncommon Knowledge co-founder Roger Elliott.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

When there’s no one to hold you accountable but yourself, procrastination can become a constant companion and productivity a long-lost pal.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here I\u2019ll tell you how to eradicate email overwhelm with a simple system I\u2019ve finally settled on after over a decade of jumping from one productivity system to another.<\/strong><\/p>\n

More than ten years ago, my wife and I were strolling through the botanical gardens in Christchurch, New Zealand. Bathed in the warm, humid air, I was in a reflective mood and said to my ever-patient sounding board, “Lynds, there’s got to be a good way to stay on top of work and not get stressed, not forget things, not get off track, you know?”<\/p>\n

\u201cYes honey,\u201d she replied absentmindedly while toying with a trumpet-shaped tropical flower.<\/p>\n

By this time, I had been self-employed as a therapist and trainer for a good few years and despite trialling half a dozen productivity systems, I still often felt stressed, out of control of my workload, and that I was much less productive than I could be.<\/p>\n

A quick hop in a time machine and here we are today, where I’m managing a team of fifteen and heading up a company with a seven-figure turnover, yet I’ve never enjoyed work more or felt more relaxed about it.<\/p>\n

I now know what I need to do and when to do it and I rarely get distracted or procrastinate. (This isn’t far short of a miracle for me. Anyone who knows me will tell you I’m congenitally distractible.)<\/p>\n

So what brought about this miracle?<\/h3>\n

Well, like most really useful things, it’s a really simple system. It consists of three things that you can grab for free from the Internet and keep together in less than ten minutes a day.
\n\n

1) How to Set Up Your Email for Minimum Stress and Maximum Productivity<\/h2>\n

Firstly, we\u2019ll deal with your email. Most days, I send 70 to 100 emails and I\u2019m still in email heaven. Here\u2019s how it works:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. You have a Work email inbox.<\/li>\n
  2. You have a Play email inbox (we use Gmail<\/a>).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    And never the twain shall meet!<\/p>\n

    \"ImageKeep your email types separate to avoid brain strain and distraction<\/span><\/p>\n

    Why? Simple.<\/p>\n

    When you\u2019re working, you\u2019re working.<\/p>\n

    When you\u2019re playing, you\u2019re playing.<\/p>\n

    Keep it like that and your brain will thank you.<\/p>\n

    Otherwise, it doesn\u2019t know what you want from it…<\/p>\n

    Work: \u201cHey, I need to do this and finish it today.\u201d
    \nor
    \nPlay: \u201cHa ha ha, check out that kitten, who do I know would love that?\u201d<\/p>\n

    Even the most ninja of brains is going to get exhausted switching from one to the other each time you move to a new email.<\/p>\n

    \r\n \t\t\t\r\n \t\t\tEven the most ninja of brains is going to get exhausted switching from work to play with each new email.\r\n \t\t\t<\/span>\r\n \t\t\tClick to Tweet<\/span><\/path><\/svg><\/i>\r\n \t\t<\/div>\n

    (As an aside, Gmail clearly saw what I was doing and copied me earlier this year with its Priority, Social, and Promotions tabs. Don\u2019t trust Google on this, trust me – you still need two email addresses.)<\/p>\n

    So…<\/p>\n

    Action Steps<\/h3>\n
      \n
    1. Go set up a \u2018Play\u2019 inbox. We use Gmail<\/a>.<\/li>\n
    2. No Play in Work: Every time you get an email in your Work inbox that isn\u2019t work, you unsubscribe and re-subscribe with your Play inbox. (Work-related newsletters don\u2019t count as work – they still go to your Play inbox.)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Soon, you will find you get very few emails in your Work inbox.<\/p>\n

      Work emails include:<\/p>\n