If you’ve been associating “productivity” with “busy”, you aren’t alone but I’m gonna tell ya that it’s time we reframe that.
Some days, your productivity is going to look like getting a lot of work accomplished or getting a lot of housework accomplished or spending a lot of quality time with your kids or reading a few chapters in your book … or or or. I could go on.
Productivity does not mean you have to fill up your time with work, chores, or other busy work. Rest IS productive. Period. I have a plot on this hill.
So before we move on, the goal here is to replace “busy” with “intentional”.
Understanding Micro-Moments
Micro-moments are the tiny increments of time scattered throughout your day – the minutes between calls, waiting for your coffee to brew, the brief gaps in your schedule, or waiting in the school pick-up line. They often go unnoticed but they are the perfect opportunity for intentional productivity.
I’m gonna say this again – micro-moments are NOT meant to keep you busy all the time, rather they’re meant to help you become more intentional with your time. Meaning, you do something that helps you in some way.
It might be standing up and stretching when you’ve been hyper-focusing on client work, moving your body a little when you realize that your muscles are tight, grabbing a snack and some water because we often forget about some of those basic needs. It might also be jotting down a plan for the day, writing a social media post, sending an email. And it bears repeating, it might also be sitting and resting.
While individually they may seem insignificant, the cumulative impact of micro-moments adds up over time. Focusing on small, achievable tasks during these moments allows you to meet yourself where you’re at every. single. day.
Incorporating Micro-Moments into Work and Life
Micro-moment productivity is truly all about fitting your life. For me, mess and clutter sends my anxiety into overdrive and it makes it really hard to focus on anything else. Taking some of my own micro-moments to tidy or organize helps me a ton.
If I’m having a super hard time focusing on work, I step away and do something that helps my brain recalibrate. Usually it’s housework because that’s a huge distraction for me, but it might be something completely different for you.
Other micro-moments for me often include:
- … when I drop my youngest off to his afternoon session of school, I’m already out and about so I use that time to pick up a grocery order, go get a coffee pick-me-up, or run some other errands
- … after my kiddos go to bed, I use that time to catch up on social media scrolling, read a book (Patricia Cornwell Kay Scarpetta series), or play games on my tablet to wind down. Depends on my mood which route I go.
- … the time between when the big kids go to school and I start my work day, I usually start a load of laundry and tidy up the house.
- … some Friday afternoons, if I finish my work to-do list early, I’ll take some time and go through my personal inbox and try to get it down to zero.
Sure, sometimes I’m busy in those micro-moments, but I don’t do anything that I don’t WANT to do. Yes, sometimes I WANT to do housework 😂 simply because it has a direct and profound impact on my anxiety and focus.
Balancing Micro-Moments with Larger Goals
To make micro-moments fit into your daily routine, work on your personalized list by identifying specific activities that align with your goals and can be accomplished in short bursts.
Whether it’s reading a few pages of a book, doing a quick brainstorming session, or taking a short walk, having a list of things that you can do during those brief blips of time will help you as you become more intentional with your time.
Micro-moments are not there to see how much you can accomplish in a brief moment of time; they’re meant to complement your bigger goals.
Often, procrastination is the result of having an overwhelmingly large goal or list of tasks so break that goal or those tasks down into actionable steps and work on them during your micro-moments.
What can you do in micro-moments?
The possibilities are truly endless here but let’s go over a few examples broken down into categories.
Business
- Email triage – what’s the priority?
- Content brainstorming sesh
- Social media engagement
- Outline a blog post
- Organize a Google Drive folder (or delete/organize your computer downloads …)
Life
- Declutter school papers
- Water your plants (don’t know who needs to hear this … it’s me)
- Look up some new recipes
- Clean out your fridge
- Create a relaxing home playlist
Basic Needs
- Hydrate!
- Have a snack
- Stretch
- Use a chair massager
- Take a power nap
Self-Care
- Use a relaxing essential oil
- Listen to calming sounds
- Sit in silence
- Use a cooling eye mask
- Do a “body check” for tension
Productivity doesn’t have to be busy.
Let’s shatter the notion that busyness equals productivity and success.
Micro-moments aren’t about constantly doing something. They’re about taking intentional actions that contribute positively to your well-being.
Your capacity will vary every single day therefore your micro-moments will vary every single day. You can come up with a plan for the next day but keep in mind, that plan may change when the time comes.
As a low-energy person, you never know what each day is gonna bring or how you’re gonna feel. So many factors come into play – parent life, neurodivergence, chronic illness, your cycle – just to name a few. All the more reason to have a list of intentional micro-moment activities to help refresh your mind when it checks out.
