Personal Productivity Scaffolding

Steve Pavlina recently published a post which I found quite interesting on establishing personal productivity scaffolding in our lives.

The principle that Steve outlines is probably not a new one as such but just a new term for an old but good habit. Personal productivity scaffolding he says refers to putting things in place to help you overcome habits that are stealing from your productivity and change those habits for ones that increase your personal productivity.

Scaffolding is a tool that builders use to hold tools and workmen for a temporary period of time when they are working on a building and just as scaffolding can help the builder by putting in place your own scaffolding you can temporarily create a structure in which you work on improving your personal productivity.

The personal productivity scaffolding that Steve uses is to set aside an hour before he starts work and an hour at the end of the working day to journal, go through his task list, breathe deeply and either prepare for the day ahead, plan the following day or let go of work for better productivity after working hours. What scaffolding you put in place will depend on how you feel you can best improve your own personal productivity but some of the ideas he shares of journaling and going through your task list, updating long-term plans, etc. do seem like good ones for all of us to implement.

Personal productivity scaffolding is also temporary and you can use it when you choose. The main aim of it is to help you straighten out the areas where you may have gone a bit crooked. You can also test and try out different forms of scaffolding to determine what type of scaffolding works best in your life. It does not need to look great to anyone else, so long as it helps you to stay productive and focused.

So, if you find that you are struggling in some area of your personal productivity why not consider putting up some scaffolding to straighten out those areas? Think about what will help you be more productive and focused and put those systems in place. Don’t worry too much about what others think of it, just test it and see if it does fulfill its purpose of helping you to be more productive.