How2Freelance

Are you sharpening your saw?

Posted on 10. Apr, 2009 by Amod in Productivity

One of my favorite motivator is Stephen Covey and I love his “7 Habits of Highly Effective People“. The 7th habit is “Sharpen the Saw”, which metaphorically speaking, means revitalize yourself.

For a freelancer who is usually neck deep in work, it is vital for me to step back and “sharpen my saw”. Here are some self-renewal habits I have developed over the years and recommend:

Have a full breakfast. Stop laughing – your body needs the proteins, vitamins and even some fats (its okay to eat the yolk) before 9 a.m. Delay it and the hunger pangs make you reach for that sugary donut or a carb filled cookie. And its going to take a toll on your energy levels. And yeah, sit down at the table for breakfast…

Drink lots of water. Yes, yes, you read it everywhere. And I can’t emphasize it enough, not after my pal had kidney stones.

Exercise. I walk for an hour every evening. That’s when I smell the flowers and marvel at the rain washed road curving ahead of the trees. Its my time and I DO NOT check for any text messages or tweets.

Travel. With my wife and kid. It really does work wonders to see different people, experience their culture, taste their food and try to understand their perspective. Takes that “whats wrong with this world” worry off my mind.

Read. I reserve at least an hour everyday reading a book / blog / article. For the last 12 years the web has never dissapointed me even once. There IS something to learn for free.

Re-skill & Re-tool. Learn a new programming language or a foreign language, if you please or maybe photography. Get onto that first chapter on Ruby on Rails. You don’t want to get stuck with an outdated skill that nobody is hiring for anymore.

For some people, only the last two count as ’sharpening the saw’. I listed these as sharpening or renewal is a holistic exercise and is set encompassing all that sharpens the body, mind and soul which contributes to increased productivity and happiness – which is what we’re after, aren’t we?

Let me know what else works for you…