090: Q&A - How to Plan Your Day Based On Your Energy Levels (+ more)

This is our first Q & A episode and I’m excited about it. In today’s episode I discuss: 1) creative ways to use the results from your productivity heat map, 2) how I suggest people approach heat mapping when their schedule is largely determined by somebody else, and 3) what tools I use for blogging. At the end of the episode I’ll let you know a few of the other questions I’m going to be answering in the next Q & A so keep your ears open for that. Ready? Let’s do this! Key Takeaways:[0:56] Thank you to SaneBox.com for sponsoring episode #90.[2:00] What’s going on with the format of the show?[6:11] Question #1 from Jennifer - What are some creative ways to use the results from your productivity heat map?[7:59] Think about the 4 different types of blocks you might have throughout your day - Creative, Social or Service, Admin, and Recovery.[9:05] What’s the schedule sorting game and when should you play it? [10:35] Basically, you plan your day based upon the different blocks & you use those blocks very seriously.[16:30] Question #2 from Laura - How does Charlie suggest to approach heat mapping when your schedule is largely determined by somebody else?[18:32] Charlie's first tip is to un-schedule a day from your schedule.[20:22] Charlie’s second tip is to separate what’s on your schedule with how you actually feel.[22:25] Bottom line on what to do when you don’t have autonomy over your schedule? Listen in for the communication piece you can steal and use with your workplace.[25:23] Question #3 from Patricia - What tools does Charlie use for blogging?[26:22] Writing tools: TextMate or Lightroom, then copied them into WordPress.[28:17] Charlie uses an Idea Garden to capture blog post ideas.[29:05] Another tool is the Blog Post Calendar which you can download for free.[30:04] Charlie uses Jetpack by WordPress and Google Analytics to keep track of stats.[31:21] Charlie catalogs posts mostly by memory.[32:05] Social media tools: The native platforms like Twitter, Facebook, then Buffer and now Edgar. [33:25] What about refreshing and recycling social media content?[37:36] A recap of the tools: Google Docs, Jetpack for WordPress Stats or Google Analytics, Blog Post Calendar, Edgar, and Rainmaker.[38:11] Big thanks to Jennifer Layton, Laura Hackle and Patricia Bravo for their great questions.[38:21] Coming up on the next Q & A: Examples of triggers & why they matter, how Charlie worked through with what needed to happen with the Live Your Legend transition, and maybe one of your questions which you can email to [email protected].[38:39] If you liked this episode or the show in general, please leave a review or rating on iTunes to help us reach more people. Go to bit.ly/creativegiantshowfaq for a walkthrough on how to do this!     Mentioned in This Episode:SaneBox.com/Giant@CharlieGilkey on TwitterEpisode 47: The Future of the Creative Giant ShowGet more done in less time by heat mapping your productivityIdea GardenThe Blog Post Planner and CalendarTextMateLightroomWordPressMarkdownJetpack for WordPressGoogle DocsWordPress StatsGoogle AnalyticsEdgarRainmaker This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.productiveflourishing.com/subscribe