I'm not an expert at productivity. In fact, I still really suck at it most of the time. But in my quest to become a functioning member of society, I've discovered a few things that help me out along the way.
(Disclaimer: like most of the life lessons I share, this is best used by people pursuing creative endeavors, like myself. But that doesn't mean you law students and medical students can't benefit from them, too!)
TIP #1: Get your ass out of bed, already.
I'm not a morning person. I've never been a morning person. But if I wake up fairly early, eat breakfast and shower right off the bat, it makes a big difference. If I were to sleep until noon every day, and spend half of my day in pyjamas...well, I won't feel like being productive. The day quickly turns from "I'm-gonna-write-20-blog-posts-and-a-novel" into "I'm-gonna-watch-all-ten-seasons-of-Friends-in-one-sitting". I think we can all agree that the former is much better than the latter, yes?
TIP #2: Alternate.
Yes, we have our creative-worky things to do. But we also all have our fair share of real-life-worky things to do--things like going to the bank, cleaning, calling people about stuff, etc etc. I've tried putting the creative-worky things first, and the real-life-worky things first, but I get the most done with the best sense of balance if I alternate between the two. (That way I can be sure that I'm not neglecting one complete half of my life. This happens more often than you'd think.)
TIP #3: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON'T WRITE OFF THE REST OF YOUR DAY!
Do you know how many times I've looked at the clock, noticed that it's already 2 pm, and just shrugged it off and continued on with my Sims game? Do you realize how much I could have gotten done if I had said, "Huh, I should start being productive" instead of, "Eh I've wasted this much time, no sense in turning it around now"??
If you haven't gotten anything done and it's 2 pm, START WORKING. If you haven't gotten anything done and it's 5 pm, START WORKING. I don't care if it's 10 pm and you're going to bed in an hour--one hour or even just ten minutes of productivity is ten more minutes of progress that you didn't have yesterday.
DON'T BE LIKE ME. PLEASE, GOD, DON'T BE LIKE ME! I am a terrible role model.
BONUS TIP: Make time for you!
You don't have to be productive 24/7. For one, it's impossible. For two, it's exhausting.
Pick a day and schedule some time for you. Is there a new show on Netflix you want to check out? Watch it all in one sitting! Need to catch up on your reading for the year? Pick up that book and finish it today! Do it without fear or guilt of not having been productive--because that's the point. I like to call it a "Procrastination Day". It's like excusing yourself from working.
I mean, come on, what's better than doing nothing and not feeling guilty for it?
I hope these tips will help you make the most of your time! What are your BEST productivity tips? Share them down below!
Until later,
- Justyne
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