Your Guide To Setting Academic Goals As A Student
With the back to school season right around the corner, I thought it would be useful to spend some time reflecting on how to best set goals for yourself as a student, especially when it comes to your academic performance. Of course, everyone wants a good outcome in their academics, and setting functional and well-rounded goals are a great way to achieve that.
Of course, these guidelines can be applied to other kinds of goals you want to set such as for example your health goals or financial goals for yourself, but today I wanted to specifically highlight how to best set academic goals for yourself.
I hope you enjoy this one and that you find it useful in your own academic success :)
My intention today: Introduce to you a set of guidelines that you can use for setting up your own set of functional academic goals.
WHY SET GOALS ANYWAYS?
I know there is a lot of talk nowadays about setting goals so whats the big deal?
Well, the main advantage of setting goals is that it gives you something to shoot for and a general direction to head in. It provides you with a well-reasoned and realistic way of approaching something which you want to get better in.
Goals encourage you to focus better and as a result, because you know in which direction you are heading, you are able to make better decisions. Additionally, setting high-quality goals keeps you focused and highly motivated because you know what you are working towards but fundamentally, also why.
I also want to stress that I don’t think its best to be extremely fixated on purely your goals but the idea is more to keep them at the back of your mind while your main focus should be your journey and the process. The goal is there to merely inform you of what direction you are going in, but your process and daily effort are what is key and what will actually get you to that destination.
HOW TO SET GOALS AS A STUDENT
Determine What You Want To Get Better At
The first step concerning the creation of your academic goals concerns the “what”.
It is all about actually asking yourself which area or what specifically you want to get better at which directly links with what are your current areas of weakness. So spend a couple of minutes thinking about what is an area of perhaps your studies which you consider to not be so strong. Here it is important to realize that areas which we want to work on do not only have to strictly concern the content of what we study but could also very well have to do with our study-related habits or even lifestyle changes that we want to make that will help us out on our academic journey.
Another useful recommendation when deciding what area you want to work on is making the distinction between what is in your control and what falls outside that domain.
For example, perhaps the subject of chemistry is your weakest academic area so you would like to improve your understanding of it. In line with this, you might set a goal that goes along the lines of “I want my end-of-year chemistry exam grade to be X”, and while these kinds of destination-based goals are alright, it is better to set goals that are focused on the process and the daily input, such as “I would like to spend 20 minutes each day revising topic X for chemistry”. This is because in the latter example, we have much more control over our goal and in the first example, the goal that we get in the end is yes, partially in our control, but partially also dependent upon other external factors which we can’t really influence. So keep this in mind, when figuring out what specifically you would like to get better at
Finding Your Why
Once you know what area of weakness you want to work on, it is crucial to consider your why - why do you want to work on this specific area of weakness?
This reason is entirely your own and will form the basis of your motivation and drive to keep going in those times where it may get hard or difficult. Your why gives you a reason and a purpose for doing what you do and for wanting to go after the goals you want to reach. There is no right or wrong answer here remember, only what feels right to you.
Some examples of wanting to improve in an academic setting ay include opening up further studying or career-related options later on, to prove to yourself how much you are capable of or enhancing your growth as an individual.
Creating A Functional Plan
Now that you have identified your what and your why, it is time to consider the how factors, meaning how exactly do you plan on reaching your desired goals.
A plan is there to keep you organized in your goal attainment but to also keep you consistent and on track. It makes the process of reaching your goals much easier because you already have a written out plan that just has to be followed through instead of wasting more time and energy into deciding what you will do, how you will do it and when.
A plan in this case often comes in the form of a revision planner to keep you on track with your studies but it can also include other things such as lifestyle habits you want to do on a weekly basis that will help your academics out or creating a functional series of reminders to help keep you accountable with your plan.
What kind of plan you end up devising and coming up with to reach those goals that you set yourself is entirely up to you, you just want to make sure that in the process of creating such a plan, you are being both realistic with it and adding in some room for flexibility within your plan.
Following Your Plan
Now that you have devised a plan for how you are going to reach your goals, it is simply time to put it to the test.
Try following your plant to the best of your ability for a week or two and see if you have to make any changes to it. Is it too rigid? Have you stretched yourself out too thin? Is the method you have chosen to reach your goal not effective? How could you make it better?
In order to keep yourself both accountable and more motivated in the process of getting to your goals, it helps to track your progress or to want to improve on something together with a friend or group of friends which can help keep you accountable and on track. Alongside all of this, you always want to keep in the back of your mind why you are doing what you do to make sure you are still heading in the right direction.
Lastly, remember that it is all a trial and error and that life is not perfect at the end of the day so don’t be too hard on yourself if maybe if some days don’t go exactly the way you wanted or planned out for them to go. The goal is to just try your best and giving your best effort is already much more than enough. That is all that really matters in the end :)
Try out these steps and let me know about your experiences with them :)
Building Consistency - Finding Something And Sticking To It
Everyone struggles with being consistent.
It is no easy task. Staying consistent doesn’t only entail starting something but requires exactly what it says: consistency. Some sort of rhythm or routine which allows us to perform an action on a regular basis.
While consistency is hard to cultivate and even harder to maintain, there are some ways which I talk about below, that can make this process easier for ourselves in the long term.
Before we get into discussing a more hands-on approach for how you can build your consistency through any activity that you want to pursue, I wanted to first also briefly touch upon how we can benefit from staying consistent with something in the long run and what actually are the main reasons for why we fall out of being consistent with something.
I hope you find something useful and worthwhile in today’s post :)
Today’s intention: Realize how a steady-paced consistency can benefit you in the long run and practical tested advice for how to keep consistent with something.
WHY IS CONSISTENCY IMPORTANT ANYWAYS?
Here it is important to firstly clarify, that you do not have to be consistent with every single activity that you do, but rather to focus your consistent energy and intention on an activity or set of activities which you would like to build consistency with in the long run.
What you decide that you want to become more consistent at will depend entirely on your personal goals and passions.
For example, if your goal is to improve your endurance and perhaps one day be able to run a marathon, a useful activity to become consistent at would be going on a daily run.
Similarly, if you have always dreamt of publishing some sort of written text or book, then adopting a daily routine of writing or scripting can directly benefit you towards getting closer to your goal.
Consistency or in other words, having a set yet functional routine when it comes to performing an activity (whatever that may be), is extremely impactful in the long run because over time instead of purely relying on motivation or willpower to get to doing that activity, it will bit by bit become a habit of common practice. Over time, the activity will be easier to perform and you will face less friction when it comes to getting started with it.
Now why is this useful?
By building consistency and discipline with a certain activity, you are able to become a prolific goal achiever.
You are able to grow and improve in your areas of weakness and with consistent practice, get closer to your goals in whatever area of your life they may lie in, whether it be health, finances, education, career, relationships or personal interests. With consistent practice you are able to sharpen your skills and expand your knowledge of something to new dimensions, while adopting strong and healthy habits to support you in the process.
In short, consistency is important because by being consistent you can improve at anything you wish to work on and reach the goals you set yourself at a much faster yet reliable rate. And best part is, it can be applied to any area of your life that you would like to work on.
SO WHY IS BEING CONSISTENT SO DIFFICULT THEN?
That's a good question.
A critical study within social psychology from 2009 found that on average, it took the participants of the study between 18 and 245 days to develop a daily habit of doing an activity in relation to eating, drinking or movement.
While this range is certainly quite large, suggesting that the different kinds of habits that we want to form will require different levels of input and consistency. For example, the goal of starting to drink at least 2 liters of water a day will most likely require a different level of effort and technique than when it comes to wanting to adopt a habit of exercising each day for 30 minutes.
This is one reason for why we often fail at being consistent with something.
The other reason is that before an activity becomes of habitual nature to us, it takes a lot of willpower and energy for us to motivate ourselves to perform the activity and this accumulated over a long spread of time can be energetically demanding, not to mention demanding of our attention span which at its best on average can hold between 10-15 minutes focus (Bradbury, 2016).
Biologically, our brain is built to prefer the path of least resistance which translates to performing the activity that requires least effort. Therefore if we really want to develop a steady routine at an activity, we have to do some careful planning to ensure that the process will be an enjoyable one for us, since the consistency itself will at least initially, require quite a lot of our energy.
Therefore to sum up, being consistent at something is difficult because some activities naturally take more effort and time for us to make them into a consistent habit and secondly, before we turn an activity into a habit, it requires of us a considerable energetic investment to get us to perform the activity.
HOW TO BUILD CONSISTENCY
Now let's talk about some practical advice on how we can become more consistent at something.
Here are some things which have worked well in my experience:
Decide your what and why: The first step is to determine which activity you want to become more consistent and also fundamentally consider why you are choosing to focus on this activity in the first place. You want to make sure that this activity that you want to pursue in the long run is aligned with your goals, priorities as well as your values since this will at your core, be your main source of motivation for performing an activity, especially during the times when it might get hard to keep up the consistency.
Building routines that work: To help with your transition from using willpower to building a functional habit, it is useful to build routines that will make this transition more effortless. For example, if you want to become more consistent with wearing sunscreen especially in the summer months, it can be useful to keep your sunscreen in a visible place in the bathroom and to apply it during your morning skincare routine. Similarly, if you would like to adopt the habit of reading each day, you can tie it to an activity which you currently already do such as reading during your morning breakfast or coffee.
Find how to boost your motivation: In the initial stages before something becomes a habit, it is useful to look into ways to keep yourself motivated. One way of doing this is to measure your progress of performing the activity to show yourself that you can build consistency at something and to boost your esteem in a healthy encouraging way. A way to measure your progress could be to build a simple table like progress tracker or to have a calendar printed on your wall where you cross off a day or week of completing something.
Create accountability: To further help you in keeping consistent with something, it is critical to also build a system of accountability to further keep yourself on check and to ensure you are moving in the right direction when it comes to building consistency. Ask a close friend or family member if they would be willing to be your accountability partner to remind you to do your stated activity and to check up on your progress. Alternatively, you can get a similar effect from various apps that allow you to digitally track your progress while offering you access to a wide community of users that can provide you with the needed accountability.
Perfection isn't the aim: One last note which I wanted to emphasize is that in this process of habit and consistency building, we are not striving for perfection, meaning that if we occasionally miss a day or slightly fall off track, it is of no use to beat ourselves up about it. Instead, it is much more useful if we consider why we fell off track in the first place and to simply just pick ourselves up and start again. Not doing something for a day won't cause the world to end, so just give it another go. Doing your best is already enough.
REFERENCES
Lally, P., Van Jaarsveld, C. H. M., Potts, H. W. W., & Wardle, J. (2009). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(6), 998–1009. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.674
Bradbury, N. A. (2016). Attention span during lectures: 8 seconds, 10 minutes, or more? AJP Advances in Physiology Education, 40(4), 509–513. https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00109.2016
Fighting Procrastination Effectively
Procrastination is something that all of us face at some points, whether it is starting that big project for work or school or staying consistent with a passion project or habit. Because procrastination is such a common phenomenon in today's world, I wanted to take a look into why procrastination occurs to explain why it is so common, the different types of procrastination, and most importantly how to prevent and fight it.
Although I have written about this topic previously, I think it is valuable to do a refresh and it is hopefully a topic that will be of use to you as well.
I hope you can gain something useful out of today's post and please share it with anyone else if it has in some way helped you out.
WHY DO WE DO IT?
Procrastination is an interesting yet irrational phenomenon which is shared among all of us, because when we procrastinate we consciously do something else other than what we are supposed to, knowing that this avoidance is in the long term not good for us, yet we still do it.
So whats the real reason behind it?
Researchers (Lieberman, 2019) have suggested that procrastination occurs not because of our poor ability to manage our time but instead as a way of coping with challenging and negative emotions and moods in the moment that have been induced by certain tasks. Emotions which we like to ignore and instead use procrastination to cope with them include boredom, anxiety, frustration, self-doubts, insecurity, and resentment.
Therefore, to put it simply, procrastination is an issue grounded in emotional regulation rather than time management.
Researchers Dr. Pychyl and Dr. Sirois explained procrastination as “the primacy of short-term mood repair … over the longer-term pursuit of intended actions”, meaning that procrastination is about being focused on the immediate urgency of removing negative emotions and mood instead of actually doing the task.
Now you might be asking yourself where these negative feelings towards the task come from and why do they occur? Well, our aversion to the task at hand may be due to there being something inherently unpleasant about the task itself like cleaning a dirty bathroom or doing a task which seems very tedious and unpleasant to us. Additionally, a task can be aversive to us when the task at hand brings up negative feelings from within us such as self-doubt, a lack of self-esteem, or anxiety, which happens often, for example, when we are staring at a blank document and are wondering whether we have what it takes to produce the required piece of work.
What makes procrastination such a hard habit to break?
The catch is that when we procrastinate and eventually stop to return to the initial task at hand, we are faced with even more negative emotions than at the start, where we are likely to judge ourselves for procrastinating in the first place. This may further lower our mood and self-esteem while spiking our anxiety and stress, causing us to procrastinate more and more, since procrastination provides temporary relief from negative emotions.
Additionally, since procrastination provides that temporary time of relief, this relief is what makes the cycle especially vicious since it signals to your brain that you are being rewarded for procrastinating and delaying the task at hand. In behavioral biology and sciences, it is well-known that whatever causes us to feel good or get a sense of reward from doing it, we will do more of it, which is exactly why we fall into chronic loops of procrastination.
The present bias issue
Procrastination is also a great example of a phenomenon called the “present bias,” which is our hardwired human tendency to prioritize short-term needs over long-term ones. This is also what many social media algorithms exploit to keep us more addicted through instant gratification.
Although us humans have a large prefrontal cortex as opposed to other animals and mammals, we are still very much hardwired for prioritizing our needs in the present, which is something we need to be aware of and continuously aim to delay instant gratification.
Brain imaging studies have shown that on a neural level, “we perceive our future selves more like strangers than parts of ourselves,” meaning that when we procrastinate, it is the equivalent of thinking that the task we are putting off and all the accompanying negative feelings are somebody else's problem and not ours.
To further add to the issue, we are even less able to make sound and thoughtful future-oriented decisions when we are stressed, which occurs in the presence of needing to do challenging or aversive tasks. In these situations, we feel stressed, anxious, or insecure, where the emotional center in our brain, the amygdala, perceives all of these negative emotions as a genuine threat to our overall well-being or self-esteem. This causes the amygdala's number one priority in the present moment to reduce those negative emotions, which again is where procrastination falls perfectly into the puzzle. This phenomenon is called the “amygdala hijack.”
TYPES OF PROCRASTINATION
Believe it or not, there are actually many different types of procrastination, classified based on different reasons for why we put off doing things:
Avoidance: Here the idea is that you believe you are not good enough or skilled enough to complete the given task or activity at hand. Here there is also an intense fear of failure and of making mistakes, where this fear of being judged or making mistakes is strong enough to stop someone from doing the task.
Thrill-Seeking: Interestingly, some people procrastinate because they find enjoyment in leaving things to be done at the last minute, where this actually gives them some kind of adrenaline rush and a sense of excitement. Some people actually work best in this way.
Perfectionism: While having high expectations and standards is fine, this sense of obsession can be overdone to the extreme with perfectionism, where in this case, we might constantly be looking and double-checking that email that we wrote or the proposal, or running over the dialogue we will have with our boss. While all of these activities may seem productive in the moment, they are actually not helping us with completing the task but instead delaying it and procrastinating about it. Often times, done is better than perfect.
Distraction: This kind of procrastination occurs whenever our attention and focus are drawn away from the task at hand, towards something else more exciting and stimulating in our environment, such as responding to a notification or opening up a new computer tab to do some online shopping instead. We need to decide for ourselves what activities we are willing to tolerate both in our home and work environments and then decide which activities we consider as distractions, which are the activities we want to minimize.
Head in the Sand: This might be based on some sort of fear mechanism, but the head in the sand approach simply means that the person does not want to do the task at hand. Instead, they choose to ‘stick their head into the sand’ and pretend like the task doesn't exist or that it's someone else's responsibility.
HOW TO FIGHT IT
You have to foremostly realize that procrastination is, at its core, not an issue about being bad at time management or general productivity but instead about how we handle our emotions. This entails that productivity cannot be solved by downloading some productivity app or time management software alone but instead requires us to better understand and manage our emotions.
When it comes to habitual tasks, our brains are always looking for relative rewards, meaning that if we have developed a habit of procrastination and have not given our brain a better reward than procrastination itself (remember: it relieves negative emotions), then our brain will continue doing the habit over and over until we give it something better to do.
This is why, in order to rewire almost any bad habit, we have to give our brains a better reward than simple avoidance, more specifically a reward that can relieve our challenging feelings in the moment without causing harm to our future selves. The difficulty here is that with procrastination, there is an infinite number of potential substitute actions for avoidance, which could, in the end, still be considered a form of procrastination. This is why the solution has to come from within ourselves and be internal instead of being externally rooted.
As an example, if you are currently struggling with procrastination, an internal solution might be to motivate yourself to get started on the task by reminding yourself of how much relief and ease you will feel afterward once the task is done. This would likely work, as we are responsible for our own motivation and subsequent progress.
Practical Advice for Fighting Procrastination
Forgive Yourself for Procrastination:
In a 2010 study, scholars discovered that students who practiced self-forgiveness for procrastinating during their preparation for an initial exam demonstrated a reduced tendency to procrastinate when preparing for subsequent exams. The researchers inferred that embracing self-forgiveness facilitated increased productivity by enabling individuals to overcome maladaptive behaviors, allowing them to concentrate on forthcoming examinations unencumbered by the weight of past actions.
Cultivate Self-Compassion:
The practice of self-compassion involves treating oneself with kindness and understanding in the face of mistakes and failures. Dr. Sirois' 2012 study highlighted a correlation between stress, low self-compassion, and procrastination, emphasizing that self-compassion acts as a protective buffer against negative reactions to self-relevant events. Numerous studies indicate that self-compassion not only reduces psychological distress, a key contributor to procrastination, but also actively promotes motivation, enhances self-worth, and nurtures positive emotions such as optimism, wisdom, curiosity, and personal initiative. Importantly, self-compassion does not rely on external factors, requiring only a commitment to facing challenges with acceptance and kindness instead of dwelling on regret. Reframing tasks by considering positive aspects and envisioning successful outcomes can further contribute to cultivating self-compassion in addressing procrastination.
Increase Your Curiosity and Awareness:
Whenever you feel yourself being tempted to procrastinate, slow down for a little and become aware of what is causing those feelings or temptations to arise. Think about what tempts you to procrastinate and how you feel when you are about to procrastinate. What emotions are you trying to ignore?
Consider the Next Smallest Step You Can Do:
It is common advice to break down a large task into several smaller ones, which makes the whole task seem a lot less daunting and intimidating, ensuring that we follow through and get it done. Additionally, don’t wait to be in the mood or to be motivated to do a certain task. Instead, motivation is a result of action. Get started, and you’ll find your motivation follows.
Make Your Temptations More Inconvenient:
The point is to create more friction and less convenience towards tasks that tempt and distract us, ensuring that we do less of those and instead making tasks and habits that are beneficial for us as easy as possible to do and implement.
Create Accountability:
If you struggle with discipline or consistency, it might be helpful to think about some external sources of accountability, such as doing work together with a friend or tracking your focus or work/study progress with external software. Experiment with what works for you and what keeps you on track.
KEY IDEAS
In todays blog post we are discussing everything related to procrastination: Why it happens, the different types of procrastination as well as how to best combat it and prevent it in the future.
REFERENCES
Procrastination: A brief guide on how to stop procrastinating. (2022, August 31). James Clear. https://jamesclear.com/procrastination
Boyes, A. (2023, April 4). How to stop procrastinating. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2022/05/how-to-stop-procrastinating
Laurence, E. (2023, July 13). What Is Procrastination? Why It Happens And How To Overcome It. Forbes Health. https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/procrastination/
Brower, T., PhD. (2021, December 30). 11 Ways To Procrastinate Less: Surprising New Research. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/tracybrower/2021/12/30/11-ways-to-procrastinate-less-surprising-new-research/
MSEd, K. C. (2022, November 14). What is procrastination? Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/the-psychology-of-procrastination-2795944#:~:text=Procrastination is the act of,minute%2C or past their deadline.
Lieberman, C. (2019, March 27). Why you procrastinate (It has nothing to do with Self-Control). The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/25/smarter-living/why-you-procrastinate-it-has-nothing-to-do-with-self-control.html
Gaining Back Deep Focus And Meaningful Productivity
In today's ever-connected world, it is becoming increasingly challenging to maintain unwavering focus on what truly matters due to the constant bombardment of notifications, reminders, and distractions. Amidst this blend of enticing messages and captivating diversions, we must adeptly discern what holds genuine significance and what is merely a drain on our time—a task that is growing more formidable.
While I have previously addressed this subject and offered strategies for improving focus, which you can explore here and here, I believe this topic is gaining even greater importance and is evolving into a highly esteemed skill in the contemporary world. The capacity to concentrate and wholeheartedly direct your attention toward a specific aspect of your surroundings is paramount for acquiring new knowledge, accomplishing your goals, and excelling in various facets of life. By enhancing your ability to concentrate and focus, you can significantly elevate the quality of your life, paving the way for numerous new opportunities and profound insights.
I trust you find this piece enjoyable and enlightening.
WHAT TAKES AWAY FROM OUR FOCUS?
There is a variety of factors that can significantly impact or hinder our focus. Below are some of the major ones to be mindful of, as well as some of the most common daily sources of distractions we face:
Internal Factors
Hunger
Anxiety or worry
Stress
Fatigue or lack of sleep
Depression
Medical conditions like autism, ADHD, or bipolar disorder
Learning disabilities such as dyslexia
Memory disorders like dementia
Past experiences of traumatic brain injuries or stroke
External Factors
Device notifications
Unexpected situations that take you by surprise
Loud noises
Bright colors or patterns
Inadequate lighting in a space
Being in a cluttered or messy environment
5 WAYS TO GREATLY IMPROVE YOUR FOCUS
Establishing A Regular Mindfulness Routine
Engage in meditation, breath-work, or journaling: Maintaining a consistent meditation or breath-work practice can significantly enhance your focus by providing a chance to calm and quiet your mind, allowing you to observe your own thoughts and emotions, ultimately helping you make better sense of them. Regular journaling and self-reflection can yield similar benefits.
You can explore my previous articles on meditation here and breath-work here.
Eliminating Potential Distractions From Your Environment
Silencing social media: Keep all social media platforms out of sight and locked during work hours. You can use focus modes on your devices, enable "Do Not Disturb," or mute notifications to achieve this. For guidance on improving your relationship with social media, consider reading about it here.
Minimizing other distractions: In addition to digital distractions, remove any disruptive elements in your physical environment, such as brightly colored or moving objects, loud noises, or distracting items on your work surface. Experiment with identifying which objects allow you to work most effectively when they're out of sight.
Maintaining Fundamental Well-being
Physical Activity: Incorporate at least 30 minutes of daily physical activity.
Quality Sleep: Prioritize getting sufficient sleep by going to bed at an appropriate time. Consider taking short naps during the day for an energy boost if time permits.
Balanced Nutrition: Consume adequate nourishment to sustain your energy levels throughout the day, and have snacks as needed.
Scheduled Breaks: Allocate time for breaks to recharge, effectively restoring your focus levels to their initial state.
If you're interested in learning more about taking care of fundamental aspects of your health, you can explore the five pillars of health here.
Optimizing Your To-Do List
Prioritization: Prioritize tasks based on time required, task complexity, and urgency.
Know and understand what you have to do: Ensure task clarity and understanding to prevent procrastination caused by uncertainty.
Temporarily do something else: When boredom strikes, switch to a more enjoyable or easier task momentarily before returning to the original one.
Minimize multitasking: Multitasking can leave your brain lingering on the previous task, hindering full concentration on the current task.
Grouping similar tasks: Performing similar tasks together, such as quick tasks taking less than 5 minutes, writing emails, running errands, or shopping, and tackle them during dedicated time blocks.
Timing yourself: Setting a fixed time frame for completing tasks can boost your efficiency and ensure task completion.
Streamlining Your Focus Process
Consider your social circle: Surround yourself with productive individuals to inspire and motivate your pursuit of meaningful productivity.
Setting and achieving goals: Set future goals and visualize your aspirations, helping shape the person you wish to become.
Setting rewards: Reward yourself upon completing significant tasks or projects that demand time and effort.
Stay organized: Maintain organization in both your digital and physical spaces to facilitate focus.
Consider drinking coffee: If you respond well to caffeine, consider consuming it in the morning for heightened alertness and improved focus; however, be mindful of excessive caffeine intake. For a deeper understanding of how caffeine affects the body, refer to my previous article here.
Music or silence: Experiment with different strategies for maintaining focus, such as listening to music with noise-isolating headphones or working in silence. Find what works best for you for different tasks.
Reset activities: Incorporate activities for focus resets, such as stretching, getting fresh air, conversing with colleagues, or having a snack when your focus wanes.
FOCUSING IS A SKILL THAT HAS TO BE PRACTICED
Now that we've explored the factors that can negatively impact our stress and some of the most practical ways to enhance our focus, it's important to recognize that focus is a skill that requires continuous practice.
We're all human, not robots, so we can only expect so much from our bodies and minds simultaneously. There will inevitably be days when we feel more tired, unmotivated, or find it challenging to focus. Importantly, don't be too hard on yourself on those days, as we all experience them from time to time. Afterward, simply continue practicing your focus skills.
Think of your ability to concentrate over a given time as a muscle that can be strengthened through practice, routine, and dedication. You have control over how you allocate your time and energy and what you choose to focus your mental energy on. You've got this
🧠 KEY IDEAS
In this blog post we discussed the factors which take away from our ability to concentrate as well as some practical tips on how to keep strengthening your focus capacities.
✏️ REFERENCES
Panel, E. (2023, January 3). Feeling Distracted? 10 Tricks For Getting Your Focus Back On Track. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2023/01/03/feeling-distracted-10-tricks-for-getting-your-focus-back-on-track/?sh=2b59b3217267
Pozin, I. (2012, February 12). Get Your Focus Back: 7 Tips. Inc. https://www.inc.com/ilya-pozin/get-your-focus-back-7-tips.html
Lindberg, S. (2022, October 21). Need help staying focused? Try these 10 tips. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/how-to-stay-focused#avoid-multitasking
MSEd, K. C. (2023, August 14). 7 tips for becoming more Mentally focused. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/things-you-can-do-to-improve-your-mental-focus-4115389
How To Work More Effectively & Efficiently
We would all like to know how to work more effectively and ultimately be better at using our time well because time is a resource which is finite for all of us. With so many productivity guides out there stating what not to do and what to do when it comes to maximizing your work output, I wanted to instead focus on the difference between working effectively and working efficiently.
Although these terms are used almost interchangeably, there are differences we will uncover today which make these two concepts worth differentiating and looking into, because each can uniquely impact your productive capacities.
If learning how to increases your output not only in terms of time but also in terms of getting the right tasks done sounds interesting to you, then continue on reading to find out.
I hope you find todays topic interesting and ultimately useful for your own applications for whatever you want to get done or to just become better at managing your time.
EFFECTIVE VS EFFICIENT
We have to first understand that our productivity through the day or during the course of a week can heavily fluctuate, since it is influenced by factors such as our sleep, ability to stay focused, how organized we are as well as other factors. Some days we will be more productive and energetically focused than others and that is normal. The key is to design and adapt your day around how energized and productive you feel for that day. For example, if you had a bad night of sleep, there is not much point in cramming a bunch of heavy energy consuming work for the whole day since your body is less well equipped to deal with it in the moment, so instead on days like this choose easier tasks to do.
Adapt your work schedule and obligations around your mental and energy capacities and most importantly don't be so hard on yourself for being human and having some days where you just cant seem to focus as well or that you feel uninspired or demotivated. It happens to all of us.
But the good news is that those days and times will pass and by taking care of ourselves first and our bodies needs, we can re-equip ourselves to have another meaningful and productive day, in whatever form that is for us.
Now what we have established that, lets look into the difference between working effectively and working efficiently:
Effective working:
It is about producing the wanted results or getting to the right accurate result, essentially meaning that effectiveness concerns the success of our output.
in a work scenario, this links to the quality of our work and also making sure to have a good grasp of task prioritization by getting the right things done.
Efficient working:
Efficiency is about producing the desired results but without wasting any or much resources such as materials, time or energy.
In a work setting, increasing efficiency is often linked with increasing the speed at which you get tasks done but in other cases it can also mean knowing how to manage your energy levels while still getting the right things done.
HOW TO WORK MORE EFFECTIVELY
Prioritizing your to do list (Using the Eisenhower Matrix method)
Setting a realistic number of tasks you want to get done today (Shortening your to do list)
Tackling your most important and hardest tasks first
Planning tomorrow the night before
Having a block of “me time” without distractions, meeting, calls etc
Communicating well with coworkers, group members or family members
Breaking down large tasks into more manageable sub tasks
Being careful when it comes to multitasking
Measuring your progress to keep you motivates
Take care of the basics: Reducing stress/ anxiety, sleeping well and eat enough (See blog post here)
Take regular breaks to rest and reenergize
Find your biological prime time (At what part of the day do you work best)
Getting better at saying no and respecting your time and energy boundaries
HOW TO WORK MORE EFFICIENTLY
Time blocking: Enter your most high priority tasks into a schedule
Stay organized (Digitally and physically)
Setting and following routines that work for you
Going into work with the right attitude
Don't wait for motivation or inspiration to start since these things are a result of working
Reduce the number of decisions you have to make in a day - you can only make so many in a day
Using idle bits of time (slots of 5-15 minutes) to knock out short tasks
Make the work you do as fun and engaging as possible
Making it as easy as possible to get started on a task
Avoiding distractions and stay focused (See blog post here)
Scheduling periods of deep work
CHECK OUT MY OTHER PRODUCTIVITY RELATED POSTS:
🧠 KEY IDEAS
In this blog post we have discussed the ins and outs of working effectively VS working efficiently and why it is important to strike a balance of both to optimize our productive output.
✏️ REFERENCES
Indeed Editorial Team. (n.d.). How To Work Effectively: What It Means and What To Do. Indeed. Retrieved September 22, 2022, from https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/work-effectively
Bonnie, E. (2023). How to work effectively: 13 simple Strategies to Work Smarter. Blog Wrike. https://www.wrike.com/blog/how-to-work-effectively-13-strategies/
10 best strategies on how to improve work efficiency | TonyRobbins. (2023, August 1). tonyrobbins.com. https://www.tonyrobbins.com/business/improve-work-efficiency/
How Laughing Can Boots Your Productivity
Laughter and productivity are two words that we don't often find together in a sentence or that we associate would have a positive effect on each other, but recent research is showing that the two are more correlated than we might have previously thought.
Most research so far has established a positive link between the two and I wanted to take a look into what ways bringing more laughter into our daily work habits can boost our performance and productivity when it comes to getting things done well.
This however is not the first time that I am writing about the effects of laughter on the human body and mind, where I have previously discussed the general well being effects associated with regular laughter. You can find this blog post here.
I hope you enjoy this more humorous outlook on productivity and find useful ways of implementing such practices into your own lifestyle.
Enjoy 😊
HOW DOES IT WORK?
It turns out that laughing has a variety of benefits on the mind and body.
The physical effects of laughing include:
Relaxing our muscles
Lowering blood pressure
Reoxvgenating our body
Improving our cardiovascular health
Strengthening our immune system
The emotional and mental benefits of laughing are:
Increasing a variety of chemicals and neurotransmitters in our brain such as dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and endorphins, which keep us happy and our mood elevated.
Reducing cycles of negativity
Can improve our memory (we also remember emotionally charged events much more)
Can improve creativity which improves our problem solving abilities
BENEFITS OF LAUGHING IN THE WORKPLACE
There is a variety of benefits when it comes to implementing more humor and laughter inside of your workplace or personal work routine:
Strengthening relationships and understanding with the people you laugh with
Improving communication and trust within group settings
Promoting cooperation and team work by creating a more relaxed environment
Boosting engagement and interest within the work that is being done
Enhanced creativity which improves problem solving abilities and team work
Enhancing analytical precision and general productivity
Making work feel more fun, worthwhile and meaningful
Increasing employee competency by part-taking in laughter and jokes which can help people with their self esteem
Easier to manage high stress levels by creating a more relaxed environment
Helps you recharge from a difficult day of working
🧠 KEY IDEAS
In this post we have discussed the different benefits that groups and individuals can receive from implementing more laughter and humous within work settings
✏️ REFERENCES
Hyken, S. (2021, September 5). A Little Laughter Decreases Stress And Improves Productivity. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/shephyken/2021/09/05/a-little-laughter-decreases-stress-and-improves-productivity/?sh=2426117e36d6
Heggie, B. (2018, December 18). The Benefits of Laughing in the Office. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2018/11/the-benefits-of-laughing-in-the-office
Wallen, D. (2013). This Is Why People Who Laugh More Are More Productive Than You. Lifehack. https://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/7-reasons-why-laughing-makes-you-more-productive.html
Any.Do, & Any.Do. (2023). The productivity of laughter | Any.do blog. Any.do Blog | Productivity Tips & Trends, Delivered. https://www.any.do/blog/the-productivity-of-laughter/
How To Sharpen Your Focus
Recently I have been having some issues with having consistent focus and just generally being able to focus for longer periods of time without becoming distracted. I am pretty positive that this is something that many other people are struggling with, which is why I thought it could be useful to write about it and look into areas such as why a lack of focus is becoming a big issue and additionally why you could benefit from working on your focus abilities. We will also take a look into what takes away from our focus and fore-mostly what are some practical ways in which we can improve this life long skill.
I hope you enjoy and find this useful for improving your own focus abilities and getting some real focused work done.
WHY IS LACK OF FOCUS BECOMING A BIG ISSUE?
The ability to concentrate is defined as “A control of attention. It is the ability to focus the mind on one subject, object, or thought, and at the same time exclude from the mind every other unrelated thoughts, ideas, feelings, and sensations.”
I believe that in todays world it is easier than ever to become distracted, feel dis-engaged and just feel like your mental attention is being pulled in every possible direction. One of the core reasons is that we live in a very fast paced world where we live quite demanding lives, which is largely due to the integration of technology into our everyday lives.
Technology such as buzzing from our phones and constant notifications from social media keep us glued to our screens while sacrificing our attention and focus abilities and preventing us from getting much solid work done. I have written about how social media impacts our well being before and how we can have a healthier relationship with it, so if you are interested you can read more about it here
This is a big issue and one that is often pushed to the side and just accepted as a given nowadays. Technology is likely not going away any time soon, so I really want to emphasize that the digital environment which you create around yourself is up to you and up to you to control and regulate. This is one of the prime ways to calm down your mind while simultaneously improving your focus and attention abilities.
WHY IS IT WORTH TO IMPROVE YOUR FOCUS?
The list of reasons why you can benefit from improving your focus is extensive, but if you really think about it, having the ability to focus for long periods of time nowadays, is almost considered to be a superpower. It is a incredible advantage for any endeavor you set out to do, wether it be work related or a personal goal.
Improved focus can benefit you in the following ways:
Finding more motivation in work and your personal life
Making better and faster decisions
Preventing small mistakes from happening that slow down progress
Preventing memory loss and general forgetfulness
Feeling like you are cohesively working towards a goal instead of feeling like your mental energy is divided into a 100 tiny directions
Producing higher quality work and improvement in performance at work
Improving your ability to learn and absorb new information (books, workshops, lectures, meetings, presentations etc.)
Experiencing less lethargy and mental tiredness
Improving your abilities to collaborate and work with others
Improving your listening abilities
WHAT NEGATIVELY IMPACTS YOUR FOUCS?
There are a lot of activities and factors which can take away from our ability to focus well. Some of these are genuine medical conditions which impair our concentration efforts while others are lifestyle factors - most of which we have control over and can influence.
Some medical conditions which make it harder to focus are:
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Dementia
Depression and anxiety
Having experienced a concussion
Cushings syndrome
Epilepsy
Chronic insomnia
Schizophrenia
Bipolar disorder
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Other lifestyle reasons for diminishing focus are:
Experiencing lack of sleep and general fatigue
Improper nutrition and being hungry
Lack of exercise and being still for too long
Excessive stress
TIPS FOR ENHANCING FOCUS
Managing your technological environment
Turn down notifications and distractions from your phone or computer
Use focus time apps
Try out website blockers
Make other people aware when you are and are not available for talking
Manage your social media intake
Lifestyle based tricks
Aim to get high quality sleep each night
Getting in regular exercise
Spending time in nature and on fresh air
Being mindful about your caffeine consumption
Try our mindfulness exercises and meditation
Fueling your body well with the right food (Avoiding highly processed and sugary meals)
Try challenging your brain with concentration games such as puzzles, memory games, sudokus, reading and mental maths
Really try to not go onto your phone and social media first thing in the morning
Work related tips
Setting a timer for when you work (30 minutes, 45 minutes, 1 hour)
Setting yourself a reward for when you finish a set time for working
Avoiding multitasking and intentionally choose to focus on one thing
Setting 3 daily priorities each day which you will get done
Sometimes it helps to switch to doing another task to build up momentum and motivation to do something else
Have a dedicated distraction free space for working
Listening to the right music
I sincerely hope that you were able to take some valuable learning lessons from todays blog post because I truly believe that being able to focus well is a genuine super power in todays world and it is up to you to to take care of it.
Thank you so much for reading this weeks post and I hope to catch you in the next one.
Time Management Basics - Get More Done In Less Time
Today we will be exploring the topic of time management and how we can improve our work effectiveness. I believe this is really important to consider and focus on, as often we get flooded with work and responsibilities which causes us to aimlessly run around our day, without getting any of the actual important work done, while leaving us exhausted and overwhelmed at the end of the day. This is the classical case of where being busy does not match productively using our time.
Here I have included a lot of my own practical work and time management tips which I use on the everyday, in order to make the best use of my time and days.
If you are interested in similar work related topics, I would encourage you to dive into some other topics I have wrote on this subject matter:
So how do we become more productive with our time? How can we get more done with less? How do we maximize our efficiency and effectiveness?
Read on to find out 🌟
WHY IS TIME MANAGEMENT IMPORTANT?
The reasons are plenty, but here is a summary of why you should focus on being effective and genuinely productive instead of just being busy with your time:
The more effective you are with your work, the less time it will take you to finish the work which leaves you more time to do whatever else you want to spend your time doing (This for me personally, is a great source of motivation).
Finding more effective ways to work means that you are likely able to better manage your responsibilities and in turn also your stress levels, which can considerably lower your chances of developing burn out or being chronically over stressed and exhausted.
With better time management you are also able to be more in control of your time with which you can deliver projects and assignments on time while still finding the time for yourself and personal endeavors.
It goes without saying, but better time management significantly improves your working efficiency, which can also boost your confidence as you are able to achieve more with less.
By becoming more time efficient, you are able to focus better and in turn produce higher quality work that will boost your performance in school or in the work place.
IMPROVING YOUR TIME MANAGEMENT
Exploratory Starter Questions
How are you currently spending your time and what you would like to change about that?
What are your current priorities at work/ school (specific projects, tasks, assignments etc.)?
What time of the day do you work best?
How will you keep track of your tasks (digital or paper)?
Why is some work not enjoyable for you to do?
How could you make that work more enjoyable for yourself?
Consider what aspects of your work could you simplify? Remove what is not important or relevant and focus on what truly matters
Consider the Pareto rule which states that 80% of your results comes from 20% of your actions: Which work leads to the greater amount of results for you?
Creating Healthy Work Habits
Health essentials: Sleeping enough, eating breaks, drinking enough water, moving your body
Waking up at a earlier time
Focus on regulating and managing your stress levels (click here to learn more)
Saying no to opportunities when you have enough going on already
Taking breaks during your day
Set time limits in your day (when do you start and stop working)
Have a source of motivation for completing the work and to keep you going
Set Up Your Environment & Maximize Focus
Try listening to music which makes you concentrate or even opt for silence
Manage your notifications and environmental distractions
Prevent your access to social media and other time wasters during work (try using website or app blockers)
Try to declutter and organize your environment very so often in order to keep track of where you keep items and files
Make sure to have a suitable desk chair which fully supports your back and enables you to sit at a good height at your table that will allow you to write or type more comfortably
Create environmental cues which get your brain into “work mode”: Working in a specific room, having a certain scent (candle, diffuser), preparing tea/ coffee or putting on music
Effective Task Management and Solving Procrastination
Focus on 3 main things you can get done each day instead of having a 20+ item to do list (busy is not necessarily productive)
If you have difficulties with starting on something try doing it just for 5 minutes and you will likely see that you will go past the 5 minute mark
Implement time blocking where you assign certain tasks or projects to a certain time period in your day
Do your most energy intensive and least enjoyable tasks first
Set deadlines for yourself if you don't have them already
Setting time limits on each task
Avoid multi tasking
Delegate low importance tasks if possible
If a task seems too complex or difficult, break it down into more manageable steps
Plan your day in advance
Leave some buffer time in between tasks when planning out your day
I wanted to make todays post as useful and practical as possible, because I believe that everyone can benefit from better time management and I think it also becomes quite motivating when we realize that the way we choose to spend our time is indeed within our control.
I hope you were able to pick up some useful tips and information from this post because I also enjoyed putting my own time management advice into it which has worked for me and continues to do so.
Thank you so much for taking your time to read this 💛
Creating Work-Life Balance
You have probably heard of the term “work-life balance” at least once in your life and that is because it is both a hot and important topic currently, especially with the rise in technology in our days which makes it easier to blur the line between our personal/family and work related activities.
If we can manage to establish a work life balance which works for our lifestyle, there are many benefits associated with that, which is why I was inspired to write this post today.
I hope you get something valuable out of this one :)
WHAT IS WORK-LIFE BALANCE?
When talking about work life balance, we are talking about the level of prioritization between professional (work, school) and personal activities in our life. Everyones work life balance is different because we have different preferences and priorities in terms of how we like to spend our time.
I would also like to clarify that work life balance is not always “balanced” in the sense that we spend our time equally among a variety of activities. There are times in our life where we are busier with work or school related work, and other times where we have more leisure and family time.
The idea with work life balance is not to create a “perfect” balance of how we live our life, because perfection does not exist and our work life balance in this sense has to be adaptive and able to shift according to our time priorities in a certain phase of our life.
The point is to create a work life balance - a distribution between personal and work related activities - which feels right to you and fore mostly works for you and makes you feel fulfilled and balanced in some way.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
What do the benefits of having a functional work life-balance look like?
Increased productivity and motivation to work
Decreased illness and absenteeism
Increased physical health
Improved personal relationships
Lowered levels of stress
Improved sleep and less insomnia difficulties
Improved mental health (lower incidence of depression and anxiety)
Greater reduction in chance of encountering burnout while working
Greater clarity of mind and focus (Being able to unplug from work)
Re-establishing a sense of what matters to you and creating personal priorities
Not feeling guilty for taking time off or time for yourself when you need it
15 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR OWN WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Come to terms with the fact that everyones work life balance looks different and there is no perfect formula
Take time to pause and rethink your current routines, priorities and values: How do they match with how you ideally want to be spending your time?
Make health and family time one of your priorities and balance all other work around that
Reduce unnecessary tasks which do not add any meaning to your daily life. Try to delegate tasks which are taking up too much of your time or energy
Pay attention to which activities drain you of energy and which ones energize you
Pay more attention to your body and emotional wellbeing (one of the first signs of a unhealthy work life balance is feeling over stretched and unsatisfied)
Try to negotiate changes to your schedule or work at your work place
Set time boundaries at home and decide on a time each day at which you stop working
Plan ahead and schedule in important activities into your calendar
Set times to digitally unplug and switch off from “work mode”
Take a break or vacation if you really need it
Make use of weekends and days off
Consider wether you enjoy what you do as an occupation
Make your working more efficient by blocking off time in your calendar for certain tasks and setting a time limit on the tasks you do
Be motivated to implement changes in your daily routine: Identify what makes you motivated to work more effectively as in that way you can finish your work faster and have more time left over for other personal activities
CONCLUDING WORDS
Within todays post, I wanted to focus on the idea of work-life balance and what it represents as well as what are some practical ways in which you can currently improve your own. Remember, there is no “perfect” balance at any point in time, our priorities and what we value shifts through time so accordingly we have to be flexible with our schedule and lifestyle.
I hope you were able to learn something new or useful from this and that you make it part of your weekly practice to try and realign your current actions with your true priorities.
Thanks for reading.
Getting Back On Track
Sometime it happens that we fall behind on things and we get off track with habits, rituals or other things that we previously did consistently.
It is normal to occasionally break this pattern of consistency, and to be honest, the idea of keeping a perfect balance at all times, is flaunted at best, because there will always be unplanned things that come for us and change our environment. Wether that be a increasing workload, feeling unwell for a period of time, not adapting well to the changes the pandemic brought about or not getting the result you were hoping for, we can not account for everything.
All of these occurrences are unpredictable and often also out of our control, which as a result can result in us falling out of our previous practices due to getting discouraged or loosing motivation to try again.
Because this is such a common topic where all of us experience set back and failures at some point, I wanted to write this post in the hopes of reframing the idea of having a perfect balance of everything and give you some practical advice on how you can get back on track with what truly matters to you.
Happy reading <3
THINGS TO NOTE
Everyone experiences set backs, failures and makes mistakes at some point. It is normal.
Be kind to yourself after you experience a set back, accept it and don't be angry or harsh on yourself. instead look at it critically and see why it happened the way it did and wether you could do something to prevent it happening in the future.
It is more important how you get back up after a set back and how quickly, instead of wether you always win at everything at first go. Learning to get back up after you get broken down shows you are able to learn from your mistakes better and that you are more persistent as a person.
Turn to gratitude: Look at your failure from a positive perspective, in terms of everything you have learnt from this experience and how it has shaped you into the person you currently are
Focus on things that are within your control, instead of feeling down about things that were out of your control in the first place. Put things into the correct perspective and only then, you can judge them.
10 WAYS OF GETTING BACK ON TRACK
Determine what you are currently falling back on
This may be certain habits or routines you were previously consistent with but not currently.
The reason why it is important to first start with asking what is that we are then able to see wether the things we have been trying to keep consistent with are actually worth it and are the things we actually care about keeping consistent.
Ask yourself what is preventing you from doing those things?
There may be many reasons here, likely some of these reasons will be from your environment (out of your control), while some reasons for hindering your progress may actually be your own cause (in your control)
Here are some examples which you may recognize:
External: Lack of time, lack of a accountability partner, too large of a work load from your school/ work place, tight deadlines
Internal: Lack of interest, poor scheduling, poor time management, lack of focus
What things do you actually want to get back on track with?
In the first part we discussed about writing down the things you are current falling behind on, while here it is time to figure out wether all of those things were beneficial for you to upkeep in the first place or wether you even cared about those habits. There is no point in doing something just because someone tells you to do it without having any internal and intrinsic reason for wanting to do it.
Do things for yourself with your own purpose and intention. If something is no longer relevant or benefiting you, change it up or replace it with something more useful.
Determine how much time you want to spend on those things
This will depend on your own enjoyment of the activity and also how much time you have available in your week or month, so schedule this accordingly.
Perhaps if it has been a while since you did the activity and a longer amount fo time has passed in between, start with baby steps and do the activity for a shorter amount of time in the beginning and then gradually increase that time spent when you build up more a consistent routine.
Determine how often you want to do those things
This can be as little as once a month or as frequent as every day, but this is absolutely necessary to establish before starting since this is the whole concept of routine; to do things regularly and consistently.
Don't force yourself to do too much than you think you can manage right now, but once again build up your frequency with smaller increments to make it a more sustainable process for yourself.
Input your activity into a calendar schedule
You could do this on paper, by printing out or drawing a monthly/ weekly calendar view, or you can use a digital alternative, which to me is more convenient and saves more time in the long run.
By which ever way you choose to do it, this will not only enable you to have a much better grasp of how much time you actually have available but it also simultaneously makes it easier for you to keep consistent at whatever you are doing, since by seeing it visually placed in your calendar it makes it more likely for you to stick to it and not forget about it.
Set up your environment accordingly
Your environment is what you surround yourself, what you see and what kind of energy a place carries, wether that be chaotic, disorganized and without intention, to being a clear and distraction free environment where you can focus when you need to.
I am not telling you to completely clear up your desk or have a complete room makeover if you work well in a more clutter filled environment, I just want to emphasize that it has to be an environment where you can actually work and be motivated to work without getting distracted every five minutes.
Design your environment, your room, your desk or the room where you plan on doing this habit or routine, in a way where you can really use that space for what it is meant to be used for. This can help you to start associating a certain space with a certain type of energy or activity, helping you get into the right head space much faster.
Have accountability:
Set a reminder on your device or have a accountability partner who can either remind you of doing that task at a certain time and sustaining your motivation for doing it, in times where you need a push to keep going.
For example if you want to get back into the habit of exercising, perhaps starting out with a friend or partner who already regularly exercises is a good alternative, as they will likely keep you accountable and also motivated to keep going, and the best part is that you can do the activity together, so its more fun and makes it much more likely for you to stick to the activity in the end.
Stick to your schedule for a month and see what happens
Now that you are at the stage where you figured out what habits and routines you want to reestablish, when you want to do them and figured out how you will keep yourself consistent, its time to put the activity to the test.
This means that you can try the activity (routine, habit etc.) for a week or even better, a couple of weeks, for you to see any faults in your plan or find ways in which to improve it so that it will work even better for you.
Perhaps you were too ambitious with how often you want it to do it per week or maybe you underestimated how much you actually enjoy the activity so you want to increase your time spent on it. All of this is fine and is very useful information to yourself. Use this information and integrate it into your plan so that you adapt your plan to your needs and preferences because after all, you are doing this for yourself, so if it doesn't work for you then whats the point?
Reflect on your progress and adjust
After trial and error and readjusting your plan structure, take some time at the end of this period to sit down and think about your little experiment and reflect on it by answering some of the following questions:
What did I learn about myself in this time?
What could I do differently next time?
Was my initial approach correct? If not, in what ways could I change it?
In what ways did I overestimate/ underestimate my own current capabilities and time constraints?
What was something I enjoyed in my experiment and what was something I didn't find so enjoyable?
With this information I want to conclude this mini guide on how to get out of a rut and start rebuilding your routines and establishing constant habits once again, to get yourself back onto the right track.
I hope that you found some of this information useful and I had a fun time writing and putting down my thoughts on this topic
PROCRASTINATION: Why We Do It & How To Stop It
WHAT IS PROCRASTINATION?
I am sure that if you are reading this right now, you are familiar with procrastination and might be finding that it is creeping into your life a little too often than you would like. Don’t worry, we have all been there, including me. Procrastination is becoming more and more of a common waste of our time, alongside the rising levels of distractions that are found within our environment and our own minds. I am convinced that most of us would like to be procrastinating less - since procrastination leads to basically no productive output- so how can we take control of our procrastination and not let it control our lives instead?
Before we start out, lets just briefly go through what procrastination is actually formally defined as being.
Here is the definition for it:
⇒ Procrastination is the deliberate practice of postponing events, tasks, and activities for some later time, while occupation our present time with unnecessary work that keeps us busy.
Therefore we can see that procrastination by nature does nothing good for us, so why do so many people struggle with it today and how do we fix that?
WHY WE PROCRASTINATE?
The reasons why we procrastinate can firstly be explained from a biological/ psychological perspective, where we can see that procrastination is an issue that arises from incorrectly regulating our emotions, instead of it being the commonly though problem of time management. Secondly, we can try and explain procrastination through a more in-depth perspective, that deals with linking our emotions to our actions.
BIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL REASONS:
Our brains are wired for short term gratification
This means that biologically we are more likely to make a decision that will bring an immediate positive reward to us, instead of working on something more long term for a great reward down the line. Short term gratification means that we want results and rewards immediately after an action, but that is often not the case with doing any type of work.
Work usually follows the pattern of starting the work, completing it, and only after some time, seeing results that are due to our input of effort. Because of this delay in reward and results, it makes starting work that much harder.
Easy work → Shorter completion time: Reward is smaller but immediate
Hard work → Longer completion time: Reward is greater, but not immediate
You would naturally prefer to scroll through social media to get immediate hits of dopamine, instead of starting a difficult piece of work and getting the same hit of dopamine much later.
Short term gratification is not only one of the main reason to blame for procrastination, but it also negatively impacts our decision-making abilities in all other aspects of life, where we risk losing much more valuable opportunities and larger rewards in the future, for doing easier works that immediately satisfies us.
Our brains like to save energy whenever possible
It is also a fact that even though our brains are of not great size, they can take up to 20% of our daily energy expenditure, which is exactly why they want to be the most energy-efficient they can. Because they need a lot of energy to be powered, they want to make sure that energy is used the best it can be, so that the least amount is wasted. In other words, they are wired for efficiency.
This exactly explains why it is much more daunting and harder for us to get started on a task that requires more energy, focus, and though; because it requires more energy from our brain.
The trick as to how to combat this issue has to do with how to trick our brain into not being afraid or daunted by initiating hard work but instead wiring it to start liking to perform difficult tasks.
Our own personal qualities and external factors
Whether we procrastinate is also linked to our own personal qualities and in what amounts we have them, as well as external factors in our environment that will cause or influence those qualities.
Some of these qualities and external factors include:
Our self-control
Our motivation
Demotivating and hindering factors
Examples: Rewards being far way int he future, feeling overwhelmed, anxiety, perfectionism, fear of failure, perceived lack of control, depression, lethargy
With these three factors, we can sum up procrastination in the following equation:
If Demotivating + Hindering factors > Self control + Motivation ⇒ Procrastination will result
REASONS FOR RESISTANCE
Other than biological reasons we can also try and explain procrastination from the perspective of resistance, where anytime that we try and start or complete an extensive and difficult task, we have four main sources of resistance that determine how likely we are to procrastinate on something:
Difficulty: Task is too hard OR too easy
Interest: Task is very interesting OR boring
Ambiguity: Task is specific and clear OR undefined and ambiguous
Motivation: Task is meaningful (motivating) OR un-motivating
If we can correctly manage these four levels that determine the likeliness of us procrastinating, it will be much easier for us to get started on the task and as a result, get it done. However, if we do not manage these factors, we will be much more prone to succumbing to procrastination and falling into the trap hole of it that may of us find too familiar.
QUITTING PROCRASTINATION
PRACTICAL STEPS:
Become aware of when you are procrastinating
Identify why you procrastinate (Rationalization of actions)
Identify your sources of procrastination
Implement anti-procrastination strategies (Mentioned below)
ANTI PROCRASTINAITON STRATEGIES:
Get into a flow state:
As I mentioned before, flow is a state that is the optimal balance between a task not being too boring and not being too difficult, allowing us to function at peak performance. We can ease ourselves into a flow state by adopting the two-minute rule that says that if a task will take us less than two minutes to complete we should do it right away and get it off our minds. The second way we can enter flow is by splitting up larger tasks into smaller time chunks such as 5 or 15 minutes, which will make the overall task seem less daunting and will encourage us to keep doing the task even after the time mark we set for ourselves.
Task management
Specifying a task and splitting it into smaller manageable subtasks: This creates less resistance towards starting the task and makes us more likely to fully finish the task because we know exactly what has to be done.
Determining "next steps": Get into the habit of immediately after completing a task, to determine "next steps" or follow up tasks that are not necessarily supposed to be done immediately, but prevent us from procrastinating in the future whenever we are working on the same task.
Categorizing your tasks: This allows you to micromanage your tasks by grouping them into 3-5 generalized categories, such as "work", "school", "leisure" etc, which allows you to have a more simplified overview of your work and what categories take up the majority of your time.
Task Prioritization:
Urgency/ importance
Difficulty
Our focus/ energy levels
Our current situation (Resources and people on hand)
Environment design
Your environment plays a large role in terms of your work habits and works ethic, which is why it is really important to keep your environment clean and free from any unwanted distractions such as technology, irrelevant work, or loud notifications. By keeping our environment as much distraction-free as we can, we will be less tempted to procrastinate and it will tell our brains that this specific space is associated with work and not with scrolling on your phone, allowing you to get a task done sooner.
Energy management
You want to first ensure that you are recharging your energy levels well and frequently by getting adequate sleep every night, eating energizing foods, and staying active to keep your brain alert. Whenever you feel a burst of energy/ inspiration/ motivation to work, use it on your most difficult and time-consuming tasks as those require most mental/ physical energy, allowing you to finish that task with optimal performance and obtain great results from it.
Setting deadlines
Setting time limits for our projects and tasks is crucial because it creates a sense of urgency for the task to be done, which makes it more likely for us to put our mental capacity to use at that time and get the work done. This idea is based on "Parkinson’s law", which states that work fills the time allocated to it. This means that if you set aside one hour to do a certain piece of work, psychologically you are going to try your best to complete the task in the given time frame, while if you were to only say "I want to complete this task sometime today", it means you could spend an unnecessary amount of time on a single piece of work, leaving your schedule even busier and less time for leisure and relaxation.
Setting end rewards
Not only does setting rewards for completing work stimulate the development of a habit loop, as it rewards to encourage our brain to repeat an action, but it also gives us something to loop word to and as a result work faster, with more motivation and more efficiency - all ultimately allowing us to avoid procrastination in the future.
CONCLUSIVE ADVICE
While procrastination is a common practice today, due to both biological/ physiological factors as well as external factors in our environment, it is crucial that we take procrastination under our control and replace it with higher quality tasks that fill our life with meaning.
While at the moment, doing nothing and just mindlessly scrolling through never-ending content sources may be amusing, in the long terms it is getting us nowhere and is likely also negatively impacting both our mental and physical health as well. All in all, procrastination is never a long term solution, since with it we only miss valuable opportunities and unique life lessons that we would learn along with them.
I hope that with the above tips and advice on how to reduce/ stop your procrastination, you are able to find more balance between your work and your personal endeavors while maintaining a clear and focused state of mind.
Top 10 Productivity Tips
Everyone likes the idea of being productive, however many of us fall into the traps of procrastination and distractions, that hinder us from becoming the best version of ourselves. Here are my personal top ten tips that will boost your productivity, work output and efficiency.
TIP 1: Time Tracking
Tracking your time is more than just a productivity tip; It enables you to identify how long it actually takes you to finish a task and it also encourages you to fully focus on the task at hand without any distractions, ultimately leading to a higher quality piece of work.
The Pomodoro time tracking technique is very popular, where you work for 25minutes, have a break for 5 minutes and repeat. However, if you feel that you can maintain focus for more than 25 minutes, go ahead, just do not neglect to have breaks in between.
Tracking the time you spend on tasks can be done by simply setting a timer on one of your devices or installing time tracking software which can automatically start and stop timing when taking a break.
Some of my favourite time tracking software:
Toggl (Individual and group tracking)
Focus keeper (Pomodoro style)
Emphasis (Pomodoro style)
Forest (Paid application)
TIP 2: Eliminate Distractions
A crucial aspect of keeping focused is putting aside all potential distractions, which prevent you from entering a "flow state", which is defined as a “optimal state of consciousness where we feel our best and perform our best" by the author of the book Flow, Mihály Csíkszentmihályiwhich.
Methods of avoiding distractions include:
Muting notifications
Placing your devices in less convenient places
Setting time for focus and time for taking a break
Use website/ internet blockers (Eg: Freedom and Cold Turkey Blocker)
TIP 3: Stay Energized
For us to be able to execute a task well, we must be physically and mentally in shape first before we can fully commit to doing it. If we neglect any of the daily biological necessities that keep our minds sharp and our bodies in shape, we firstly see a decline in our focus, motivation and clarity of thinking, which inevitably leads to lower productivity - something that we do not want.
It is also important to mention that the neglect of one of these essential caretakers (such as sleep) will lead to us having even less energy and motivation to complete other important habits (such as exercising), clearly resulting in a vicious cycle that is hard to stop.
Ways of energizing ourselves:
Sleep minimum 7-8 hours each night
Eat a varied, balanced and whole-foods based diet
Try and get in at least 30 minutes of exercise per day
Being out in fresh air
Taking a nap in the middle of the day
Replacing sugary drinks with water
Meditation
TIP 4: Plan out Your Day In Advance
By planning the following day the night before, you instantly know exactly all the things you have to get done that days so you waste less time deciding what to fit and not to fit onto your to-do list.
When planning your day ahead I would plan for:
Small and large tasks and projects I have to start or complete (in order of priority)
How you will avoid and deal with potential distractions and issues
How long you will spend on those tasks and then using a timer to track the time spent
What resources will I need to get those tasks done in time
TIP 5: Task Prioritization
It is not only important to consider what you add onto your to-do list but also which tasks are most important to get done for that day. This way you at least know that if you completed your highest priority tasks, you did the most important work.
Often times we like to start with the tasks that are shortest and require last effort, making them lowest priority tasks, but if we take time to consider how we will tackle and complete larger, higher priority tasks, we will get much more satisfaction and reassurance that the hardest work has been done already.
Prioritize tasks based on:
Importance and effort needed (proximity to a deadline)
Amount of time needed
In the case that we feel overwhelmed by the number of tasks we have on hand, it is an important skill to learn when to say "no" to opportunities. We should say "no" to opportunities when we know we have too much on our plate for another task, when the task will not bring much value or opportunity to our life or when we do not find the opportunity interesting because we have other more interesting occupations already.
TIP 6: Avoid Multitasking
This is again something that links to the idea of a "flow state", whereby multi-tasking we are not applying an equal amount of focus to the tasks we are doing simultaneously, but we are instead only diverting our attention when ever we switch to a new task. This way all of the tasks that we are multitasking on will be of lower quality and it will even take us longer to complete those tasks as our attention is continuously distracted.
In creative fields specifically, where a lot of idea generation and periods of extended focus are needed, I would try and limit the amount of multitasking, but instead, try and complete tasks one after another in their order of priority.
The only times when I would require multitasking:
When doing a repetitive task
When doing a task that does not require creative thinking
When doing a task that we are highly familiar with and not much thinking is required
TIP 7: Break Up Large Tasks
Often when starting a large project-based task, we feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work that lies ahead of us so we don't even feel like starting because we don’t even know where to start with the task.
To overcome this issue, I recommend dividing you larger task into smaller more tangible tasks that will still make progress towards your larger task but will not overwhelm you.
When splitting up a task, I would consider the following:
What is the end goal/ result of me doing this smaller task?
How long will it realistically take me to finish each small task?
When is the deadline for the whole task to be completed?
How much effort and resources will each small task cost me?
TIP 8: Identify Your “Why”:
You should always have a reason for doing something, a larger intention that stands behind your actions, otherwise, what’s the point of doing anything?
Identifying the reason behind doing something is not always the easiest thing, so before starting, ask yourself:
Why am I doing this task?
What will I get out of it by completing it?
Who am I doing the task for? (Myself or someone else)
By clarifying your intention behind each task, you also create the underlying factor of motivation that powers you through the task and allows you to keep the end goal in sight, increases the chances of you finishing the task and at the end, also makes you more proud of what you have completed thus far.
TIP 9: Set Realistic And Achievable Goals
Unlike the last tip, this point focuses on the output value of the tasks you do in the form of setting goals that guide and allow you to complete the task in the first place.
Purpose of setting goals:
Guide us in the general right direction
Motivate us to work towards something
Defining what is "enough" for us and when to stop with something
However I do want to clarify, that while goals are important, it is important to not keep them in our foresight all the time, but instead, we should be using them as an every so often reference point to check that we are headed in the right direction.
Because goals should be specific and well defined, there are different types of goals for this purpose:
Progress goal: I want to improve my piano playing skills
Numerical goal: Focus on reaching a certain number/ figure (Eg: I want to save up X amount of money by the end of the year)
System goal: A output shcedule that you follow on a regular basis (Eg: I will go to the gym 3x per week)
I believe that focusing on numerical goals is not a good long term solution, as they are often unrealistic which leads us to be disappointed if we don't achieve them. On the other hand, a progress or system goal allows you to stay more committed to your goal as a long term solution and makes sure that you are headed in the right direction.
When setting goals, it is important to consider:
How will I achieve my goal: What steps will I take towards completing it?
How long will it take me to complete it: When is the deadline?
How will I measure my goal: How will I know that I have completed my goal?
What resources will I need: Physical resources, time, money, energy, social connections
How will I stay commited to my goal: Being accountable to someone or reminding myself?
TIP 10: Just Start and Don’t Complicate
As simple as it sounds, it can’t be overstated that the only way to get something done, is just by starting it. We often procrastinate from starting a task by doing excessive planning and thinking about starting, but then we never actually end up starting.
Its always easier to dream about, plan and think about starting than putting in the actual effort of starting
By just starting and acknowledging that no one is perfect when they initially start out, it frees your mind from judgement and self-doubt that is often faced when starting something new, which allows you to develop your ideas organically as you grow. Starting is the first proactive step to take and only once you start you will be able to figure out all of the other smaller details in your journey because it takes starting and building real experience to direct yourself in the correct direction.
Don't overthink, just start. You will figure things out as you go and that should never be a prerequisite for starting out in the first place because no one has everything figured out when they first start out.
Enjoy the process.
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