Productivity for the Productive Procrastinator

Taking Control of Productivity:

Especially when you work from home…

I am, what I call, a productive procrastinator. Homework, lesson plans, emails, a variety of writing tasks- these items fill my day and often are what I find myself saying at night “I have to get this done tomorrow.” Perfectly possible, yes. All I need to do is focus and, ta-da! It’s finished! So why do I find myself choosing to do the dishes, fold the laundry, write an unnecessary piece that I won’t get paid for, research topics that I am not studying, and call friends I haven’t talked to in years? It’s called procrastination. Are all these things good? Yes (mostly). Are they productive in their own right? Absolutely! Are they accomplishing the goal I set the night before about completing the tasks at hand….? Not really.

I have, however, yet to miss a deadline or give less than 110% in my work, so what’s the key? What are the most beneficial ways to take control of productivity so that you can accomplish your goals and feel confident in yourself?

1. Physical Agenda book

This is becoming less and less common, but my little artistic heart has grown to love the activity of creating my own agenda book each year. Don’t worry you don’t need to be that extra. There are many agenda books out there (check out these planners, or bullet journal materials) so you don’t have to spend a lot of money on one, or get a huge teacher-sized planner. A simple or small one that fits in your purse or pocket can be the perfect addition! I realize that phones are super accessible, and there are times I quickly jot down something on my calendar when I don’t have my planner on me- BUT when I plan my month, I make sure to open my phone calendar and write down the dates I made note of. Physically writing your activities helps you think through them, remember them, and keeps you from procrastinating as you can see more easily how quickly a due date is coming!

1. Lists

I love lists. Everyone agrees with me too. Until they find out I write physical lists for EVERYTHING. I know we are all about technology, use of phones and the cloud and whatnot, but just like the physical agenda book, it truly helps to physically write your lists (I write mine in my agenda book)! You remember them better, feel more connected to the task, and the fact that you can’t hit backspace or cut and paste the activity to the next day is a motivator that can only be accomplished by physically writing down your to- do lists! I’m not saying you should never use your phone for lists anymore- it’s handy for a reason (pun intended). But… continue to the next point.

1. Pick a planning day/ time

You need to pick a day or time that forces you to sit down consistently and write your lists. I do this activity on Sunday night. Before I go to bed, I plan out my whole week writing the tasks down I want to complete each day. Maybe you need to do this each night, or maybe your tasks are more spread out and a monthly assessment is perfect. The essential thing is that you ALWAYS plan ahead. I will never forget the day my grad school professor apologized for having a homework assignment due on a holiday weekend and moved the due date. I mean, it was nice of him, but have these adult students never heard of “I know that I will be busy this weekend, so I am going to do this BEFORE this weekend”?? Maybe I am just a little too judgy… The point is, you need to plan ahead. Again, if you have written down the items coming up in your life, you are more likely to remember them. If you are using an agenda book, when you plan your week, you can see what’s coming up next week and plan accordingly for that as well. ALWAYS look ahead!

1. Break it up

We have been taught to eat an elephant one bite at a time since we were 3. This is not a new idea, so I won’t spend too much time on it- but I do want to suggest that you break up each task into smaller ones. Sometimes ridiculously small. Crossing off these tasks from your list makes you feel more accomplished and motivates you to continue crossing off tasks. (Seriously, psychology- cool, right?!)

1. Schedule distractions

We all have distractions, for many it’s kids, for me it’s the dog that inevitably needs to go out right after I start a test or a meeting. It is important to schedule your time efficiently, but it’s also important to not schedule your day so tightly that you have no room for error. The best way to accomplish this is to overestimate the time it takes to do each task. Again, psychology- you feel encouraged when you cross a task off that was “supposed” to take an hour and only took 45 minutes. You can continue to the next task and keep cutting minutes off of your day, or take a 15 minute walk (If you do this, I strongly suggest setting an alarm to remind yourself to get back to work)!

1. Little breaks- big breaks

Just like distractions, it is important to schedule breaks! There are many ways to go about this. You can schedule a break every 30 minutes of work, after every task completed, or at certain hours. No matter what method you choose for little or big breaks- make sure to schedule it. This is not something you can do intuitively until you have gained control of your productivity! I think we all know that our intuition would have us work on a project for about 10 minutes then take a 30 minute break!

1. Timers/ alarms

As mentioned in the last 2 points, timers or alarms are going to help you manage your time accurately. I personally like to set an alarm for 30 minutes to 1 hour and leave my phone in another room with the alarm on loud. I work until that alarm goes off, then I take a 15 minute break. I take the dog out, I stretch, I play a song on the guitar, make a snack, whatever.

1. Track your activities– set a routine

These two items go hand in hand. For about a week or so, track your activities. exactly what you do and for how long. This shows you how much time you are spending procrastinating and in what ways you tend to do so. With this information you can create routines. For example- I start work as soon as I make my coffee and I leave my phone in my room until I go to eat lunch (or until an alarm goes off), then leave it again until I am done with my tasks for the day. I know that I get distracted by meaningless things on my phone, so I eliminate that temptation. Depending on my planned activities, I may set alarms, I may just work through until I am finished, but I always eat a snack at three, and go to the gym at six! It is perfectly alright to plan your life around the things you want to do- Like reading. I read a ridiculous amount and will not let my work activities take my reading time away from me. No matter what, come eight o’clock, I am in bed reading. Period. Because of that, I make sure that I accomplish my tasks earlier in the day! Maybe it is important to you that you eat family dinner at 6pm every night. Make that a priority! Make it a motivator!

1. Drink up!

Drinking water is the best way to create breaks for yourself. When I was a teacher, I learned to hold my pee really well (sorry- but it’s true). If you have the ability to go to the bathroom whenever, feel blessed. Drink lots of water to maintain your health for hydration purposes, but also, this will give you a reason to get up and walk, allowing good blood flow, additional steps and a quick brain break.

1. The senses

Last but not least. Take note of everything around you and how it causes you to be productive or distracted.

Sound- Need quiet? Go the library. Need some voices in the background? Go to a coffee shop. Need music? Put in some earbuds.

Sight- Looking at a computer screen all day? Get some blue-light glasses (it’s just gooder for your eyeballs). Need to be alone (aka, are you a people watcher)? Go to a private room at a library or create a private space at home. Easily distracted by items? Hide them (remember, I leave my phone in my room).

Taste- You may not have thought of this, but if you are a bored eater like me- invest in some chewing gum. It will change your life and your digestive system will be significantly happier with you! (Just don’t forget- you do need to still eat!) I have also heard that chewing gum helps you remember things? (I’m pretty sure I heard that on some psychology youtube video though- so chew at your own risk!)

Smell- Light a candle, sit in a coffee shop (I like to smell coffee)- don’t overpower yourself, but smells have a lot of impact on your ability to relax and focus! Try lemon, lavender or vanilla!

Touch- get yourself in a comfy place (but not too comfy). Sit in a comfortable seat in a space that helps you work. The couch is likely not that place (although, I am currently sitting on the couch…). I love working on my bed because it keeps me from slouching, but then I have to hide my phone elsewhere. I like having a table to work at but sometimes the sitting position is hard on my back, having your computer at different heights can help or hurt too. This is all about being comfortable where you are, but not falling asleep! Sit in different places and see how it feels! Where do you find you are most productive vs where do you feel the need to stand up every 5 minutes?

I hope these items help you become more productive everyday! Have other ideas to add? Leave them below!