6 Tips to Keep a Productive Mindset
This spring I am trying to work my BUTT OFF. I have been known to be a little crazy and fill my plate with a few too many things to do but I have learned some awesome ways to stay productive and keep myself in a healthy get-it-done type of mindset!
This spring, I have been finding ways to keep myself more motivated so that I can complete my assignments early. I have consistently been 2 days ahead on assignments from staying busy and grinding out each assignment.
- Plan out your day!
Something I have been doing over the last year that has helped a ton is starting my day at the same time each morning. Maintaining a healthy schedule is the first part of being productive. I will be sure to be up by 7 or 8 most mornings (yes even on weekends) and the first thing I do is plan out the rest of my day!
If I am not feeling super productive that day, I recognize that as an indicator that I should get at least one thing done off my list of to-dos. Something that helps me a huge amount is prioritizing! I will write out the things I have to do that day or within the week and number them by priority, taking into account when they need to be done and how long they will take.
After this, especially on super unproductive days, I will time-block my day.
Time-blocking can be your best friend when you are trying to get things done. I will create a grid containing each hour of the day that I plan to be awake and I will make sure that I have something planned for every hour. Even if I am listing it as “chill time” or “snack break” there is something that I am doing.
- Give yourself a project to work on (and COMPLETE IT)
I love starting new projects but I tend to lack the motivation to complete them. In the fall of 2020, I started a blanket and I have been working on it since. I finally gave myself a goal to finish it by the end of this past summer so it wouldn’t become a 2+ year project when it probably could have been a half-year project.
While I was working to finish a project that I started a while ago, I do still have a new project that I am working on. This blog!
I have loved working on this blog as it has been my dream for a long time. I love helping people and I thought I could gain something out of it as well. This project isn’t just helping me emotionally or financially though, I am growing my communication skills and my writing skills as I work on posts for you, my readers.
I have already seen a large amount of growth in myself just from the past year of blogging even though I took a nearly 8-month hiatus to focus on school and my work. But these are the projects that are turning out to be the most rewarding for me!
While I can’t “complete” blogging over this spring break, I can give myself small goals to work towards and eventually complete, bringing me closer to becoming a better blogger for you all.
- Stay organized
Staying organized is no easy feat. I have been working to be better organized for most of my high school and college career. And I finally found a method that works well for me.
Journaling.
I keep my journal near me whenever I am working on anything. All of my goals and tasks are listed in there as well as a calendar of events and other things I have going on. Using this while I am taking classes is so helpful and allows me to keep track of where I have fallen behind or how I can work ahead.
The journal is step one for me. Next is making sure that my documents (online and on paper) are organized as well. This means folders, binders, flash drives, and more.
Just a few days ago I was taking all of the notes from my math classes in college and I put them all into one big binder with dividers showing what each class was. This helps with organization and if I need to look back at those notes, it won’t be hard to find them!
- Work!
Keeping busy and giving yourself things to do can help so much with your mindset. Having a workday or work period will help you see the value in your personal time and will get you motivated to get the boring things done so you can enjoy your free time!
This past summer I was working as a badminton instructor and I did a little bit of babysitting which helped me keep an idea of when I needed to be in work mode and when I could relax and do something fun. Along with everything I mentioned, I was also balancing two classes for school, so making sure I used my time well was crucial. And my usual procrastinating was NOT an option.
This was where I started getting into a habit of time blocking and it helped me get things done BEFORE the deadline.
- Make plans with friends!
Balancing your work life and your personal life is crucial in all aspects. It gives you a much healthier mindset for you to work from.
Planning your free time around things that you enjoy and the people you enjoy might feel difficult if you already have so much going on. You might even be at a point where you just want to lie down and take a nap or turn on the tv. And that’s ok! Just don’t make that the only way you spend your free time.
We are social creatures and at least a slight amount of social interaction is going to be very beneficial to your balance of life.
Speaking from personal experience, a quiet night in or a rowdy night out are both great ways to end the day and I go to bed feeling like I haven’t wasted any part of my day.
- Take summer classes!
Sometimes when I offer this suggestion to my classmates and my friends, they will take it in a way that makes them feel slightly offended. While in high school, there can be such a bad rap for summer classes and people assume that summer classes are used to catch up because you didn’t do well in the previous year or semester.
I have taken summer classes for 4 different summers through high school and college and boy, am I glad I did. I have used summer classes to get ahead and continue working through my degree and this also allows me to give myself some extra wiggle room during semesters so I am not overloading my plate.
I would not recommend taking classes during the winter because for a lot of schools, winter break might only be 4 weeks long, and trying to fit a class into that short of a time period could mean that you retain almost none of the information you are meant to learn.
Between my freshman semesters, we had a two-month winter break so I fit in a 6-week course. It took away a lot of my free time and kept me busy but that was what I needed when we still had a lot that was restricted because of the pandemic.
Hopefully, these 6 tips can help you find a good balance so you can stay productive even when you feel that you might not have a ton to do. Enjoy your spring break, everyone!