The Art of Productivity (Chapter One): Scheduling
(Only applies to people that struggle to get their work done well, on time or both like myself).
So, want to learn my secret recipe to getting all of your work done, cracking complex concepts and truly harnessing the best of your mind's inner potential? It's called "writing things down". I know. Your life has changed with this new found discovery and you've reached a higher state of being. Truly nothing can stop you now. "But...Wait!" You command, furrowing your eyebrows. The red pill kicks in and reality hits you like a ton of bricks. "I've always known this truth. It is not groundbreaking at all." You start to remember everything. The countless failures and the plethora of sleepless and stressful nights that were caused by procrastination. You spout "It's easy to spew cliches like writing things down, plan out your work. But, I've tried them all and they've never worked for me." Your fear overcomes you. This is when you continue to read and realize that the way you've been doing things was all wrong. Just like there is an art to deals, there is also an art to productivity and I'm here to teach you what the schools never taught. Seriously, you'd think schools would teach the ins and outs of the most important life skill after eating and bathroom-ing.
MAKE SCHEDULING YOUR SAVIOR
Look, scheduling can either go one of two ways. It can either be your saving grace or it can be your downfall. Maybe who fail at it often treat it as a bible in the beginning. Thus, when they fail to accomplish a time goal or meet a personal deadline, they are consumed by their feeling of sin and are disheartened.
In order to succeed, one must realize that they are not just a mere worshiper of their planner or calendar but also it's god. One must first confess their sin to oneself. This means admitting your mistake and identifying the problem. Maybe it was underestimating how long certain things take, lack of motivation, random events that interfered whatever the problems, figure out ways to account for it in the future. (See Tips below to learn how to solve such problems) Finally, be a benevolent god and forgive yourself. Understand that you don't learn how to bike without a few tumbles. Change with life. Make a new decree or deadline for that incomplete assignment and tackle it once again. An example: I have been putting off journals and a lot of other assignments for a few weeks without any schedule or plan. Then, one warm Saturday morning (2 am) I realized how deep of a hole I was in. With a shot of sweet, sweet coffee, I figured out every appointment, every assignment, every task I had to do for the next 4 weeks. But, I made a fundamental mistake right at the start. My schedule for that Saturday was "Finishing a whole SAT test, "Posting my Podcast" (which I had been editing for weeks) and writing this very journal. I got 1/3 unless you call starting over a podcast, "posting". Did I avoid looking at the calendar after that failure? Probably a little. But, I still wrote this journal at 4 am on Monday and just like movie franchises, I stretched it out to 3 parts. Anyway, the point is I identified the problem, found a solution and just did it. Without my schedule, I would've completely forgotten about this journal due to all the scattered events in my head or put it off because a clear deadline was not present. In fact, without my schedule, my success rate would probably have been -1/3 that day. However, my schedule didn't overwhelm me because I reevaluated all my events and goals and figured out the best course of action.
Tima's Tips
1. The Blue Screen of Death
If it's distractions from your phone, I recommend Kids Place on Android or an Apple equivalent. Kids Place is created to make certain apps inaccessible to a kid by making a simplified home screen with selected apps and can only be exited with a password.(Make sure you have the password written down). Can you technically get out of the app and continue to snap chat your super interesting pictures of food or continue your witty tweets? Sure. But it creates a wall to protect you from that sunken place and I love me some walls. Making a super complicated password and choosing apps that are still necessary but maybe distracting (like messenger, spotify) might even be another deterrent from exiting the app. Putting YouTube and Instagram on a blocked list isn't going to do all your work but it's a place to start.
2. Setting Smaller Deadlines
Pretty self-explanatory however sometimes when there are concrete deadlines for assignments like 8 Journals by August 28, we don't visualize its meaning. If the amount of time to work on something is the entire summer why bother doing a journal a week or something. Creating these smaller deadlines and giving weight to them will incentivize those better at procrastinating the last minute to get it done! So, even if there is a seemingly solid deadline, make the foundation even stronger.
3. Make it accessible
Writing things down on a calendar or planner might feel restrictive or tedious but that what that marvel of technology that we call a phone is there for. Voice Assistants like Siri, Google Assistant or Alexa is there for. Just connect them to your calendar (Google, because it synced everywhere) and tell them to add events, reminders, make calls, you name it. Just command it and it shall be done. You can even make British for no reason. So Have Fun And Get Stuff Done.
If you are usually a perfectionist about your calendar and spend more time beautifying than getting work done, this takes that hassle out the way.
4. Checking the Schedule
Make sure to actually check the schedule. You can put a post it on your laptop or mirror. Or like me, you can go full "Memento" and tattoo to "Calendar" on your arm.
To Be Continued...
