If we don't have the innate gift of productivity, at least there is the consolation of knowing that we can learn to make the most of our time. 50-hour days
Has it ever happened to you that you've lived with one of those people who, instead of being born with a silver spoon in their mouth, came into the world with a time-turner? You're still trying to figure out how they managed to sweeten their coffee and they've already woken up, showered, dressed, had breakfast, reviewed their schedule, looked at their class notes to stay up to date with all their subjects, and, since they had extra time, they've read
War and Peace. That's how productive people are, and if they seem so annoying to us, it's because we're green with envy. We have to admit it. There are people who seem to have 50-hour days, and perhaps to compensate, there are others who have days that last 3 hours and one of them flies by while they stare at the ceiling. Why this unfair distribution? We don't have the answer, but we do have the solution: we have to imitate the behavior of people who are highly productive in order to learn from them. Let's see how.
1. Moving improves productivity
Even if we're not the type of people who enjoy an hour of cardio at 6 in the morning, we can start the day by exercising our bodies. 15 minutes is enough, and moving all our muscles and activating our circulation will make us feel good and full of energy to face the day. We're not talking about a plan to get steel biceps, but simply about lightly working our bodies and consciously breathing to relax, oxygenate ourselves, and finally, focus on the tasks we have ahead.
2. First things first
In order to improve our productivity every day, it's better to start by doing the things that are the most difficult for us or that we like the least. First, because we'll be less tired, and second, because this way we get rid of the bad things at the beginning and everything else will always be better and we'll feel less lazy.
3. Choose your bird: larks, hummingbirds, or owls
Even though they keep telling us that in order to be someone in life we have to wake up when the streetlights are still on, the truth is that
studies on circadian rhythms tell us that there are people who are more productive in the morning (larks) and others at night (owls). Then, there is also a large majority who, despite having a tendency towards one schedule or another, adapt perfectly to either one (hummingbirds). That's why it is argued that it is more beneficial for work schedules to adapt to each person's needs than to force everyone to follow a single evening schedule. Do we need to wake up early to be more productive? No, we don't. What we need is to listen to our bodies and try not to force them. If we're more of a night owl, we probably have high productivity in the afternoon or at night. Therefore, whenever possible, we should adapt our schedules to our needs and not the other way around. If we see that getting to class early is a tough task that we don't always manage to accomplish, that every time the alarm goes off we feel depressed, and that when we finally get to class we fall asleep in the middle of the lectures, maybe it's time to look for a schedule change and sign up for afternoon or evening classes. The
eTítulo degree is not awarded for waking up early, but for studying, so we'll see when we perform better.
4. Self-help for a more productive life
What is clear is that each person's profile has peak productivity hours, and then, during the rest of the day, we just get by. That's why a great trick to improve our productivity is to simplify our lives and reserve certain tasks for each stage of life. If we're in our peak hour, it's time to tackle the most complex issues of our daily lives: going to class, studying the most difficult subjects, working on that project we have to submit, or finding solutions to end hunger and wars. On the other hand, during those hours when we feel less productive than what our social media reflects, we should dedicate them to making sure that nothing interrupts us during our peak productivity moments. How do we do that? It's easy: by being a little proactive. For example, we need to have our clothes and what we need to take to class ready the night before if our peak productivity time starts in the afternoon. Having our day planned in advance will eliminate all the time we waste during the day making decisions like whether Gertrudis is a good name for a cat or how we would behave if Bad Bunny rang our doorbell right now asking for a lemon. If we already know what we have to do at each moment of the day, we will make much better use of our time, which is why it's so useful to use some kind of agenda daily and set alarms on our phones with the different tasks and the times when we have to complete them.
5. Simple goals
We may have lost credibility in ourselves after saying every night, "tomorrow I'll start taking care of myself," but with small goals, it's much harder to fail. A good idea to improve our productivity is to set ourselves two or three small goals each day in addition to the tasks we have to do the next day. For example, we'll write in our agenda that tomorrow, in addition to tasks like "Bring Mario's notes" or "Stop by the scholarship office," our goals will be "Finish the Marketing Fundamentals project," "Start reading the book
Decir el mal," and "Do a load of laundry." Achieving our goals will make us feel good and make us less reluctant to do things.
6. GTD productivity method
According to its author, David Allen, the
GTD method (Getting Things Done) proposes the usefulness of creating task lists to free the mind from all the things we have to do. This method is very effective for people who waste precious time trying to remember what they had to do, since the idea here is not to remember anything. We consult our list daily and act accordingly. Additionally, Allen says that any new task that can be done in two minutes should be done immediately. Having our mind free from the obligation of searching for and prioritizing tasks will make us waste much less time and gain a lot of productivity. Try it and let us know how it goes.
