Being more productive.

Hi there,
Once again, it's Poppy. I've got a pretty lengthy post for you today, so strap yourselves in. Today I wanted to share with you my thoughts on being more productive and some things that help me make the most of my time. (which I am really not the best at, so please leave some more tips in the comments below)

Everyone has the same number of hours in their day. It is what you choose to do with these 24 hours that makes the difference. You can choose to make the most of your hours and get heaps done and out of the way or you can sit around and do nothing. You still used 24 hours in that day, the same amount someone who went to school and finished 3 assignments. Being productive isn't easy and sometimes it isn't fun but it is rewarding. It saves you time and energy in the long run and can help reduce your stress levels.

After reading that paragraph I hope you have decided the being productive could be slightly useful and you want to give it a go, now I'm assuming that you would like to see some step by step instructions or 5 ways to be more productive. But unfortunately it isn't that simple. There are thousands of ways out there that claim to make you more productive and I haven't got any proof of how well they work. Instead I want to share a few things that help me be more productive. Understand that this might work for you, if you are similar to me, and may not if you aren't. If you want to find more ways, simply search ways to be more productive (I just did it and there were a lot of results).

1.Creating aims and deadlines.
I used to and still do really dislike setting goals at the beginning of each semester and generally mine are the same 'do better in PE' 'contribute to class discussions' as always. I know that goal setting is good but I can't seem to see the benefits for me. However, setting out aims of what I want to achieve in each day, or by a certain day is one super useful way I find to make me more productive. It gives me a clear list of what I need to do, and I can then sit down and work out how much time I'm going to give each thing and create a checklist of stuff to do for that day. Deadlines are also useful, telling myself I need to have my draft essay written by the 7th of September can help me break stuff down and not spend hours doing not-much.

2.Take breaks
This one has been scientifically proven. Taking a 5-minute break every half an hour can help make you more productive. As much as I like to think so I know I cannot stay focused on one task for an hour and a half. Usually I will give myself half an hour to work on something, take a five-minute break, then move on to something else and come back to that first task another time.


3.Don't put it off.
My final tip is to not put things off. It makes it 100x harder to get other stuff done and you will be distracted all day. If you do it straight away, you can be more focused and get more done.

Wow, that was a lot of typing. If you've read all the way down to here I really hope you have gotten something out of this post and it will help you to get more out of your 24 hours. Please let me know in the comments ways you find help make you more productive, also take a look at this video.

See you on Sunday