Thread: Try this for one day--I promise it will improve your productivity

cool

reminds me of the tomatoes timer I did to study.

Originally Posted by verial

As a psychologist, I have many tips for productivity.

Whats your best tip on how to stop procrastinating for exams?

Originally Posted by townhaus

Whats your best tip on how to stop procrastinating for exams?

Townhaus, I worked almost full time my through my entire BS and MS degrees. My degrees are in engineering so they required a significant amount of study time, and most of the time I was already exhausted from my day job (or graveyard job for one year).

I found that Tony Robbins' ideas worked really well to achieve success in school.

Basically, I made a conscious effort to associate more pain with doing poorly in the class than the pleasure I received from procrastinating.

I would think, "man, If i just get up and go study for three hours tonight I'm going to feel great afterwards and feel secure knowing I'm going to do well. Otherwise I can sit here and watch t.v. which is boring and useless and then feel bad for wasting my time and dread my next test and then feel like crap for doing bad on my test."

Basically, I framed procrastinating as the more miserable thing to do (as opposed to the easier thing to do).

I've been struggling with my productivity for a long time. There are days when I can work for 16 hours and having incredibly results and some days, even weeks, where I can't progress.

One thing that I started to do is to have monthly, weekly and daily goals. This way I can "feel" what I'll get at the end of one given time.

Being conscious and making daily revisions also helps a lot, because you can evaluate what you're doing well, or not, or how I can improve something, etc. Because of this I noticed that my more unproductive days were due to making no plan of my next actions. Keep in mind this: If you know what to do is way better for you.

If you have no plan, just put an alarm at 5 minutes and start to outline ideas of next actions, or just start to do something the project. This way your mind will start to shoot ideas and thoughts. Write all of them and in the next 5 minutes you will be more focused. Do this until you start to need bigger time blocks. From this moment nothing will stop you

Lastly, if you feel the urge to check your email, twitter, facebook... just stop, take a deep breath, stand up, take a glass of water or make a 1 minute meditation. Then continue working. The idea is to remove that urge. Take this without pressure.

Obviously, this tips will work when you're struggling with your productivity

Every hour, ask yourself this question: "Am I producing? Or am I consuming?"

This is a life changing sentence.

Thank you!

Originally Posted by verial

As a psychologist, I have many tips for productivity. But out of all the tips I can give someone on this forum, perhaps the best one is this:

Every hour, ask yourself this question: "Am I producing? Or am I consuming?"

If you're producing, you are making progress. If you are consuming, you are likely wasting your time.

The MF reminded me of this. Its purpose is to shift us from consumers to producers. However, it's not so easy. We are naturally consumers, both genetically and socially conditioned this way.

The best way to get into a habit of producing is to set an hourly alarm to reevaluate your present actions.

Your most common habits are going to determine where your life goes. Get in the habit of producing, already.

HOW did I miss this post!

2 Things, first you are a psychologist, that is just freaking cool to me. I will admit that would be amazing to say to someone when you are introduced oh yes I am a psychologist WOW very cool.

Ok second I do not like your post as now it is confirmed I am so lazy and unproductive lol Really I do like your post very much and hopefully I can use it to change things with myself.

THANK YOU!