For the most part, I would consider myself a fairly productive person … during the school year at least. While I’m away at school, I have a basic routine that I follow every single weekday, and I hold myself accountable to stick to that schedule. By sticking to this routine I made, I find myself getting a lot more done and therefore feeling more satisfied. However, now that I’m at home and working a 40-hour week, I find myself not being as productive due to the fact that I’m just plain EXHAUSTED. I’m not getting done what needs to get done, and I’m not as satisfied because of it. However, I recently started using these tricks to help myself stay as productive in the summer as I am during the school year.
1. Create a system and stick with it.
At the beginning on the summer, my schedule was new to me and I didn’t know what I was going to be able to handle, so I was taking everything day by day. While this was relaxing for a change, I realized that I really wasn’t getting anything done, which drove me crazy. Recently, I made myself a schedule of what my weeks should look like, and I stick to it as best as I can. Since doing this, I’ve noticed that I’m actually getting everything done, and even having spare time to myself still.
2. Set goals for every single day.
One of my colleagues gave me a piece of advice recently that really isn’t anything super mind-blowing, but ever since implementing it to my daily routine, I’ve noticed an increase in productivity just from this tiny change. When I get into work every day, I write down three things I want to complete before going home that day. Now, even if you don’t work, you can stay make a list of three things you want to complete that day in general. By having just three things that you know you definitely want to complete before the end of the day, it helps you stay much more focused and motivated to get those things done.
3. Make to-do lists.
Similar to the three goals, but not as set-in-stone, before going to bed each night, I like to think about the different things I have going on tomorrow and what I would like to get done, and I physically make a list. Just by having a list you can read instead of trying to remember everything in your mind helps get more done (at least for me) since you can track your progress and see how much you have completed so far that day, and how much you still need to get done. In the morning when I wake up, I review the list I made the night prior so my mind is refreshed on what I should be focusing on getting done that day.
4. Start with the most difficult/time-consuming task on your list.
This is probably the trick that has had the most impact on me so far this summer. Typically, I was the type of person who liked to get all of the small things on my to-do list done first, then move onto the larger, more difficult tasks. However, I found that by the time I was done with all of my small tasks for the day, I was often too tired to complete my large task, so I would keep pushing it further and further back and never get around to doing it. Recently, I have started doing the opposite; I complete my largest task of the day first, and then complete my smaller tasks afterwards. By doing this, I’m no longer putting off any of my daily tasks to the next day, and therefore being more productive.
5. Avoid multitasking.
This is another huge trick that has really helped me. I’m not even talking about multitasking as in working on two different projects at the same time, but rather doing your homework while having Netflix on “in the background.” I’m known for doing homework while watching old episodes of "Friends" on Netflix, and while I tell myself I only have it on for background noise, I often catch myself stopping in the middle of my work to watch the television. So recently, once I stopped doing this, I realized how much quicker I completed the work that needed to get done.
6. Reward yourself.
This one is huge. In order to be productive (or successful with anything in general), you MUST reward yourself for your hard work. Whether it’s shopping, getting that ice cream fix in or taking a nice nap, you have to do something to reward yourself for being productive. If you don’t take time to reward yourself, you’re eventually going to burn out and no longer be productive.
So, if you’re anything like me and lose productivity while you’re at home for the summer, try implementing some of these tricks. Being productive is all about finding what best works for you and sticking to it.
