So I’m super excited because I got a request on my google form to write about productivity and time management a couple of months ago! I haven’t really had time (oh the irony) and have been quite busy though, but I have time now! I didn’t think anyone read my blog, so I am quite happy :)
I think time management is a quite important subject, since we all go through hectic moments in our lives and sometimes we are juggling a lot of different things and there just doesn’t seem to be enough time. And especially if you’re challenging yourself and are doing important things, it sometimes can get often overwhelming. And not only is it important that you manage time correctly, but you also have to be productive during those working/studying hours. Also, I don’t think I am the expert on these subjects, but these are just some ideas that have helped me navigate my life. So what thoughts or tips do I have on this?
I think most of my tips about productivity are about your mindset. For example, I think it’s very important to take breaks and not feel guilty about taking breaks. There’s no need to be stressed about everything all the time. You’ve made it this far in life, and it’s highly unlikely that your next activity will completely decimate your life if it’s not done. Give yourself time to enjoy life and relax, cause you can’t be working all the time. When I was playing table tennis, my coach (who was the youngest world champion at the age of 18), told me a life lesson that I never will forget: “Rest is part of the training”. We need to work hard and smart, but resting and enjoying life is part of that process. By ignoring rest, you are doing yourself a disservice. As my roommate and I often tell each other: You gotta stay relaxed.
This is also something an extension of the last paragraph, and it worked out pretty well. Even though it’s easy to say “Don’t stress out and enjoy yourself”, it’s not as easy to do when you have a ton of work piling up. So what I do is that on weekends, I commit to very little work. And everything that I do above that is extra. Last semester, all I commit to every weekend is to watch my CS188 lectures (3 hours of lecture at 2x speed = 1.5 hours) and the homework that was graded on completion and not correctness. And I would always feel proud of myself every weekend for completing my goals. And sometimes, I would feel productive (because I finished my easy goals so fast!) that I would get onto other things and it wouldn’t feel like a chore. And if it did, I’d just not do it and wait till Monday.
It’s something that I took from remembering how things worked in elementary school. Like no one does homework on the weekends back then. Like we would enjoy life. Maybe work a little to get ahead if you were a real nerd. Sure, life is harder now, which is why I commit to a little on weekends. And it also kind of renews your spirit if you get bored. Like I know on winter break, I get extremely bored that I am excited to go to school and learn new stuff. And by keeping the weekends almost free, it’s easier to keep that excitement. Otherwise after the beginning of midterm season, life becomes too tiring.
Don’t feel guilty about taking breaks. Don’t feel guilty if it takes you a long time to solve a problem. Find your own pace and respect it.
It’s also important to remember the bigger purpose and motivation. Why are you doing these tasks or things? Why are you taking these courses or doing this job? It’s easy to get lost in the little stuff sometimes that you forget the reason why you’re doing it. And remembering the bigger picture often helps.
And let’s not forget the simple stuff. Having a Google Calendar and a TODO checklist (I just keep it in my Notes on my laptop) everyday changed my life. It’s something I started doing over last summer and it’s been extremely helpful. Putting all of my events such as classes, meetings, meetups with other people, interviews, etc. on my calendar really decreases the time I spend trying to remember what events I have coming up. It’s also one less thing my brain has to worry about, which sounds really cliché but it’s very nice to not to keep track of things in my mind, even though I do a pretty good job at remembering things. I can spend more of my time and energy actually on these tasks than just storing information about when they are happening and it’s great. Every event in my life that I have to attend is on my calendar and I put it on there as soon as possible so I can forget about it. It also means I never double book things. Keeping an everyday checklist is also awesome. I felt like before I had my checklist, there were times I didn’t really know what to do with my life and I was just bored, but now I know exactly what I need to get done today. And seeing things get checked off my checklist is really satisfying, which I think is underrated because often we finish things and we forget them, and then don’t remember how we spent our days or what we accomplish. Now, I can look back on previous days and see what I accomplished as well as what activities need to be transferred to tomorrow. Having a checklist lets me know what I have done, what I need to do now, and what needs to be done in the future.
I think some people are resistant towards mapping things out in their life so explicitly because it feels like then you have everything set out for you and there’s no time for spontaneous activities and you’re living your life that’s already planned. But these are activities/events that you already have to do, and by having a checklist and calendar, you will manage your time better, which means you will have more time for other activities and random stuff. Do these required things first and on schedule, and you’ll have more free time and be more relaxed since you won’t worry about it. It's similar to how automating simple tasks will save you time. Don't think about things you don't have to think about.
I hope this has been somewhat helpful. Although I guess most of the tips is me saying to take breaks. Be relaxed. Work hard and work smart. Think about the bigger picture and use your brain only on the stuff you have to use your brain on.