From Overwhelmed to In Control: My Productivity Transformation
Half a month ago I moved to a new city for further education.
In the first few weeks of college, we had a library lecture every day.
what caught my attention in library was that everyone’s heads buried in their screens.
Seeing all the people chilling in their screens made me uneasy.
Yeah, some were using their phone as a tool for productivity. Like for writing assignments.
Yet, this scenario reminded me of myself, spending hours on my phone. Delaying my work and then thinking why am I not Productive.
In the meantime, I became so uncomfortable that I almost stopped using my phone.
Interestingly at that time, my brain was pushing thoughts for doing my actual work.
Even when tired my mind had thoughts of either completing assignments.
Revising what I learned. Writing or reading.
Was it an anxiety of technology? I don't know
But, this experience helped me find a solution to increase my productivity.
The majority of students in the library came in for breaks. Chance to relax and recharge after long hours of study.
But instead of taking a break, everyone was forcing their brain to work more.
Making their brains work even harder to find something more pleasurable
In simple words, their brain was not getting relaxed.
So what's the right way to take a Break?
We take breaks to recharge ourselves.
'Brakes are the unicorn of productivity' Writes Nir Eyal.
And the best way to recharge ourselves is by doing nothing.
By "nothing," I mean not overloading your brain with more tasks or information.
It's about keeping it cool, like putting your phone on airplane mode for a while.
Breaks are typically short. So, disconnecting from the world for a moment will help in relaxing your brain.
Relax your brain
If you wanna take a nap, take a nap.
Feeling fresh but don’t want to work, Read that favorite article you bookmarked. Or read next Self-Help book.
Write down your thoughts. You can even stare at wall.
Want some extra energy, take a walk toward the sunshine
Many of us like to work in the dark since we use screens. So taking time into natural light will improve your mood and energy.
Schedule your breaks
When you wake up make a list of things you wanna do.
When you don't know what to do next you're routine tells you—writes Austin Kleon in his book 'Keep Going'
So you don’t take unnecessary breaks and very well know when to take breaks.
Once you know what you have to do and when. You will notice what hours you can put to use on social media.
Manage your screen time for work
We stumble upon notifications every day and get lost in endless digital Distraction
Advice from Nir Eyal in his book 'Indistractable' is still helping me to keep my screen time less
— Arranging the home screen and turning off notifications
See there are two types of people who take breaks
We all, mostly, are the right ones who want a long leave from work.
Seeing others doing better and lovely work and enjoy. We don't like our work.
Then?
In your free time don’t scroll
Get psychological reward by completing your tasks
In the book 'Dopamine Nations’. It’s explained that pleasure and pain get processed in the same place.
Remember that day? when you finally completed your most delayed task and experienced a great dopamine rush?
That’s what you actually need because craving for dopamine won’t stop.
Do complete your tasks and get happy naturally
We learned how to be productive but what about achieving your goals?
Here’s the The Secrets of Achieving Goals Through Imagination
