I’m a lazy person. I’m pretty much the first one to admit it. And most of my friends are quick to say that they’re lazy too. Funnily enough, never in my life have I met someone who works an amount that they are satisfied with.
And every year as January 1st rolls around, on my New Year’s Resolution is always some vague goal like “be more productive” or “study more”. If you’re anything like me, it’s hard to get around that, and you’re left scrambling to finish your 5-page paper 3 hours before it’s due.
Speaking from experience, all-nighters are not fun.
So here are some tips I’ve picked up on how to improve your productivity! In hopes that both you and I will never have to go through another all-nighter finishing work again.
Every day, I like to set myself a little agenda of things I want to get done, with time estimates on each one. Overestimate your times a little, too; it always feels better to be ahead of schedule or to finish something ahead of planned than to be behind. You can also try to beat your time estimates for each task as a little game to play to get things done!
Time estimates also make sure you don’t overschedule yourself, since while theoretically you can complete 11 hours of work in a day, nobody is that much of a superhuman. (If they are, I’d like to ask them to write this blog post instead of me! They’re much more qualified)
As a last resort, try talking to yourself as if you were your best friend if you’re reallyyy procrastinating on a task. Pretend that your friend is the one procrastinating on something, and give them a pep talk to get them started! Then turn that on yourself.
Ultimately, your greatest enemy in productivity is yourself. But at the same time, you are your greatest friend, your teacher, your coach, and so much more. You have control over what you do and when you do it.
