How I Increase my Productivity

I'd like to preface this by saying, I am a huge procrastinator. In my first two years of high school, all my assignments were late- if I even finished them, and all I heard from teachers is that I have so much potential, and if I did my work I'd be successful. But, my junior year, I almost got a hold of things, and now (when I want to) I can actually get work done. So, I feel qualified to write about productivity for procrastinators. Here are 6 ways that you can beat procrastination and increase productivity

#1 Work on your mental health

This is definitely the most important thing on the list. If you can’t focus because of things like anxiety, depression, ADD, or ADHD, you have to work harder to get things done. I have bipolar disorder, and I know that in order to be productive, I have to stay on my meds, get enough sleep, and make sure that I’m coping with situations in my life in a healthy manner. If you have mental health concerns, it is so important to take care of them for so many reasons, not just productivity. I have noticed a big shift in people's opinions about mental health, especially in my generation. There is less of a stigma surrounding mood disorders and getting treatment for them and other mental health issues.

I, personally, am not on social media like Tik Tok, but there is a whole community on the site for talking about mental health. There are YouTubers who dedicate videos to talking about mental health. There are accounts and groups on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter that are made solely for the purpose of starting positive conversations about mental health. There is never any reason to be embarrassed about needing a little help- or even a lot of help- with your mental health. And, once you get certain things under control, you will have a much easier time getting work done.

#2 Get organized

This is kind of an umbrella of tasks, but there are two specific ways I stay organized in my life, and in my schedule. 1. Get a planner. And, 2. use sticky notes.

If we're being real, not all of us can be the cool organized girly girl who keeps an up-to-date, washi taped, color-coded bullet journals. I have tried that route many times; it just doesn't work for me. If that's what works for you, more power to ya, but if it doesn't, don't worry. My favorite planner ever is a blue one that I got from Blue Sky. All of their planners on amazon have the same basic format, and I love the layout. I am not sponsored I only have like 3 people read my blog, so this is my honest opinion. It's got the months and weeks, and a few pages for notes too. I'm using it for 2021, and I absolutely love the format and the sticker pages and just everything about it is perfect for me. As long as I keep up with the planner, I keep up with my responsibilities. Now, you can totally order this planner, or you can find a different one. This one is just great for my life and how I like to visual things.

When it comes to sticky notes- I have them everywhere. I have them in my planner and on my nightstand, on the computer that I use for writing, and even on the fridge. I rely on the little to-do lists and notes posted everywhere to keep me going.

I think the reason it helps is that it gives me quick access to the information I need. If I only use my planner, then as soon as I close it, my to-do list is out of sight and mind, but if I put copies of the things I need on bright pink paper and stick it on my nightstand, which is typically the first thing I see in the morning, I literally cannot ignore it. If I can see the things that I need to do without putting in the time and effort to look for them, I am 99% more likely to do them.

#3 Use momentum

I always struggle to get started on a task, but once I get into it, I can keep going for quite a while. For example, just today, I wrote about a few paragraphs of an article to post, and I had to pause to go somewhere, and it took me like twenty minutes to get back into the swing of things, but I did it, and I'm writing another post. When I feel creative and I have ideas and I find myself trying to mentally write a post, I try to take note of it, and either hop on my computer and write or do some pre-writing on paper. And, if I in a productive mood and I get a lot of work done, I find it easier to continue working. There's a quote from Edgar Bronfman- a billionaire- that goes "To turn $100 into $110 is work. To turn 100 million into $110 million is inevitable." It's just the same with creative energy- getting things going is difficult, but continuing the work is a breeze.

#4 Power through it

Remember a few seconds ago, when I said that getting things going is difficult? Well, powering through it is for that part. There are times when you have a deadline and a headache or existential dread or something else that makes you want to give up and take a nap, I have those days too. But in the end, you will not regret powering through difficult times. A teacher actually taught me this- Mrs. Kelley. She was the freshman English teacher, and also the newspaper club sponsor. I was failing chemistry my sophomore year, and I didn't want to leave the newspaper club meeting, but my Chemistry teacher asked Mrs. Kelley to send me to tutoring. Mrs. Kelley- being the responsible adult that she is- sent me to tutoring. Before she did though, she gave me 5 minutes to lay on the floor and cry, so I did just that. When my five minutes were up, I pushed through the painful hour of tutoring and actually brought up my grade. This is just one example of how "powering through it" can pay off.

#5 Set aside distractions

I am guilty of not doing this one. I am a teenager so I have my phone on me at all times. It has gotten to the point where I'll be watching a youtube video on my phone and playing Minecraft on my iPad and listening to music all at the same time. I've learned to text without looking at my phone so that I can have conversations with two different people simultaneously without batting an eye. The most concerning thing about that is the fact that I know a lot of people my age who can do the same thing- it's a standard now. But, when it's time for me to write, or do chores, or cook. I have learned that in order to get quality work done in a timely manner, I have to put my phone down, give up Minecraft, and turn the TV off. And, as much as I love music, it can even be a distraction sometimes. I just have to realize that when it's time to put away distractions and music, I just gotta do it.

#6 Sit at a desk

I can't explain why this one helps- but it does. When I have a space dedicated to working, I actually work. So, if you're looking to get work done, get a desk and make sure that desk only has office supplies on it. The two most obvious things are a planner and sticky notes. Beyond the things that I keep at my desk, I make sure that I am dressed and I have shoes on while I work so that I'm in work mode, even at home. This is something that has helped me literally so much; I can't express the amount of writing and work that I have done at this here desk.

The most important thing you can do is find what works for you. If you take away one thing from this article, make sure it's the fact that I experimented with different tactics and you should too. Maybe you need to bullet journal, maybe you need a planner. Maybe you need sticky notes, maybe reminders on your phone. There are so many different things you can do and tools you can use. Do your research, and try things out. That's what it took for me to form habits that help me.