How I Increased Productivity
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Procrastination is my best friend. Or rather was my best friend. Seriously, he has have been around for as long as I can remember. There are so many ways not to get work done and so many other “better” things to do. I find that every time I sit down at my desk, laptop out and open, about to study and get shit done, I just quickly check my phone to see if I missed any messages or notifications. The next thing I know, I am lying down on the bed watching the 6th consecutive episodes of “Friends” in a row.
Oddly enough, I found that I would watch a lot of videos about hard work, reducing procrastination and increasing productivity so that I can use my time effectively, but ultimately, it never worked.
During my time in quarantine, I spent the first two weeks doing absolutely nothing productive, played lots of video games and watched Netflix. I still had school at this point where I quickly did the bare minimum and submitted. I’ve never felt more unmotivated and bored in my life. At certain times, I was extremely disappointed in myself. So how did it all change?
I changed my mindset.
I changed it to such a way where I enjoyed doing work. When I completed a task, I wasn’t thinking “okay that’s done, what’s next?”. Now I think “Did a good job on that! What else can I accomplish today?” or “how could I make this better?”. Changing my mindset in how I view my work makes me excited to actually work and get shit done. To challenge myself and see how much I can do in a day. It’s easier said than done, and I’m sure you’ve read and thought about changing how your mindset a million times. Even I have.
What finally made me change my way of thinking was to get rid of the distractions. The “better” things that I had to do. It allowed me to do nothing else but focus.
However, I’ve also changed the definition of productivity for myself. For me, it used to be about school and work. I didn’t really think I could be productive in my daily life. If it was not related to school or earning money, I was not being productive and wasting my time. Now if I am using any time to better myself, I consider that being productive. If I am reading and learning, I am being productive. If I am practising my photography, I am being productive. It’s no longer something that is applied to just my academics, but to all aspects of my life where I want to improve myself. I think that this is important because I no longer beat myself up for doing things that I actually enjoy. It’s no longer the mindset “Oh I shouldn’t have gone out and done that shoot with friends, instead I should have finished my assignment.” Photography is something that I am passionate about and wanted to consistently get better at.
Changing how I see “work” is how I am able to be productive every day and I look forward to it. I find myself working more most importantly, enjoying the work that I am doing. It’s starting to feel less like work. I’m beginning to love my “work”.
