Happy Monday friends! In honour of the start of the work week, I'm going to share some of my personal tips on how to be more productive and get the most out of your day.
Make use of your "fringe hours".
This is a big one for me and one that I truly live by. Fringe hours are the hours that usually get wasted in your day, like when you're sitting for an hour on the train and just end up scrolling through Twitter or Instagram, or when you're waiting for your frozen pizza to cook in the oven and end up watching Youtube videos to pass the time. Why not use these times to get some work done? For example, when I'm commuting to school or work, I like to use these times to get some reading done, or planning for a paper I might have to write, or organizing my weekly schedule according to what I need to do that particular week.
Plan to get things done ahead of time.
I'm going to use university assignments as an example here: One of the things I always do is plan to get an assignment done a day or two before it is actually due because a) that gives me enough time to look it over and make any necessary changes b) if anything goes wrong, I have enough time to fix it and c) I won't have to rush or stress out over it because I've allowed myself enough time to get it finished (and with time to spare).
Stop putting things off to do later.
Doing all of the little things saves precious time. It is all about getting the simple, little tasks done so that you have more time to focus on the bigger tasks at hand. Don't let work accumulate and complete the things you have to do, now. Remove the mentality of putting things off to do until you have more time because chances are, when you do in fact need to do it, you will probably have five other deadlines to focus on.
Get your sleep.
No questions asked, sleep is important. Sleep is the time for your body and mind to rest and rejuvenate itself and without it, it's likely the body will crash and burn. I am usually in bed every day by 12-1 AM, and wake up with an alarm at around 7-8 AM. The rest of my day is devoted to whatever I need to do that day. Don't over-sleep, as that can tamper with your sleeping schedule and cause you to feel more tired, but rather, get on a schedule you feel comfortable with and manage your day around it.
Say "no".
Don't worry, you won't let anyone down if you say no. Learning how to say no is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Accepting that you don't always have to do everything you're asked to will free up your time for other things, and will lessen the load on your shoulders if you have too much going on.
Now, I've been doing these things for a while, so honestly for me, this is all ingrained into my life, but it is never too late to start adopting different lifestyle changes to be more productive!
Cheers!
Nancy
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