[10.23.18] 59/100 Days Of Productivity

sometimes you need to do the hard thing. study for your test even if it’s boring and you want to avoid it. get up an hour early to exercise even if you feel like death. go out of your way to help someone else even if it’s inconvenient. do something alone even though you’re afraid of being judged. go somewhere new even if it’s scary and disorientating at first. confess to the person who makes u blush even if it means risking rejection. let go of your old habits even though it feels like you can’t live without them. it’s supposed to be hard. life isn’t going to have amazing rewards if you’re always feeling comfortable.

drive

two of my favorite robert frost poems for two of my favorite hogwarts houses. i dont know about you guys, but these two stanzas of robert frost hold so much motivation and inspiration, especially for a student who has so much more good and bad to experience. high-res versions of these are in the link to the google drive!

Pretty lights and my little garden✨

You know what feels good? Getting into the university and stream of your choice and being surrounded by wonderful people ✨

Taken from my studygram: @equaticnss

2018 will be the year of studying hard, finding love, meeting new people, trying new experiences, self love, ice creams and long beach days in summer, jumping in leaf piles and making carrot cake in autumn, wearing comfy warm coats in winter, picnics and flower gardens and bike rides in spring, learning to live with the scars from previous years, growing as a person in every way, being kind despite having bad days, high ambitions and consistency, not giving up on goals after 2 days, leaving habitual toxic thoughts behind, and determination to make 2018 different and happier and more productive than 2013-2017.

the miracle of being here

invitation, mary oliver// @arthoesunshine // when death comes, mary oliver//to be alive, gregory ott// the dead poets society(1989), quote: walden, henry david thoreau// joseph campbell// the aeneid, virgil// @babyangel-jpg // @rawjoy //sweet, charles bukowski// that it will never come again, emily dickinson// bjenny montero// ? // ? // moments, mary oliver// madness a bipolar life, marya hornbacher// wild geese, mary oliver// letters to a young poet, rainer maria rilke// on earth we're briefly gorgeous, ocean voung// @ashstfu // i thought on his desire for three days, linda gregg

This gave me a reason to smile when I didn’t think I had one

me to other people: ur self-worth should not be defined by ur grades!

me to myself: if u don’t get a 107 on this assignment ur dead to me

A friend once asked me how I manage to do my tasks so efficiently. I wrote a 500-word essay in 20 minutes. I finished my math homework and studied for a quiz in the half hour before morning assembly. I sleep at 9 pm on most nights. But how can I possibly achieve that?

I’ve seen people, even good students, check their phone every minute or two as they’re studying. I’ve seen students “study” for six hours straight, meaning taking down some notes then watching a YouTube video then reading their textbook then opening Instagram… you know what I mean.

My advice is to commit to whatever you’re doing. Not too long ago, another friend asked me, “Jo, do you ever get distracted at home?” to which I replied, “Distracted by what?” They told me about how they always have the urge to check their phones, talk to their friends, or get some food.  I can’t say I never get distracted, but it very rarely happens to me because I focus on what I’m doing–and only what I’m doing. Here’s how:

1. During the time I allocate for working, I turn my phone to airplane mode (with WiFi switched off, of course). No messages or notifications will distract me from what I’m currently doing. Recently, though, I’ve left my phone on in case there’s anything important. There might an RMUN photoshoot tomorrow, or a Physics quiz, or a music showcase. I know myself well enough to know that I have the discipline to do nothing more than glance at the notification. However, if this isn’t true for you, then I suggest you keep your phone on airplane mode.

2. When I allocate time for relaxing, that’s all I do. No homework. No textbooks. No opening emails as they come. Just me and a good book or Photoshop or the piano or something. That way, I can satiate my thirst to relax within the half hour or so and not crave more when I start working

As for music, it’s been proven that music makes you less productive when trying to recall and absorb information (studying, in other words). Music only makes you happier when you’re doing things but not more productive.

By this, I don’t only mean which ones are most urgent, but which ones you can’t accomplish anywhere other than at home. For example, let’s say you have these three tasks: a) research about structural unemployment; b) write a poem with the theme of death; c) answer some questions about quantum physics; d) do a problem set about implicit functions; and e) memorize a set of chemical reactions. This is how I would do them:

Write the poem on the way to school. Maybe this is just because I like poetry. And because I can’t write when other people are around. I’d probably get a first draft done by the time I get home.

Do the research about structural unemployment. My school’s WiFi is terrible.

Answer the quantum physics questions. The new information is still fresh in my brain and doing the homework will help me revise, easing the process of spaced repetition.

Memorize the chemical reactions before I go to bed. Studying before you sleep is supposed to improve your memory, and since my memory is terrible, that’s exactly what I’ll do.

Do the implicit functions problem set as soon as I get to school the next morning. Math is undoubtedly my best subject, and it’s very refreshing to do math at 6:45 AM in the morning.

If you saw the pattern, I assigned each task a time slot when I would be most productive. I also did them from easiest to most difficult to the easiest again. Because everyone works differently, I suggest you find out which types of tasks are the most difficult (memorizing, in my case) and which types of tasks require a certain environment (e.g. requiring WiFi for doing research).

I guess that’s pretty much self-explanatory. I like to nap right after I get home from school if I’m feeling especially tired. As for breaks, I prefer to take them between tasks instead of every 25 minutes because of my high study inertia.

Commit to what you’re doing

Delegate and prioritize

Give yourself shorter deadlines

Take breaks!

And that’s it! Hope this guide to efficiency was helpful in some way. I do believe that by following these four steps, you can accomplish all your tasks in a much shorter amount of time. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to drop me an ask!