Time Strategies

One of the articles I read for this assignment, The Important Habit of Just Starting by Jory Mackay brought up how procrastination affects more than our work lives. He mentions the instant gratification fills our lives, with products designed to catch our attention. This consumerism culture makes it harder for a person to ignore the instant gratification of, say, greasy takeout meal, versus a healthy home-cooked meal.

Canal Walk Food Court Photo by Henry M. Trotter. Source: Wikimedia Commons

As a result of hundreds of scenarios like this, we lose track of our long term goals and can have regret in the later parts of our lives. To avoid this regret, Mackay proposes that since our brain's default is to value instant over long term gratification, we need to focus on the value of the long-term and remove distractions when we work.

This topic reminded me of Tim Urban's 2016 TED talk Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator, which brought up the point that procrastination is in all areas of life, not just for work. And how, without deadlines, procrastinators can avoid doing long term personal projects that overall lead to greater happiness.

"Inside the mind of a master procrastinator | Tim Urban" video at Youtube

The article How Checklists Train Your Brain To Be More Productive And Goal-Oriented talks about checklists create rewards that help productivity. I use lists to make sure I don't forget any assignment, but after I read about making sure we have small, meaningful goals with broader goals, I realized that I could expand each task to include smaller tasks. This way, I can better appreciate how much work I do and feel more accomplished with every tick off. Since our brains associate completed checklists with rewards, this strategy can improve how we will think about working and help us be more motivated in the future.

One strategy to avoid procrastination that I liked was from Caroline Webb's article How to Beat Procrastination. It was about figuring out the whys of your procrastination. Asking questions like "Why don't I want to start a certain task?" allows you to find ways around procrastination.

I've used this strategy in multiple ways. One of them is when I have trouble getting started during my focus time. Typically, the answer is, I'm too tired or out of it to be able to make any significant progress. I tell myself that the more I work on it, even with subpar results, it is still a starting point for even more improvement when I feel better.

Another way I used this strategy is when I had trouble getting through textbook readings. For me, I found that the textbook seemed too formal, which made me reak that I had to copy down every bit of information. Another thing was the lines left to right were long, so my eyes got tired more quickly. I solved this problem by reading the electronic textbook on my phone. Since I typically read on my phone, this made the reading seem less daunting and allowed my eyes to read it more easily. I find it is easier for me to read through the chapter digitally before I take notes with the hardcover copy.

Alongside going around motivation obstacles, Webb also talks about using small rewards when you start working. I've done this both for class and in my personal life. When I study in the morning, I get my favorite kinds of coffee and drink it while I work. Outside of class, when I go to the gym, I listen to my favorite music. One trick I use is to increase my workout intensity with faster parts of the songs. Because the quicker music already makes me want to get up and move, listening to it while exercising allows me to feel better.

Overall, I think the most significant time challenge for me this upcoming semester is fitting in fun time. When a semester starts, I have a terrible habit of working continually, without having a social or fun time in my schedule. By mid-semester, my constant work burns me out, and I decide to take a break. Except, since I remember the stress of overworking, it's tough for me to focus on work again.

I think that using strategies from the articles, like working around parts of why I don't enjoy a task and adding little rewards with each task will help me overcome that challenge and be able to use my time effectively.