Our generation faces many unique problems. One of these is how complicated and cluttered our lives have become. We’re always distracted, always busy, and we constantly feel overworked – struggling to find time for ourselves and people that matter.
We’re always distracted, always busy, and we constantly feel overworked
There’s a sea of productivity tips and ‘life hacks’ out there. It’s incredibly difficult to sift through all of it and even more difficult to find the lifestyle changes that are right for you.
In this article, we’ve presented four simple ways you can increase your productivity as a creative individual. With every tip, there’s an action plan for you to easily implement the positive habits discussed in your day to day habits.
The idea is to try each of these habits for a whole week, four habits over four weeks. Soon enough, you’ll find out the changes that are right for you.
1.KEEP TRACK OF YOUR GOALS WITH A WEEKLY/ DAILY LIST
Productivity has almost become synonymous with to-do lists and for good reason. By shifting the load of remembering all the little errands you have to do on to a paper or device, you become freer to focus on the task at hand.
But the humble, torn-off-of-a-notepad to-do list has evolved to take grotesque over-complicated forms at the hands of the online personal development community (Ever heard of Getting Things Done by David Allen?)
All an effective task management system needs is a way to account for daily tasks and longer-term goals. Because let’s face it, there’s always a task or two that goes unfinished at the end of the day (or twenty if you have a single to-do list like I used to). Where do these go?
Behold the weekly/daily to-do list.
You can use an app on your phone for your weekly/ daily lists.
AFTER YOU’VE READ THIS ARTICLE
Set a timer for 10 minutes and write down all of the things that you have to get done on a piece of paper. Don’t stop until the timer’s up.
You should have a huge list of 30, maybe even 50 items.
Transfer this list onto the back of a new, small notepad you can carry around in your pocket, or a to-do list app on your phone (although we recommend the low-tech route, see point 3 below).
Now list all the things you want to get done this week in a ‘Weekly task list’ – at the beginning of your notepad, or on a new list in the app you’re using. On the next page/ list, add up to 3 important tasks you want to get done tomorrow, to make your ‘Daily to-do list’. Add items to your daily to-do list every night before you go to sleep, and to your weekly to-do list every Sunday.
Now all that’s left is the satisfying experience of ticking tasks off your lists and feeling like a baller.
2.SET ASIDE UNDISTURBED POCKETS OF TIME FOR CREATIVITY
Has a lack of inspiration ever kept you back from indulging in your craft? Perhaps you knew what you wanted to make, but just “didn’t feel it”, or were too tired to start.
The most prolific artists are almost always known to have a crazy output. Graphic design guru Milton Glaser once said he doesn’t have any hobbies, all he does is work.
The rest of us, however, are just trying to work a bit more efficiently and regularly, while juggling hundreds of other obligations we might have during a week.
To make sure daily chores and errands don’t eat the time and energy you devote to your craft, the best thing to do is to work at the same time every day.
Every one of us has different times of the day to be productive. Maybe you feel groggy in the afternoon, but super alert in the evening. Or maybe you’re the most awake at late nights but are absolutely brain dead during mornings.
Whatever it may be, you know what your peak hours are. When you feel the most creative and maybe even restless to get things going. Recognize these hours of the day and do nothing else but focus on your art then.
Over time, as your usual hours arrive, you won’t feel any resistance sitting down to work, and you’ll get into a “flow state” much easier.
When you fix a time for creative work, you’ll get into a “flow state” much easier.
AFTER YOU’VE READ THIS ARTICLE
Open up Google Calendar and block out all the hours of a week when you’ll be engaged in activities other than creative work. Mark hours for classes, household chores, commuting, sleep, etc. This should help you identify times of day in which you’re free.
If some other activity overlaps with your peak waking times, then move them around till you have two to three hours of uninterrupted time.
Set a reminder 15 minutes prior to put off whatever you’re doing and sit down to work on your creative pursuits.
3.SPEND MORE TIME AWAY FROM THE SCREEN
If you’re a digital artist, designer, or a writer, you probably spend over 8 hours a day in front of a screen, including your smartphone.
Spending more time in front of a screen than necessary is terrible for your health. Aside from the obvious physical detriments, it is mentally taxing and depletes the limited amount of attention we have every day.
It’s no coincidence that us millennials are notorious for having a short attention span. Most of us have been allowed computer screens to occupy a large chunk of our days from the start of adolescence. There’s an epidemic of screen-addiction in the 21st century that few people acknowledge.
Interactive screens have only invaded our world for about two decades. Before that, we didn’t associate work with a computer display, and televisions were rightly named “idiot boxes” by the wiser amongst us.
We need to stop letting our devices take over.
For now, we still control the machines.
AFTER YOU’VE READ THIS ARTICLE
Make it a point to use a timer app on your phone to log the hours you work on a computer (like the excellent Productivity Challenge Timer available on both iOS and Android). Follow the Pomodoro method, or simply just take a 2 to 3-minute break every 30 minutes when you can move around and get some blood flowing in your butt.
Also, stop working for more than 2-3 hours at a stretch. By limiting the length of your work sessions you’ll find that you’re actually more efficient and get the same amount of work done in less time. Spread these sessions out across your days.
The Harvard Study of Adult Development documented the lives of schoolboys navigating through all the stages of adulthood for 80 years now. It reinforced the common knowledge that the number one factor that affects long-term happiness and satisfaction is the quality of human relationships we have.
So try to think of ways in which you can replace screen time with time spent with people or outdoors. You might vow never to watch a movie alone again. Or catch up with an old friend in person everyday instead of social media. Or go to bed early so you can wake up early and go for a jog (with that cute neighbor). The possibilities are yours to explore.
4.TREASURE EVERY LITTLE INSIGHT AND MUSING
Going through your day to day routine, you probably see at least a few remarkable things that make you want to step back and ponder. Maybe it’s an ad on a billboard, or somebody facing a problem that you think you could fix.
Too often, however, we’re busy getting somewhere or stressing about work to stop and soak in our experiences.
But think how many epiphanies we’re missing out on. When our constant inner monologue actually comes up with some good stuff to work with, 90% off the time we just go “Woah, that’s like, totally groovy” – and then forget about it.
What if we could dip our hands into this well of ideas a little deeper? Well, it’s super easy. Our minds are terrible at holding all the thoughts we have, but we have many tools at our disposal.
Let it all sink in for a moment.
AFTER YOU’VE READ THIS ARTICLE
Make an inspiration notepad you can easily fit in your pocket.
Whenever you come across something, write two or three sentences describing what you feel and what questions you have relating to what you see.
You can also use an app on your phone, Evernote is a good option as it is free and accessible through your computer and web browser.
Find a time when you’re at home undisturbed every day when you can go through the notes you made. This can be at dinner or right after you wake up in the morning. Take the time to ask yourself how you feel about the things you observed and look them up to sate your curiosity.
Let’s jumpstart your productivity
Go back and choose the habit you feel would be most beneficial to you. Here are some tips to help adopt these habits better.
You might want some accountability outside yourself to make sure you stick to a habit for a week. What you can do is tell a close friend about the new habits you’re taken on, and tell them to prod you on days you fail to keep up with it. Some even go to further extremes and fine themselves by paying their accountability partners some money every time they fall off the wagon.
Get a calendar you can place on your work desk or hang in front of it, and circle it for every day you stick to your chosen habit. This method was popularized by Jerry Seinfeld and called the chain method. When you don’t engage in your habit for a day, you break the chain of circles you’ve been making.
Like our recommendations? What lifestyle changes has helped you increase your productivity? Go ahead and share them with your fellow artists in the comments.
This article was written by Mickey Thibault. If you want to contact him for feedback, send him an e-mail.
