Copper.Crowns

Energy Management

A human-based organization method

click on images for better resolution; images also available here (link to google drive)

Other posts that may be of interest:

Getting stuff done: How to deal with a lack of motivation

Flexible time-blocking: A more breathable way to get things done

Around November a kid in my class got the chickenpox. This caused our class to be quarantined for a little more than 2 weeks, which sucked even more because it started on the day before our over-night field trip. And it was pretty chaotic since we’re seniors. I didn’t see the need to post this before since not many of us on here lives in China, but now that most people are going through the same thing I decided to post some of the tips I have on staying at home and staying productive. Enjoy~

1. Set an alarm and wake up on time

I cannot tell you how many times some of my classmates missed homeroom (for us it’s mandatory cause they take attendance and it affects whether you graduate or not). Setting an alarm makes you wake up on time and prevents you from oversleeping. I admit there were times where I forgot to set my alarm, hit stop and contined to sleep, or literally slept through it. It happens. But you can’t let it keep happening. This messes up your whole day and might causes you to procrastinate even more because ‘everything is ruined anyways’ (though this may have smt to do with my mental health..). So remember to set an alarm to get started on your day on time!

2. Have a schedule and (try your best to) stick to it

Routine helps. When you literally have nothing to do, having a scheduled saves you from boredom and also from wasting your time thinking about what you have to or should do today. It doesn’t have to be packed, just a simple list of chores and activities would do. This also refrains you from delaying schoolwork for ‘tomorrow’.

3. Exercise!!

Yes. Staying at home and not moving much will not make you feel good. Especially to those who live in dorms or apartments. So move around, exercise a bit. You could do yoga, stretch a bit, or just freestyle jump around to music. Anything to get you moving, do it. It’ll help you from feeling cramped, stop you from gaining weight, and also make you feel better. Why? Because exercise=endorphins=happy people (and happy people don’t kill their husbands) . Doing some chores would work too! So get up and start moving!

4. Open the windows

For all those who grew up with your mothers opening the windows, you get it. You need to ‘change the air’. Right now you’re not getting any fresh air. And you can’t just go out to take a walk, right? Open your windows for half an hour in the morning, and you’ll feel a difference.

5. Have something to look forward to each day

This one is kinda related to the second point. I strongly recommend you to have something new to look forward to everyday. It could be eating a slice of the cake you decided to bake, an episode of your favorite tv show, or trying to achieve your goal of touching the ceiling idk. Having something to look forward to motivates you to get up everyday and keeps you from having your days mashed up together till you don’t remember whether you ate the bananas on Tuesday or Wednesday. Personally, I look forward to what I’m having for breakfast, that way I have another incentive to get up early and enjoy it before the rest of my family wakes up. So create a list of things you like to do (or would like to try), go over it right before bed, and choose one for the next day.

6. Change your clothes

Staying in your pajamas is really really tempting. However, your brain associates your pajamas with sleeping. So staying in it the whole day will make it question whether you should sleep or do something productive. This could also mess up your sleeping schedule. So lay out an outfit before you go to bed, and change into it when you start working.

7. Shower, please. And do your chores.

I don’t mean to sound like your mother, but just because you didn’t go outside, it doesn’t mean that you don’t need to shower. If you are staying in your pajamas the whole day and for a few days now, go shower and get a change of clothes. And chores? Yes you still need to do them. It is your job to keep the area you live in clean and tidy. Plus, cleaning it would get rid of germs. Take care of yourself, please.

8. Journal

Last one, stay with me kids. This was a habit I developed during the chickenpox quarantine. Although it was solely for my mental health, it helped a lot to just sit there and write about my thoughts, feelings, and what happened during the day. For those of you who are alone and have no human interaction, this might help you when you feel like ranting. Just sit down at the end of the day, and pour your heart out. If you don’t feel safe having a physical book lying around containing all these intimate and vulnerable parts of you, download a journaling app. Some have locks, and worse case you can just delete it to never see it again.

9. Human interaction

Wait no, this one’s the last one sorry! Contact your parents or friends once in a while. For those of you who often see them physically yet don’t have a habit of holding conversations with them online, call them. It helps with the loneliness that creeps In sometimes. Catch up with them, make sure they’re ok.

10. Lotion

YOUR HANDS ARE GOING TO GET DRY FROM ALL THAT WASHING SO PLEASE REMEMBER TO APPLY LOTION OR ANYTHING THAT WOULD HELP

procrastinate

turn things in late

copy homework

cheat

get stressed

memorize information simply to pass a test

hate a subject/topic

dislike school

don’t do homework if we know it won’t be checked

don’t read the textbook

skip on making notes

don’t pay attention in class

get bad grades

skip schoolwork to hangout with friends

put school second

find ways around doing the homework

look for answers online         

“How can I stay disciplined?”

“How can I get things done if I don’t feel like doing them?”

“How can I overcome my lack of motivation?”

As a college student who has had their fair share of being absolutely unmotivated to do anything, I know it can be hard to get things done if you don’t feel like doing them. Luckily, there are some things you can do to become more motivated to finish your homework, write your paper, study for your exam, or whatever tasks you have on your plate.

Part 1: Increasing motivation

Break up your tasks

Just thinking about one huge task is going to intimidate you so much that you’d rather leave it till later, when the urgency of time pushes you to complete it, than start now.

Breaking up your big tasks into smaller ones will make your tasks seem less daunting. Since you won’t be as intimidated by the amount of effort it might take to complete these tasks, you’ll be more likely to start doing them.

For studying, this can be something like ‘make flashcards for units 1-3’ or ‘practice past exam papers: 2015 + 2016’. For writing papers, this could be writing an outline, doing research for each point of your outline, writing the first 3 paragraphs, etc.

Working on small tasks at a time will also make you less prone to distractions since you only need to focus for a short length of time.

Make small goals and reward yourself

These goals could be accomplishing one of the smaller subtasks above, or achieving a certain grade on a practice test, or finishing a section of your study plan - as long as you’re working towards something.

The rewards? Maybe going out to eat, watching something, or even just time off. Hopefully these rewards will motivate you to complete your task.

I know some people are more inclined to do their work if they’re punished for not doing it, rather than rewarded for doing it, so if you wanna take the ‘punishment’ approach, you could do something like not allowing yourself to use social media until you finish a set of tasks - this is essentially the same thing, just thought about in a different manner. However, you should always be careful with these punishments/restrictions, because sometimes they can end up harming your health and productivity (e.g. ‘I can’t take a break until I finish all of my homework’).

Part 2: Not relying on motivation

Of course, you can’t always expect yourself to be motivated all the time. In fact, it’s very ineffective to rely on motivation to get things done; motivation is fleeting. Here’s an alternative: self-discipline. But how does it work?

Establish a study routine

Humans are creatures of habit. Even if you’re a P-type (like me), habits are hard to break. So making a habit of accomplishing your tasks/studying at a set time every day will help you, well, accomplish them. For example, it’s a lot easier to get your homework done every day if you do it at the same time - e.g. once you come home from school - rather than doing it ‘whenever you have time’.

Having a study routine will also make you less likely to be distracted since you know that that period of time had a purpose. If you’re trying this out for the first time, you might wanna completely get rid of distractions so that you can focus (e.g. putting your phone in your bag, on silent). However, with practice, I found that my phone or any other sources of distraction don’t really bother me anymore since I’ve had tons of practice resisting the urge to pick up my phone whenever there’s a notification, for example.

Schedule in time for breaks

This ties in well with the point about rewards: the break might be the reward for your studying. However, this doesn’t always have to be the case. You shouldn’t always think of relaxing as merely a reward for studying or accomplishing your tasks, but rather a necessity for the well-being of your mind. This sort of approach to breaks ensures that you actually let your brain rest once in a while.

After taking a break, your mind will be refreshed and revitalized, and you should have more than enough energy to continue with your other tasks.

Some of you asked - with regards to my previous post on The Mandatory Midday Break - how I can limit myself to exactly an hour, and to be honest, the answer is habit. It’s like having a habit of showering at the same time every day and not extend the length of time you spend in the bathroom (except in certain circumstances, like during a day off, I guess).

This is why it’s important to schedule your breaks and establish a study routine or habit - not only does it ensure you get enough rest, but it also prevents you from extending your break so that you don’t become unproductive and leave a ton of tasks unfinished.

It can be hard to motivate yourself to accomplish all your tasks, but there are things you can do to increase your motivation. However, you can’t expect to be motivated all the time, and you shouldn’t rely on motivation to get things done. Discipline and habit are the most important tools you can use to be efficient and productive without having to be motivated.

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24 December 2017

merry christmas eve! i’m finally on winter break and i’m using my time to start my bullet journal up again. also, i’m starting the 100 days of productivity challenge, and i’ll be tagging  it #sabs100days. happy holidays!