cozy.sophaa

1. Exercise

15 min yoga workout

2. Reading

30 min (I'm reading a book on Buddhist practices in forest environments, very interesting)

3. Diet and weight loss

Breakfast: caffelatte ☕

Lunch: cold italian pasta salad (it’s a dish where pasta is served cold and typically mixed with ingredients like vegetables, olives, and cheese, often dressed with olive oil and herbs); two slices of melon

Dinner: salad (with iceberg lettuce, mozzarella, olives, and cherry tomatoes); bread from local bakery

4. Academic goals

3h study session: botany

1h study session: economy

40min gemmotherapy training course

5. Personal growth

Life's update

improving productivity

productivity refers to the efficiency of turning inputs into outputs. it's a measure of performance that compares what's produced with the resources used to create it. the three types of productivity include economic productivity, labor productivity, and workplace productivity.

workplace (or personal) productivity refers to how much work is done within a specific time period. factors that influence workplace productivity include motivation, personality, talent, training, environment, support, and time management.

improving personal productivity involves adopting effective strategies and habits. systems. here are some tips:

prioritize tasks: identify high-priority tasks and focus on them first. use techniques like the eisenhower matrix to categorize tasks by urgency and importance. prioritizing is essential for several reasons. it helps you avoid getting bogged down in busywork and unimportant tasks. it reduces overwhelm and provides focus and structure. by focusing on what truly matters, you make progress toward your objectives and optimize your use of time and resources. prioritizing tasks streamline your workflow and increase efficiency. multitasking is less effective than focusing your attention on one task.

set clear goals: define specific, measurable goals. break them down into smaller steps to make the progress manageable. goals provide a compass for your actions. they guide you toward what truly matters, helping you prioritize tasks and decisions. clarity reduces distractions, allowing you to stay focused on opportunities aligned with your objectives. goals also serve as benchmarks, allowing you to measure progress and celebrate achievements.

time blocking: allocate specific blocks of time for different tasks. my favourite tools for this are the notion calendar (it gives a great visual representation of tasks). by dedicating specific blocks of time to tasks, you minimize distractions and stay on track. when you commit to time blocks, you're more likely to complete tasks within those periods. knowing when you'll work on specific tasks reduces anxiety. it creates predictability and reduces decision fatigue.

take breaks: regular breaks improve focus and prevent burnout. step away from your desk, and stretch, or take a short walk. relaxing activities improve well-being and calm the central nervous system. the ideal break duration depends on individual preferences and the nature of the work. some strategies include utilizing the pomodoro technique, or the 20-20-20 rule. for screen-related work, every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. this reduces eye strain and refreshes focus. short breaks (5-10 minutes) are great for quick rejuvenation. longer breaks (15-30 minutes) allow deeper relaxation and can include a walk or light exercise.

stay healthy: prioritize sleep, exercise, and nutrition. a healthy body supports a productive mind. when you prioritize well-being, you create a solid foundation for effective work. chronic stress negatively impacts productivity. practice stress-reducing techniques like mindfulness, deep breathing, or meditation. a positive mindset enhances focus and creativity. prioritize self-care and emotional balance. invest in healthy habits such as good hydration, and balanced nutrition.

remember - productivity is about working smarter, not just harder. experiment with these strategies and find what works best for you!

i hope this post was helpful!

in today's diary: confidence at work 💕 scope increases 📈 work breakdown structure ✅ defeating anxiety and procrastination 🗡️

8:30 a.m. [아침에 불고기 만두와 토마토 🥟🍅]

i might be going on vacation in ~2 weeks but apparently that's not enough to stop my bosses from assigning me another project to lead just as my teammates and i are finishing the last 🤷‍♀️

but here's the real kicker: i don't actually mind?? 👀 if anything, i feel like i'm really coming into my own and hitting my stride as i grow my leadership and engineering abilities ☺️

maybe i'm going a bit ~delulu as i look forward to my vacation more and more the closer it gets, but that's just how i feel 🙈

and honestly, after battling impostor syndrome, especially as the youngest and now (again) the only woman on the team, i'm not gonna try to question myself out of this confident 😤

i've earned my confidence through (sometimes literal) blood, sweat, and tears, so i'm gonna bask in it so hard 😂☀️

9:00 a.m. [많이 많이 회의 💻🤝]

now, about the actual project...

there are two main documents involved here:

Product Requirements Document (PRD) — written by product managers, needs encompass for the entire feature

Architecture Design (we don't have a cool acronym, sorry) — written by engineering project leads, needs to encompass all the engineering requirements from databases to APIs

the Architecture Design is informed by the PRD, but today, the day before we're due to start actually executing the project, i was informed by our product manager that we actually have another user story we need to support 💀

so i did my research, and it doesn't seem like too much added work, so it's fine, i add it to the document.

then i continued a discussion with a senior colleague about a technical issue we've been having with this and similar projects...

🐨: it shouldn't be too much work to fix it this way, right? like an hour, tops? 🍋: unless we run into <the horrible pit of doom that shall not be named 🕳️> again, like remember <previous attempt at fixing this issue that fell into the horrible pit of doom 🕳️>? 🐨: right, but it shouldn't be affected the same way, in theory. 🍋: in theory... 🐨: and i mean, the alternative... 🍋: yeah... *adds the task to the doc somewhat reluctantly*

10:00 a.m. [계획의 회의에 준비 🤓✍️]

we have a big planning meeting tomorrow and i had a lot to prepare.

first, i noted down everything i want to do better or differently with this project compared to the last, so i can share those at the meeting tomorrow too.

then i got really happy cleaning up the architecture design and creating all of the tickets 🤩 usually i'm fine with big picture things, it's after i break it down and see how many little details are involved that i get overwhelmed 😰 but this time, i feel like it's really within our ability to do this project well! 💪

for the meeting tomorrow, i made sure i could explain exactly what was part of each ticket and what was covered by others, why i made certain choices in splitting up the work, what can be completed in parallel and/or in a single sprint, et cetera.

12:00 p.m. [점심에 달콤한 바베큐와 브로콜리 🍯🥦]

at this point, i was really starting to lose energy badly because i didn't sleep well the night before, but unlike the other times this has happened, i didn't let it negatively affect my mood today! 🥰

i told myself that if i let it get me down, i was only making myself suffer twice, and what was the point of that? so i ate well and resolved to go back to work with new energy!🔋

1:00 p.m. [코드의 신 🎶🎧]

there's this one task i've been procrastinating the entire sprint and today is the last day i can possibly work on it before the next project starts tomorrow 😬

i don't usually procrastinate this bad, and to be fair, there were a lot of other more urgent things that needed my attention, but in a way, i sort of... sought out literally anything else to do and kept myself stacked with higher priorities so that i wouldn't have to do this if that makes any sense 🌚🌝 but no more!!!

i put on my favorite music, and just started coding 🖥️⌨️🖱️

even though i was worried about the difficulty level, i've found recently that my favorite music helps decrease my stress so much — it's becoming a bit of a crutch 🙃 but it's the only thing that allows me to maintain focus for a long time and not feel like my anxiety is killing me for the entire duration 🥺

4:00 p.m. [보고서 쓰다 📝📊]

i finished my coding task and started writing my reports. this is a fairly new (and kinda boring) thing we have to do and i'm always (kinda willingly) forgetting to do them, so i set up a reminder for myself to just do a little bit at the end of every day.

5:00 p.m. [집에 가!! 🏡🏃‍♀️]

i have no idea if this was interesting at all, but i felt like it was a day of small victories for me, some of them in battles i never thought i'd win, so i wanted to write it to remember 😌

💬"Shine bright and prove them wrong 'Cause we can feel our progress" - straykids : blind spot

PRODUCTIVE WORKDAYS

WAKE UP AND DRINK A GLASS OF WATER

QUICK WORKOUT OR BRISK WALK

SHOWER AND GET DRESSED

HEALTHY BREAKFAST WITH COFFEE OR TEA

REVIEW DAILY GOALS AND PLAN TASKS

START WORK ON THE MOST IMPORTANT TASK

CREATIVE DAYS

WAKE UP AND DRINK A GLASS OF WATER

GENTLE STRETCHING OR YOGA

SHOWER AND GET DRESSED

LIGHT BREAKFAST

SPEND TIME JOURNALING OR BRAINSTORMING

START WORKING ON CREATIVE PROJECTS

RELAXING DAYS

WAKE UP AND DRINK A GLASS OF WATER

STAY IN BED FOR LIGHT READING OR MEDITATION

LEISURELY BREAKFAST

SIMPLE MORNING HYGIENE

TAKE A SHORT WALK OUTSIDE

ENJOY A HOBBY OR RELAXATION ACTIVITY