16/100 Days of Productivity

16/100 days of productivity

15/100 Days of Productivity

18/100 Days of Productivity

Happy Wednesday, everybody! 

I just came out of what seems to be my fifth hiatus this year and instead of taking each passing day meticulously planning out what I’m going to post, I’ve decided to just post something. 

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This week is about maintaining focus. I have about a month left in my undergrad career (minus the last three weeks of Winter term that’s dedicated to my dissertation), which means I have about a month left to really make the most out of it. This semester, I’ve noticed that my focus has deteriorated a ton and looking back at old studyblr posts and even Instagram archived stories confirm that. For some reason, I’m just a lot more distracted and a lot less focused. 

For the next week, I am challenging myself (and challenging you) to maintain focus. This challenge includes self-awareness since you’re going to need to dial in and check in on yourself to see if you’re becoming distracted, proactivity since you’re going to need to figure out ways (maybe even new ways) to keep yourself focused on tasks, and discipline since this challenge entails putting distractions away especially when you catch yourself getting distracted by them. 

I am predicting a lot of temptations ahead of me. This challenge means saying no to hanging out with friends if I have some studying that needs to be prioritized, actively taking myself off of social media, admitting to myself that I’m becoming distracted, and trying out different methods that may be uncomfortable at first in order to keep myself on track. 

I am aiming this challenge towards my study goals as well as my fitness goals. This morning, I woke up extremely early but spent an hour and a half rolling around in bed scrolling through social media... that hour and a half could’ve been spent preparing and eating breakfast, heading out to the gym, reading a book, meditating... you get the idea--I could’ve been more productive.

I will be logging my thoughts if I feel the need to do so and will be sharing any techniques that have helped me along the way!

The other day I finally got myself out of the house and into a coffeehouse to study--okay, let’s be honest, a Starbucks to study. For the first time in a really long time, I was able to finish a good chunk of my work with no distractions and only took breaks based on the Pomodoro technique. 

I discovered that I can read a chapter for my Abnormal Psychology class in about an hour (with notes) and senior research doesn’t seem so daunting when you allow yourself to fall into a steady flow of focus. 

Starting a new chapter in life is always scary. As humans, we often fear the unknown, so just remember that feeling scared is normal. However, remember to have faith. Trust in God’s plans and that everything will eventually work itself out even if it does so in ways you never thought possible. The questions you are currently asking will soon be answered, you will be at the right place at the right time, and whatever you may have in mind--God always comes up with something way better. 

See rejection as redirection. When the time comes and you don’t get the results you’d hoped for--the job you were really banking on getting or the school you were really hoping to get accepted into--remember that it doesn’t lessen your worth; it’s simply redirecting you to something that you’re better suited for. 

This week’s post is an attitude check; a cue for self-reflection. 

How have you been acting during times when you’re waiting for something (exam results, licensure test results, waiting on graduate school acceptances, etc.)? Do you easily give up? Do you find ways to stay motivated and hopeful? 

How have you been acting during times when you’ve accomplished something?  Do you build walls keeping others away from your success? Do you share your success stories in hopes to lift others up as well?