Tips for Productivity and Time Management

One of my 2021 goals is to try and have better time management skills throughout my day. I want to create habits that help with productivity throughout my day. I am the type of person who needs to have structure and almost routine to feel centered and balanced throughout my week. Starting at the beginning of January, I have started to incorporate habits and structures to help with my time management and productivity skills that I will share. If I am honest, I have not stuck to these routines every day, but I hope that by the end of February, these tips will become set habits. So here are my tips for time management and productivity.  

• Figure out the days that you are most productive and least productive. For the past few years, I have been one to procrastinate and do assignments on Sunday, but I felt that it took me 12 hours to write one paragraph. So now I restructure my weeks where I try to make sure that all my school tasks for the weeks are done by Friday since during the week is when my brain is focused on school. I use my Sundays to plan, clean, hang with friends, and finish up any work tasks I may have. 
• Planning out my week. I have been someone who has used a planner for dates and assignments but not really for planning. What I have done is that I make it a priority to sit down and really plan. I look at what needs to be accomplished and what is scheduled for my week, and I go day by day and try to plan out a loose schedule for that day. What I want to accomplish, what needs to be done, and during what time.
• Planning out meals. I am someone to the grocery store with a list. I walk about with too much food and not a single meal. Each week I plan out what I need and what I think my body will want to eat that week based on items that I currently have.
• Prepping meals for busy days. I am not someone who can make all the food for the entire week in one day. I wouldn’t say I like it. I hate cooking, and it also takes up so much room in the fridge. I am also someone who, if I am busy, the last thing I want to do is set out the time to cook a meal. What I have found helpful is on the days that I am less busy prepping for days when I am busy. So on Tuesday mornings, I do not have class till 10, so when I make breakfast, I also make breakfast for Wednesday since I have worked at 8 am. 
• Not looking at my phone 1 hour after I wake up and 1 hour before I go to bed. I find that when I am looking at my phone, it distracts my thoughts. By not looking at my phone the first hour of my morning, I focus on setting up my day for success. For the night, I am allowing my brain to slow down to have a better sleep. 
• Setting a time to stop focusing on working. As a student and someone who works from home, there is no clock in and clock out time. I found that I was doing work from 8 am to 10 pm, and my body felt drained. This led to my next day feeling off and not structured because I overworked myself the day before. I now set a stop time, and I spend the rest of the day hanging out with my roommates, settling down. I have found that it allows me to be less drained the next day.