For the last 12 months, I have been fascinated with personal development, both physically and mentally. I came to a point in my life where I felt like something had to change.
I have never been to university or attempted to study outside of high school; I always found learning to be difficult, and I would get defeated about my lack of motivation or distraction.
I all of a sudden had this hunger for knowledge and had no idea what to do with it, I could remember those years where my parents would tell me to knuckle down and study, and I never listened, I now realise they were right. My first hurdle to overcome was procrastinating. The first thing that comes to mind when trying to be more productive? Read about it on Medium.
Don't get me wrong; Medium is a fantastic place to find information and read articles about almost anything. The issue I have with it is Mediums self-help articles.
"How to change your life in 30 days", "7 Strategies That Will Help You Eliminate Procrastination.", "How to be more productive at work".
While these articles have solid takeaways, they are also apart of the problem. Reading every article, you can find on
being productive is the opposite to being productive, you have to actuality put in the work to get results, but it's a lot easier just to keep reading self-help stories and telling yourself that you got your shit together then actually getting your shit together.
Sure, having tools to help be more productive in work and life are great, just don't get obsessed with them. Using a bullet journal, toggl and having a full calendar does not necessarily mean you have it figured out, trust me, I did this for months, and it does not work.
All it takes to be more productive is time management. Pick one tool, a calendar, a journal or an online notepad. Write down what you need to get done, and tick it off. It's okay not to get everything done in a day. The idea is to just focus on what is essential and to realise when your focus has shifted.