Along with photography, I have a full time job and I try to be healthy by going to the gym and not eating Taco Bell for every meal. Some weeks are better than others but hey, at least I am trying. With all of this and also trying to have a social life, sometimes things pile up. And when I have a few hours of free time, I get distracted by Instagram and TikTok. As I am sitting here trying to get social media posts scheduled and trying to figure out what to write, I am getting distracted by a game on my phone.
I like to think that I have a routine that helps me be more productive, but my husband might tell you differently. He will probably say that I have no reason to be writing about this topic but this is my blog so I am going to go ahead and talk about a topic I struggle with. This might be the blog post where we find out if he reads my blog or not, because he knows how easy it is to distract me.
So yeah, I will be the first to say that I am not great at it, but I have a few tips and tricks that help when I have to buckle down and get things done.
Make a To-Do List.
I love making lists, it helps me sort everything I am trying to remember and I am able to prioritize what can be taken care of quickly and what needs more time to complete. Plus I feel more productive when I am able to cross off tasks.
Take a Break, Or Two.
It sounds counter productive, but sometimes giving myself a break helps me reset my mind. I use social media with photography so sometimes I will let myself scroll through Facebook, other times I will let myself mentally check out.
Find an Environment That Works for You.
Even in college, I could not sit at my desk in my dorm room and just study. I had to go to a coffee shop or the library to focus. If not, I would prioritize chores that did not need to be done right away. Honestly, I still do that. Though getting the laundry done or cleaning out my car are chores that I put off anyway, I need to get things done for my business.
Block Out The Noise…. With More Noise.
I find that listening to music and podcasts help me focus on the task on hand. Having my headphones in makes me tune out other people in the coffee shop or my neighbor mowing their yard. My thought process is that I can focus better if I can control the background noise.
Don’t Be Still.
I will take my to-do list and group what tasks can be done together. Whether that is household chores, stuff I need to get done for photography, errands, etc. And then I set a SMALL goal to reach. Once I reach the goal, I switch up what I am doing and work on another task until I reach that goal.
For example: I have to plan out the next month of social media posts, schedule them, write a blog post, and reach back out to clients. I start with planning out a week of social media posts. Once I have that done, I will reach out to clients for 15 minutes. Then I go work on an outline for a blog post. Rough draft is done or I get writer’s block (shocker that happens constantly to me), I will begin to schedule the posts I just planned out. I usually go through a cycle or two like that to mix it up and prevent myself from becoming bored and zone out on my phone. I might even throw in a few house chores in the mix to make myself feel like I also got some house work done.
Everyone has their own way to be productive, some can be without any tricks and others have given up on trying. I like to think I am somewhere in the middle. I will have a mountain of laundry but I will pick editing photos over that any day.
What is your best trick to staying on task and being productive? Let me know in the comments, I would love to try some!