Dear students,
I recently read a book on productivity. Unlike other books that focus on time management skills, the author attends to how our brains work and how we can take advantage of this knowledge and plan our days strategically.
According to his book, Two awesome hours: Science-based strategies to harness your best time and get your most important work done, Josh Davis noted the following:
1. Use decision points wisely.
Once we start a task, we often go on autopilot to try to complete it. Moving from one task to the next quickly may feel productive, but we often end up doing things that are not of great urgency or importance. As such, be sure to pause after finishing one task and think carefully what needs to be accomplished before jumping on it.
2. Not all hours are created equal.
When planning our schedule, don’t just allocate time for different tasks but also think about the time of the day that suits each task best. Although some suggest to schedule the most demanding tasks in the morning, not all of us function optimally at that time. In contrast, try to schedule brain-intensive tasks after you have a chance to experience positive emotions (e.g., have lunch with friends) as positive feelings are associated with creativity and decision making speed.
3. Don’t fight mind-wandering.
When we realize that our minds are wandering, we often put down the primary task (e.g., writing an essay) and do something else (e.g., check our phone) to “recharge.” However, as many of us know, hours could go by before we return to the main task. Instead, it may be better to let the mind wander (e.g., look out the window) for a few minutes without switching task.
4. Mind-body connection.
This is the most straightforward: We can’t think well if we don’t eat well or exercise regularly. However, exercise moderately for optimal effects on productivity.
5. Control the environment.
Noise distracts. When one needs to focus, the mental energy needed to block out noise will reduce our productivity. On the other hand, sufficient brightness (especially blue light) in the room will enhance attention and logical thinking. Interestingly, dim light can sometimes increase creative thinking too. So, depending on the task at hand, you can adjust the level of brightness in the room for maximal effectiveness.