Oftentimes when we’ve had a long day at work or school, it becomes so exhausting that when we finally get home all we feel like doing is lying down on our sofa, watch TV, browse social media, you name it. But it is very important to be in that productive mindset even after we’ve come home, so here are five tips to help all of us at least become a little more productive with our time after a long day.
1. Have a routine (or general idea of what you want to get done)
Have a routine or at least have an idea of what you want to accomplish when you get home. Personally for me when I get home, I have a tendency to lie down and just go to sleep and never get back up. So instead I like to change into my workout clothes and head out to the gym or just go for a bike ride.
2. Have a goal/hobby outside of school/work
Many of us are students or working, and we often set our goals in terms of our academics or careers, but it does not necessarily have to be that way. For instance, many people want to be fit and stay active and healthy, and it becomes hard to do something about it especially when you become tired from a day of studying and/or working. For me personally, I started training for 5K marathon I plan on running in around Thanksgiving. Setting this goal to run in a marathon has made it easier for me to actually get out and run when I come home from school. It does not necessarily have to be fitness related, you can just have a hobby that you want to pursue whether it’s reading a book, knitting, painting, or freestyle rapping, hobbies give you an opportunity to take breaks with a purpose as well as provide an outlet for you to de-stress.
3. Have a clean and organized work space
Have you ever had the urge to start cleaning your desk or room (or entire house) when you know you have so much work to do/studying to get done? I’m certainly guilty of this during exams week, and especially finals week. Try to keep your work space consistently clean. Get in the habit of cleaning your desk after you’re done using it for the night so the next evening when you come back to work on it, it will be spacious and ready for you to start focusing on just doing your work. Alternatively, if you are still finding it hard to focus at home, I recommend Startupbnb‘s co-working spaces which provide you with everything that you need to focus on your work in a tidy and gorgeously furnished environment.
(Image taken from Startupbnb)
4. Have a big picture goal
Have something in mind that you want to accomplish in your after school or work hours. Not something that you can work on in just one day, but something you can work on over a long period of time. It can be something basic like getting an A in your class, working on an application or maybe even on a big project. Try to make this goal manageable by breaking it down into smaller tasks that can be accomplished each day. Whether it is reading a chapter of a book that you are learning from everyday, working on a project you can make a list of all the tasks that need to be done and work on 1-2 items each day keep your ultimate goal in mind and let it motivate you.
5. Have a scheduled time on when to stop working
Go to bed at a scheduled time! For a lot of people, nighttime feels like this infinite amount of time, so they often start pushing things that need to get done back. So instead of starting their work right away, they say that they will watch this show first and then get to work, or go out with their friends and grab dinner and then start working on their assignments. What ends up happening is you end up sacrificing sleep and start going to bed later and later every night. Sleep is important! Think of sleep as a part of your active learning process. I like to go to bed at a certain time each night ensuring that I will get 7-8 hours of sleep each night.
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