Time Management While Distance Learning

Over the course of time I have had this blog, I have learned new ways to be productive, and I hope my suggestions and findings have been helpful for those that have tried them. From trying various ways of staying motivated and organized to finding new ways to be motivated and stay on track (though I have definitely struggled). One thing I have to say and remind others that feel like they are not doing as best as they think they should be - it's okay to mess up. Let me tell you about the ways I have become inspired and motivated during these tough times. 

Staying Productive in Quarantine: Products and Suggestions Words cannot describe the number of times I have wanted to study and do my work in a coffee shop or in my university's library just for a change of scenery. Working from home in my room at my desk for the last year has been far from ideal, and I have tried my best to make it comfortable and designated for work so that my room that once was only meant for relaxation and sleep. Because I miss the comradery of working with other students and around other people, I have made some more changes to encourage myself to feel motivated and productive while working from home. What Have I Done to Boost Productivity? I have struggled to stay motivated working from home. My at-home workspace was far from ideal, so I often would go to a local coffee shop or go to my university's library before the pandemic hit. When I was in those environments, I felt like I had a designated work area and very little distraction, which is what I did n...

  Not Enough Time In my last post, I talked about getting a timer and using that as a means of keeping a goal to work on a selected task. When thinking of that technique and that people often use goals to complete tasks, I realize that it can be difficult for some people to focus for a long period of time. I have found that working in my own classes sometimes, especially when the class times are longer, I have trouble staying focused for the whole class period. So, I did some research for those of us that may have trouble staying focused for a long period of time.

Productivity Is Down In Quarantine   I have been wanting to increase my productivity lately, and as I am sure you are aware, being productive during this time working at home is hard to do. We are working in our homes and in our bedrooms that are normally meant to be the places where we can relax. In one of my psychology classes I have taken, I learned you are not meant to send children to their room as a punishment because they will begin to correlate their rooms with punishment and no longer a place of peace and comfort. We can take that same concept and apply it to our current situations working and learning from home. So, how can we make the most of our time working and learning from home when it is already so difficult to do?

 One of the things that I have consistently turned to keep time is a planner. Planners are great for a few reasons:  1. They are great for people that need visuals to make sense of their days 2. They can help you look ahead in your week 3. They come in so many styles, you can most definitely find one that fits your needs I have found myself using 2 planners for my use. One I use for planning and keeping track of things that need to be done for school, and the other I use for work.  The one I use for work can be found here . The reason this specific planner works well for me is that in the daily sections, there is a half of them that is sectioned off for "to-do"s. I use that to keep track of what is due for that day. For time management, that helps me be aware of what I need to have done so I can plan accordingly.  My work planner is much simpler, which I got from Amazon. I work in mental health and I use that planner to keep track of the meetings I have with my clien...