Here are some tips for an effective morning routine to set up for success:
Your circadian rhythm will try to ensure your body naturally wakes up at a similar time every day and gets sleepy around the same time as well. Therefore, it is important to ensure you aren’t hitting the snooze button too frequently and are avoiding too many late nights. Keeping a similar sleeping pattern, even on weekends, helps you sleep better, keeps you more focused throughout the day, and provides more energy.
Light is crucial in controlling circadian rhythm and natural sunlight can help you kick off your day. Natural light helps improve your mood and ability to complete tasks. It’s okay to sleep in complete darkness but try to open your blinds first thing when you wake up.
If you sleep around 7-9 hours, that’s a lot of hours without water and your body can become a little dehydrated. To help replenish your fluids and ensure your metabolism runs throughout the day, it is important to have a glass of water as soon as you can once you’re up.
Skipping breakfast can make you feel less energetic, therefore have you feeling tired most of your morning and throughout the day. Eating breakfast is also linked to help improve cognitive function, increasing concentration and productivity. Eating breakfast is important, but it is more important to ensure you are eating a well-balanced, healthy breakfast to kick start your day. Take some time in the morning to cook a healthy breakfast or prep an easy breakfast the night before.
Exercising in the morning has many benefits, including increasing energy, boosting metabolism, making you happier and sleeping better. Your morning exercise routine doesn’t have to be anything intense and can just be a short walk or skipping rope. A morning workout sets you up with a positive mindset for the day.
Your willpower is often strongest in the morning, so it’s best to tackle a difficult task to start your day. What this task is will completely rely on your personal, professional and/or academic goals. Some examples are jotting down notes for a meeting, starting a project or simply checking and replying to emails.
In our opinion meditation is severely underrated for the benefits it provides. Meditation done correctly can help decrease stress and anxiety, improve sleep, and promote overall well-being. Meditating first thing in the morning sets the right mood for the day and helps you feel calm. All you need is a 5-to-10-minute meditation session. If you’re a beginner, you may want to start with guided meditation.
This can be done at night or in the morning but should be based on what you want to accomplish that day. Make a list of tasks you want to accomplish early, even before you head to work (or start your workday). Make sure your list includes your work/school and personal tasks. A checklist is best so you can check off the items you have successfully completed, which helps you feel even more motivated and fills you with a sense of pride. Make sure your list is attainable but still meaningful – you don’t want to feel discouraged if you don’t get everything done before the end of the day.
These are just some things to include to your morning routine to get set for success. Some of the most successful people in the world swear by these and follow this routine on the daily. Your routine will vary based on your personal schedule, but this is just somewhere to get started.
]]>As much joy as new notebooks bring us, there’s also a concern about using them effectively. One of our Scribbly family members asked us to provide some tips on how to use a notebook more effectively. I’m sure many of us could benefit from this. I find that I only use part of a notebook before moving on to the next one. Sometimes there are blank pages left or only half a notebook used, but to avoid confusion I’ll start another one.
If you feel like you do the same, then these tips are for you!
The key to ensuring using your notebook effectively is making sure you buy a notebook that is right for you. Do you like lines, dots, or blank pages? If you don't know the answer, ask yourself what you need the notebook for or rather how you use the notebook. If you need a notebook to simply take notes, you may like a lined notebook. If you like to draw diagrams or figures, you may prefer a notebook with dots or a blank page to allow more freedom. Your choice of notebook will help make sure you use your notebook effectively. We offer a variety of style of notebooks and journals that you may like to explore.
Using a different notebook for different subjects helps keep things in order and organized. It also makes it easy for you to quickly reference a notebook you need at the time. Some ideas on how split notebooks are: projects, meetings, notes, or personal journal. This way you know exactly which notebook would have what information.
Ever find that you have to spend ages flipping through a notebook to find exactly what you’re looking for? Using an index or table of contents can help keep things organized. When starting a new notebook, leave the first 1-3 pages blank, that way you can keep adding the pages numbers and their respective subjects to the index. This will help you save time in the long run. The next three tips will help you create an effective index.
One of the most important things to keep your notebook organized. Write the date of your entry at the top; whether it’s the top right or left is completely up to you, but make sure you’re consistent. Personally, I find the top right-hand corner the most effective for easy reference if I’m flipping through the notebook looking for a specific date.
A heading at the top of the page should be a summary of what you’ll find in the writings below. This will help you organize your index and ensure you know what information is on those pages for later reference. You may not always know what heading to give when you start your notes, and that is okay. Finish your notes or meeting and add a heading at the end that you know will help you identify what information is on that page.
This is very important if you are using an index. Make sure you don’t skip numbers on any pages, even if those pages are blank. Page numbers are often better on the bottom of the page as it’s easy to open a corner of the notebook to search for a page number. Wherever you choose to include your page number, make sure you are consistent across the notebook.
We often feel like we should use up that half a page left blank from a previous entry, but it’s really best that you don’t. Starting new entries half-way through a page can cause confusion when you need to look back for information. Starting on a new page, with a header, you can go back and quickly find things you need.
By using coloured pens and sticky tabs, you can further organize your information. Assign colours to specific information you want to track. Maybe one colour for topics, another for definitions, and one for questions – understand your needs and assign colours accordingly. Sticky tabs work similarly as well. You can use sticky tabs to point to specific information on pages or simply bookmark a page you need to go back to frequently. Sticky pads are also helpful in adding additional notes to a page one it is complete.
Notebooks are a great way of keeping information organized and in one place, but it is important to ensure they are being used effectively. We shouldn’t think of notebooks as just a book of paper to pour our thoughts on and forget about, but instead as a reference guide that you may need to go back to frequently.
]]>We understand that to-do lists aren’t set in stone, can change day-to-day, and so many things are just out of our controls. Having a weekly plan gives you an idea of what can and cannot be moved around to accommodate those last-minute requests. Your plan shouldn’t just include your work life, but also take your personal life into consideration. This helps create a healthier work-life balance.
Here are some tips on how to get organized for the week ahead.
Perhaps the most important part of preparing for the week ahead is knowing what to expect. Grab your calendar (personal and work), to-do lists, look through emails and get scheduling. It’s helpful to have a planner, deskpad, journal or digital organizer to help you sort through your tasks and prioritize your to-do list.
This goes hand-in-hand with prioritizing and scheduling. When creating your schedule for the week, don’t forget to add some fun time for yourself in there! This could include personal alone time or plans with family and friends. If you schedule this time into your calendar, you are more likely to stick to it. This also includes scheduling time for your health and wellness – to work out, get a massage, or just simply go for a walk.
Most likely the biggest challenge during the week. Sometimes the week ends up getting so busy that you either start skipping meals or are too tired to cook and order out. To help your body and bank account, try preparing meals ahead of time. This doesn't necessarily mean you have to cook your breakfast, lunch and dinner for the week on a weekend, but could include things like:
Having a meal plan also ensures that you can maintain a healthy, well-balanced diet as opposed to being tempted by fast food.
The last thing you want in the middle of a busy week is have a messy household or run out of clothes. Take some time during your days off to clean your home and do your laundry. Doing your laundry ensures you have enough clean clothes to get you through the week and not create panic. By having a clean home, you’ll be in a better mood when you return from work and not stress about having to clean the washroom. And if you do have to do some sprucing throughout the week, it will just be quick and minimal!
If you work anywhere without a uniform, you know how stressful it is to have a different outfit every day. Planning your outfits for the week or even the next day can help you not only save time, but also the stress. Have your outfits clean and ironed to be ready to go for the week. It also helps to have a couple neutral pair of pants and just mix and match your tops for the week!
Getting as many chores done on the weekend and creating a plan for the week ahead can help you feel less stressed and more prepared as you head back to work. This could have a positive impact on your emotional and physical well-being. Being prepared means you can hit to ground running and not feel overwhelmed by the start of a new week. Spending time planning what you want to accomplish can help ensure you have a great and productive week.
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Staying on track with goals can be a struggle. We’re here to inspire you and provide you with a few tips that can help you stay on track.
The first step towards achieving your goals is to write them down. Whether you use a planner, journal, vision board, or whiteboard – start by clearly writing down your goals. It’s also a good idea to have your goals written down in multiple places and have them in a place you can see all the time.
They say Rome wasn’t built in a day. Achieving goals can be the same. It can take a while to achieve goals and a proper timeline should be set for each goal. When determining your goals for the year, ask yourself, can this be accomplished within a year? Sometimes your goals could take years to accomplish, such as launching a successful business – so it may help by setting milestones you want to accomplish that year. Maybe it’s just finishing the market research and creating a business plan, if your goal is to start a business.
It’s not enough to just determine and write down goals; you need to have an actionable plan to reach those goals. Some ways to do this are by creating a step-by-step guide on how to work towards your goals or dates and deadlines for a task list. You may even have a flow chart of how to get back to your goals if you fall off track. A plan isn’t always a straight line to the goals but also includes contingencies should you fall off track.
There are many unique ways to track goals. There are some great apps available if you use your phone to track goals. If you like using a journal, you can create some fun pages to track goals. Whatever your preference, it is important to set certain milestone and deadlines in your plan. You may even choose to create rewards for yourself when creating the plan. Just add to your tracker which milestone earns you which reward!
Goals and plans aren’t something you make at the beginning of the year and that’s it. It is important to have daily, weekly, and monthly check ins. Choose a day of the day that you sit down and just plan out the week ahead. This will help you stay on track and have a productive week. Once a month, check in how far you’ve come and where you still need to go. Check in again after 3-6 months to see if you need to make any changes. Goals are not set-in stone and can change as circumstances change – it's good to be flexible.
If goal trackers and plans don’t work for you, you may want to pair up with an accountability partner. This could be a friend, colleague, or someone you met in an online group. Accountability partners not only help ensure you stay on top of your goals but can sometimes also help guide you in right direction.
It’s easy to get in lost in the negativity of falling off track, which is why it is important to set a positive mindset. Instead of focusing on how you fell off track, focus on what you’ve already accomplished. It’s important to have a good attitude about your plan, but also in life in general. Negativity comes quite easily, but positivity can take work. Rather than focusing on why your manager is annoying you, focus on something good your manager did for you. Shifting your mindset to focus on the good, helps you achieve more good.
It’s important to determine what works for you and what doesn’t. Something that works for someone may not necessarily work for you. Take a look at how you achieved goals in the past, what habits helped you stay on track? Which habits didn’t? It’s also okay to try something new to see if it works for you. If doesn't help within the first few days or weeks, it’s time to switch strategies.
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The new year is all about resolutions, celebration, and starting fresh. There are different ways people look at the new year: to some, it’s merely another year and nothing special, to others it’s the annual time of the year to come up with resolutions to focus on for the upcoming year. But when goals and resolutions don’t come with a proper plan, we often forget about them in a few days. Which is why we like to come up with a word of the year, which can be less rigid than resolutions, providing flexibility and a gentle reminder for creating positive change and moving towards achieving your goals.
Choosing a word of the year can be quite a simple process, but should be well-thought and intentional. Your word should be more of a guiding principle of your actions and intentions to help you continue to stay on course with your goals. Think of it as more of a theme for the year as opposed to a set of rules to follow.
Here are five tips on how to choose your word of the year:
Without reflecting on the previous year, it's very difficult to understand or determine the direction you want to go for the new year. It is important to first look at the past to move towards the future.
Start reflecting on the previous year, with some simple questions. Just jot down your answers, without editing. Your answers will help guide you towards what you want, don’t want or have been missing.
These are just some questions to get you started, you may wish to go through some additional questions for further clarity.
Think more about a feeling as opposed to the physical aspects of the year. How do you want to feel when you wake up, in the middle of the day, before bed? Try some exercises to relax before you start imagining your year: light a candle, meditate, take a bath or anything else that helps you relax.
Visualizing your year will also help you determine what your goals are for the year. After all, your word of the year should be a theme that is aligned with your goals and vision.
Set your timer for 5-10 minutes and just start writing all the words that come to mind– no editing!
Here’s a list of some words to get you started:
Review your list and start narrowing down. Depending on the size of your list, you may want to highlight 3-5 words that catch your attention. Chances are you’ll find a running theme between the words and may even find some synonyms!
Think closely about the shortlisted words and see what fits. Review your goals, look at your list and trust your gut.
Now that you have your shortlisted words and your goals in front of you – line them up. Determine the word that fits the best and you can commit to. If you feel you can’t commit to any of the words, take some time to think about it or go back and review your words again. This process could take a day or so – try not to rush.
Choosing your word is only the first step. Now memorize it, put it in your calendar, on your mirror, jot it in your notebooks, make it your back or wherever you will see it regularly. My word of the year is focus, what is yours?
]]>With the constant planning of holiday dinners, gift lists, and for this particular year, trying to make sure how to make the holidays special, it can be hard to make the most of the holidays. With the busy hustle and bustle of the holiday season, we often forget the most important part of the holidays – being thankful, spending time with friends and family, and giving back.
Here are five ways to give your holiday season a meaningful makeover:
Charity is something we all think about but aren’t always actively focusing on. This year especially, with the pandemic, it is more important than ever to support charitable organizations and causes that are close to you. A lot of non-profits are struggling this year and unfortunately many have already had to close their doors. Supporting those in need not only helps the community, but also helps improve your mood, self-esteem, and happiness. You don’t always have to give back monetarily, even volunteering at your local shelter (or equivalent) helps!
Sometimes it’s hard to remember all the things you’re grateful for. Or maybe with everything wrong in the world, you sometimes forget to take a moment of gratitude. Gratitude is extremely important as it helps increase mental strength and improves self-esteem, among many other benefits. To see what you have to be grateful for this year, try creating a visual representation of all those moments. One way to do this is by creating a gratitude tree.
The one thing I firmly believe what the holidays are intended for is spending time with those close to you, whether it’s friends, family, or pets. Life is constantly on the go, so it is important to take out some time from those busy schedules for those that matter the most. Express with your actions rather than words how much they mean to you. This year you may not be able to gather together to celebrate, so find some time for a video chat or maybe just a phone call.
I love trying new recipes and the holidays are the perfect time for this! Cooking or baking doesn’t have to be a chore, it can also be a relaxing activity to spend with family. If you have kids, baking and decorating cookies might be a fun activity to do with them. Or you might try a new recipe for Christmas dinner to share with those whom you celebrate with. You might even have some old recipes that your mom or grandma made for you each year, find those and try making those this year!
Traditions are only traditions once they’ve been created. Your family may not have holiday traditions, but that doesn’t mean you can’t create new ones. Traditions can include anything: maybe you decorate your tree together; maybe you play board games with friends; or maybe your family cooks family dinner together. A family tradition can be anything and doesn’t need to be culturally or religiously binding. Find whatever works for you and it can be your new holiday tradition!
Holidays can sometimes feel like a burden or superficial with the urge to please everyone with your gifts or dinner parties. Find new ways to help make the most of your holiday season by making the holidays more meaningful. Remember to make your holidays enjoyable for you, so you come out feeling exactly like how you want to!
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Most people don’t give their finances a second thought until motivated to do so by an upcoming wedding, large purchase, or a natural disaster. But it is important to stay on top of your finances and luckily, it’s not as difficult as it seems to be.
Like with anything, all you need is a plan. Developing a financial plan can help you simplify your income and expenses and making managing your financials as seamless as possible.
Think about what your long-term goals are – it could be anything from planning your dream vacation to retiring comfortably. When working out your personal finances, it is important to know what your long-term (or short-term) goals are. The sooner you can start putting aside funds for your goals, the more seamless your financial routine becomes. Consider writing your long-term goals on paper or drawing up a vision board to help you imagine your goals.
In order to successfully start saving for your goals, it is important to distinguish between what are needs and wants. Your needs and wants may start to change as you consider your personal and financial goals.
Need: Something that is necessary, required or essential. I.e., something you cannot give up, like your rent.
Want: Something that you’d like, a nice to have, but not necessarily needed. I.e., those second pair of boots, even though you already own something similar.
It is important to evaluate your needs and wants when getting finances in order.
Creating a budget can seem like a daunting task, even scary, but is a vital step in knowing where cash is coming and going. A budget doesn’t need to include complicated spreadsheets of cash flow or balance sheets but can simply just start off in the notes section of your phone. It is more important to know when your money is coming in, how much is coming in, where your money is going out, and how much is going out than having a sophisticated tool to do so. A budget is important to help you figure out how much money is earned, saved, and being spent. From here, you can see your financials at a glance and make informed decisions on your income and expenses and allocate funds to other areas of spending.
Once you feel comfortable with tracking your income and expenses, you can switch over to tools that help you track, such as apps or spreadsheets.
We’d all love to save more and spend less, but that’s not always feasible. Savings don’t always need to be hundreds of dollars a month – it can be making small changes that help you save a little more. Consider making coffee in the morning instead of spending $2 every morning buying coffee, that could help save you up to $730 a year. Or cancel that extra streaming subscription you never use, but spend $10/month on, that could help save you up to $120 a year. These savings may not seem large, but these small changes can help you pad up those savings for the future. Also consider moving money from your chequing account to a savings account to ensure you don’t spend that extra money. Better yet, set up recurring payments to automatically transfer into your savings after each payday. Check in every month and you’ll be surprised to see the difference it’s made!
Credit cards are convenient but can be harmful if you’re someone who struggles with money management. By switching to cash-only, not only do you get rid of the high-interest attached with certain credit cards but can also easily track your income and expenses. The biggest benefit of switching to cash-only is that you only spend what you have.
Finally, it’s important to not fall into a habit of impulsive spending. Spending consciously ensures that you are aware of your financials and spend accordingly. It also means that you can occasionally treat yourself instead of just spending on the essentials. Occasional treats also mean you are not inclined to go on a spending spree when the urge arises.
Finances can be challenging, but don’t let that deter you from keeping track of your income and expenses. Gaining control of your financials is a task worth doing so as it empowers you to reach your goals. At the end of the day, keeping your finances in order will make you feel happier, more organized, less stressed, and give you a clear picture of your financial standing.
]]>One of the biggest complaints you’ve probably experienced or heard is there there’s just not enough time to accomplish everything, leaving you feel frazzled and tired. It’s so easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of day-to-day life with commitments, activities, and scheduled. Once you’ve been sucked down the rabbit hole, before you know it another day or week has gone by and you’re left wondering where the time went.
The good news is, there’s a way to make time last just a little bit longer! Here are ten simple hacks to add to your routine to make the most of your available time and finish that last task on your to-do list.
A lot of morning time is spent doing mundane tasks, like picking your clothes, cooking breakfast and/or lunch, or finding the laptop charger. These tasks can make the morning stressful and leave you feeling rushed or frazzled. Try prepping a lot of the materials you need in the morning, the next before. Pick out your outfit, iron it, and lay it out on the chair for you to easily get dressed in the morning. Try meal prepping breakfast and lunch foods, so all you need to do is grab the container and get moving. Get your bag ready at night with all your essentials, documents, laptop and laptop charger. By doing these simple tasks the night before you can prepare the body for a more restful sleep and an easier morning.
Possibly the most important thing for an impactful day, yet the most overlooked. If you don’t get enough sleep, you’ll be tired the entire day. If you’re tired the entire day, it’s likely you’re not able to make effective use of your time. So, make it a habit of getting enough sleep each night.
Similar to how lack of sleep can negatively affect your day, so can a break in routine. You should have a set time you wake up every day, which should be the same even on weekends. It’s understandable that you want to sleep in on weekends, but if you get enough sleep every day, you won’t need those extra two hours on the weekend! Having a strict start time every day can be a game changer and help days flow with minimal stress and unpredictability.
Spend some time in the morning to create a daily schedule by using a physical planner or planning app. Go through your emails, tasks from yesterday, project list and anything else you need to accomplish and start a priority list for the day or week. Also make a list of things that you’re waiting on, so nothing slips through the cracks. Once you’ve scheduled your day or week, set deadlines for all your tasks. Giving yourself deadlines provides accountability and is one of the best ways to stay organized and save time.
When setting up your schedule, plan it in time blocks. Assign yourself 50-60 minutes to work on specific work tasks, then schedule a 10-minute break. As much as finishing a checklist is important, it is also essential for your brain to take a little break to feel refreshed. This helps balance work and rest, so you don’t feel burnout.
Have you ever started working, then saw an email notification pop up and focused on replying to that email? This is a quick way of losing track of time and becoming unfocused. If an email or text is going to take more than 2 minutes of your time to complete, leave it alone and come back to it when you’ve finished a task off your to-do list. Once you’ve set your priorities for the day, focus on completing those before turning to other tasks. Turn off email, text, and other notifications. Instead allocate times in your schedule when you check your emails and texts around the time you’ve scheduled your break.
Not everyone is great at delegating tasks. Many people believe that no one can do it better than they can, but sometimes taking on too much is why you’re losing time. Delegating can be done at work or at home. Focus on the skills of your team or family and help delegate tasks that someone else can do, so you can focus on the things you need done.
It’s easy to get sucked into the rabbit hole while scrolling through social media, watching TV or playing games. Once you’ve started your mindless scrolling on Instagram, next thing you know, three hours have gone by and you still have a pile of work left to do. Limit your interactions to a few minutes, every few hours for social media. Set specific time blocks throughout the day for when you will watch TV or play video games and stick to that schedule. Doing mindless tasks like these is a really easy way to lose track of time.
Proactively schedule your vacations, downtimes, and workout sessions in your calendar. By adding it to your calendar, your colleagues will not be able to book meetings during your downtime. Adding it to your calendar also helps make sure you are taking that downtime. Taking some time throughout the day for yourself, to focus on your health, will help you feel more relaxed and energized.
It’s not always easy saying no. When you’re just starting your career, you get into a habit of saying yes to everything. This is a habit that can be really hard to break and has you saying yes to too many things. If you have too much on your plate already or know your schedule won’t be free for the next few weeks, learn to say no to new things coming your way. By explaining why you’re saying no to new things will help you prove that you’re not being lazy but are genuinely too busy for something.
While you can't increase the amount of time in a day, there are many habits you can add to your routine that can bring efficiency to your day. With increased efficiency, there is an illusion that you now have more time. Not because there's physically more time, but because you now have a way to create a more impactful day.
]]>I have always noticed that some days I am extremely productive, while on others I want to curl up into a ball and take a nap. My brain wants to be productive, but my body just feels like its lacking the energy to do anything productive. This makes sense as the number one reason for decreased productivity is lack of sleep.
If you haven’t slept enough, likely your day has just gone downhill from there. While sleep is one of the most important aspects of our lives that help our body function, there are other habits to adapt that can help boost productivity as well.
Here are seven habits to add to your daily routine for a highly productive day.
This is an obvious one. If you don’t sleep enough, you’ll feel tired the next day. If you’re tired, you won’t have the energy to get through the day, let alone focus on that to-do list. There are many studies that suggest the optimal sleep a person needs daily is anywhere between 7-9 hours, but I truly believe it varies by person and age. Find out how many hours of sleep you need, what time you need to wake up, and work backwards to determine what time you should go to bed. To ensure you’re actually falling asleep at your bedtime, turn off any electronics (including phones and TVs) at least an hour before your bedtime.
Don’t rush through your morning; give yourself at least an extra 20 minutes to wake up. Rushing through your morning can leave your frazzled and forgetful, by giving yourself enough time in the morning you can help prepare yourself for the day. Some very successful people also suggest waking up early to tackle the day. It is believed that by waking up earlier, you can tackle the day before getting caught in the hustle and bustle of the day. Waking up earlier and getting enough sleep also increases decision-making skills.
Everyone has a different form exercise they like and time of day to work out. Personally, I’ve never understood how someone can go to the gym in the evening, after dinner; I would feel way too energized to go to bed. Regardless of the time you like to get moving, exercise is important. Studies show that regular exercise helps increase memory, concentration, and mental sharpness. Perhaps, this is the reason that it is often suggested that you should do some form of exercise in the morning. Exercising in the morning can boost energy, increase alertness, provide better focus and put you in a better mood for the day.
We’ve always heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but don’t always treat it like that. Sometimes you may grab a granola bar while running to school or get a cup of coffee to go because you’re late for work, ignoring the advice that you should have a healthy, balanced breakfast. Breakfast is the first meal you’re likely having after dinner, which can be anywhere between 10-13 hours after you’ve had your last meal. This is why it is also the most important meal of the day. A healthy, balanced breakfast helps boost metabolism and replenish blood-sugar levels to help increase productivity. It’s not about having a complicated breakfast, it’s about having a smart breakfast. Focus on balancing your carbs and proteins for what your body needs the most first the in the morning.
When you wake up in the morning, you might have a million thoughts and to-do lists running through your head for the day ahead. Take a moment to sit down and write down these to-do lists based on priority. Start by listing the most complicated and time-consuming tasks, as well as those that have the earliest deadlines and go from there. By planning your day in advance, you can focus on ensuring you have a productive day as you now know what you need to complete before the day ends.
It’s no secret that phones have become an integral part of our lives, but they’re also the most distracting part of our lives. You may have picked up your phone to answer a text, but next thing you know an hour has gone by, you’ve added to your shopping cart and now are half-way through scrolling your Facebook or Instagram feed. An hour of your day has gone by doing mindless tasks that could’ve been spent focusing on your to-do list. Not only can cell phones decrease productivity by shifting focus from more important things, but multitasking with your phone also increases your likelihood of making mistakes. One study found that after receiving a phone call, the chances of making an error increased by 28% and 23% after receiving a text.
Perhaps the simplest, but hardest thing to do. We’re quick to complain about the things going wrong in our lives, but often forget to have gratitude for everything going right. Showing gratitude doesn’t need to be complicated, it can be as simple as telling someone thank you. There are many ways to express gratitude, from noting everything your grateful for in a journal to sending someone flowers to thank them for just being in your life. Feeling and expressing gratitude can create a happy, warm feeling internally, which helps better your mood. If you’re in a better mood, you’re likely going to be more motivated.
Not all of these habits may be helpful to you or you’re already practicing some of these and are looking to add more; this is just a starting point. Everyone is unique and may have other habits that work better to boost productivity. These are just seven, simple ways to get started to increasing productivity throughout the day.
]]>I used to work in a high-stress environment and looked for healthy outlets to reduce stress; colouring mandalas did that for me. I thought this may have simply been because colouring was nostalgic; it was something we did as kids. I slowly learned that colouring has several benefits and decided to incorporate colouring elements to as many products as possible when I started Scribbly.
Here are just a few benefits of colouring:
As mentioned earlier, colouring helped reduce my stress and anxiety that was caused by a previous work environment. Colouring provides creative outlet to relax the brain. Colouring has the ability to generate a similar meditative state that meditation would induce – reducing a restless mind. While colouring most things can provide reprieve, specifically colouring mandalas or geometric patterns actually helps lower stress and anxiety levels. Which is why we make it a habit of including mandala colouring pages in our planners!
While colouring helps reduce stress and anxiety, it also helps improve motor skills and vision. I always thought colouring was a creative task and never realized that colouring could benefit the logical side of my brain as well. But colouring actually requires both hemispheres of the brain to communicate; logic helps us stay in the lines, while choosing colours generates creativity.
Improved sleep in a way is linked to stress and anxiety. If stress and anxiety in life are decreased, sleep will come easier. Of course, there are other reasons for not being able to sleep that could require medical expertise. Another way colouring helps improve sleep is by providing an electronic-free nighttime ritual. Using electronics before bed can reduce sleep levels, as exposure to the light emitted can reduce melatonin levels; the hormone which produces sleep. Colouring is a relaxing and alternative electronic-free activity to do before bed that doesn’t disturb melatonin levels.
Colouring also has the potential of replacing negative thoughts and bringing in more positive ones. When we’re colouring, we have to focus on the shapes and patterns in front of us, and carefully choose colours to go with the image, which may help push negative thoughts away. This is because colouring temporarily prevents an inner dialogue as we’re intently focused on the activity at hand.
Whenever you feel stressed, just take a break and find something to colour! You don’t need expensive colouring books; just print out a few sheets from the internet, draw something, or pick up a kids’ colouring book from the dollar store!
]]>If we’re not taking care of ourselves and making it a priority, we really can’t focus on other important aspects in our lives. Ignoring our needs is what leads to burnout, causing everyone to lose. If you’ve ever been asked, you don't seem like yourself - are you okay?, it's likely you're forgetting to take care of yourself.
It’s not easy to change overnight and suddenly start focusing on you, but slowly learning to check in with yourself will help you accomplish prioritizing self-care. By prioritizing self-care, you’ll have more energy to be there for what’s more important for you.
Here are some tips on how to get started on making self-care a priority:
A problem can only be solved if you know exactly what the problem is. Sometimes we want to prioritize self-care but come up with a million excuses as to why not right now. Ask yourself why you’re not prioritizing self-care and list down all the ways on how to overcome those excuses. Once you have the answer to that question, it will become easier to solve your lack of self-care.
We often look for a one-stop-shop solutions that work for everyone but forget that we’re all unique. Ask yourself what you need in that moment, because what you need today could be different from what you need tomorrow. Life is constantly moving, everyday isn’t the same, so why would self-care look the same every day. Sometimes you might feel you need to go to the gym, while other times all you might need to visit nature; it all depends on what is going on in your life and what you need in that moment.
Self-care doesn’t mean changing your entire life right away. It means making little changes here and there to help you feel better, so you can do better and be better. If adding a new self-care routine everyday feels difficult, try once a week or every other day. If an hour is too much, start with just five minutes. If self-care feels like a burden or overwhelming, it won’t work. You need to enjoy your self-care routine in order for it to be truly effective.
If you’re starting to prioritize self-care, schedule it into your day. As much as a spa weekend or shopping spree sounds exciting, it’s not always feasible. Self-care should be added to your everyday life, whether it’s one hour a day or just five minutes. Take five minutes in the morning to sip your coffee without checking your phone or add an hour of meditation to your calendar; whatever works for you. Don’t leave your self-care routine for when you have time, rather make time and include it in your routine.
A fact of life is that we’re always the hardest on ourselves. Instead of berating yourself for missing that gym session or forgetting to meditate for those ten minutes, learn to forgive yourself. We’re all human and sometimes we forget things. When you skip a day of your self-care routine, just tell yourself you’ll try again tomorrow – no judgements and no guilt. Self-compassion leads to many positive things around us – we feel better, sleep better, and eat better.
Making self-care a priority can seem difficult and selfish, but just remember, if you're not feeling 100%, you can’t give a 100%.
These are just some tips on getting started on making self-care a priority, there are many other ways that may work better for you.
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Our mission is to help you stay organized and focused for this upcoming school year. We want you to stay inspired and on track with your Academic Planner.
Once you have received your planner, flip open to the 2020-2021 Road Map. Our Academic Planner offers a two-page spread to help you map out and set goals for the year ahead. Think of what you would like to accomplish for the year ahead personally, academically, financially and health-wise – write down the goals and a plan to achieve these. Note down your priorities for the year, self-care activities, positive thoughts, things to avoid, bucket list, and one positive message to yourself for the year ahead.
Sometimes it’s difficult to put your future plan in writing. Use the space under A Look Ahead to use images, words, symbols, or anything else to create a visual of your ideal future. Remember, this isn’t set in stone, this is the vision you want to work towards. This could be for the next year, 5 years, or even 10 years!
It’s tough to stay motivated when there’s so much uncertainty in the world. Come back to the Motivate Me page whenever you need some positivity or encouragement. The word search contains 20 motivational words for whenever you need a little pick-me-up!
Keep a record of courses and important dates. Whether you’re taking one course or six, note down your course name, teacher name, and location for the course. Also keep a list of assignment deadlines and exam dates, along with the percent allocation for the course. This will help you prioritize your daily, weekly, and monthly schedules. Consider colour-coding your classes to differentiate between personal and academic schedules.
Keep a track of the marks you received on assignments and exams as well. By knowing how you’re performing in a course can also help prioritize where to put more of your focus when it comes to preparing for exams.
Each month is different than the one before. Some months have more assignments, while others are packed with exams. Look through your dates and deadlines to plan out where to focus for the month ahead. Use the colour-coding you determined earlier to create a to-do list, highlight important dates & deadlines, what you’re looking forward to, and list down all your goals
Plan the week ahead by setting priorities, goals, deadlines, and anything you don’t want to forget.
The Academic Planner's weekly view provides space for to-do lists and notes for each day of the week. Note down any new things that come up in the left column of each day. Identify your daily to-dos and check them off as you go!
And remember to have gratitude for anything positive for the week! One positive thought daily or weekly can help uplift spirits greatly.
Setting goals and planning ahead are a great starting point. It’s also important to look back to see what worked, what didn’t work, and how to improve for the future. The Academic Planner Wrap Up page helps do just that. Take a moment once the month has passed to reflect and plan for the month ahead.
Lastly, just remember to breathe! We all feel stressed or overwhelmed from time-to-time, that’s why all our planners include a unique mandala to colour at the end of each month. Whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed, turn to this page and lose yourself in your colouring. Colouring mandalas provides great stress relief, refreshes the brain, sparks creativity, and helps you connect with your inner child.
While the upcoming school year will be different than any other, by staying organized and planning ahead, we know you can stay on track! Best of luck and share with us how you’re staying organized this year.
]]>Whether you work remotely regularly or are working from home for the foreseeable future, these top seven tips will help you stay organized and focused!
While not everyone may have a separate room to convert into a home office, it is important to have a dedicated workspace you can use every day. Whatever space you have to work with, make sure you feel comfortable spending time in it. Make sure this space has a window for natural light and fresh air. Having an ergonomic chair also ensures that your body feels good at the end of the day.
Bonus Tip: Try setting up your workspace away from the TV and fridge to eliminate distractions and unnecessary snacking.
Maintaining your regular 9-to-5 work hours while working from home may not be possible, especially when you have to factor in childcare or taking care of other family members. Work with your manager to establish a work-around to your regular hours. Consider working a few hours in the morning, taking a break for personal tasks, and working again when possible later in the day. Once you have agreed upon a schedule with your manager and communicated with your team, make sure to stick to it.
As you would keep your work office desk clean and organized, it is important to do the same at home. A clean work area increases creativity and eliminates distractions. If everything has a set place, your mind will be clearer, and ideas will flow in. An organized desk also ensures you are able to find important documents easily.
When working from home, the level of distractions increases greatly – making it that much harder to stay on top of work and personal to-do lists. By using a planner, notebook, notepad, calendar or a combination of any of these, you can stay on top of to-do lists and any important deliverables. Find a system that works for you and start writing all your tasks and deadlines to stay on top of both personal and work tasks.
Working remotely can create gaps in communication or even miscommunication. Work with your manager and colleagues to decide on a communication tool and plan your team will be using. Whether it is by email, an interoffice communication tool, or texting, find a tool that works for everyone and continue to use that method. Setting a weekly or regular check-in with your team is also helpful in ensuring there are no gaps in information being shared. If you have personal reasons for unique working hours, you should share those with your team as well.
When commuting to a physical office location, we have the opportunity to leave everything work related at the office. While working from home, it can become difficult to separate work from your personal life, since now both worlds have collided together. If your home office is a separate room, you can easily shut the door and leave the office, but not everyone has that option. To prevent overworking, set a regular schedule and power off all work-related devices once working hours are over.
Remember to take breaks throughout the day, especially during lunch. Try activities to separate work-life from personal-life while working from home as well! Keeping social distancing in mind: go for walks, have a picnic, take a trip to the beach or just tune into a good book or movie!
There are many ways to maintain a productive and healthy remote working life, the above tips are just a starting point! Just remember, if you are having any challenges while working remotely, talk to your manager.
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