A Productive Day in My Life
Good Morning everyone! A couple of weeks back, I created a post on having a positive mindset, and the routine I follow in order to make the most out of my day. It has since been well received and I’ve listened to some of the comments and felt like I needed to follow up on that post with a day in my life — so today’s post will be just that!
Now I am by no means a ‘pro’ when it comes to productivity and being organised, though I do want to share the things that work in my life in the hope that I can motivate or inspire others. So without further ado, welcome to a day in my life :)
My morning begins at 7 am when my iPhone wonderfully rises me from the land of nod. 💤 Thankfully as we begin to leave winter in the not so distant past, my mornings are now (again) welcome by sunlight, or as a resident of the UK… light (typical British weather 👋). As many like to say, I was born reading the Financial Times, however, this is certainly not the case, rather it is relevant to my modules and understanding of the world to spend at least thirty minutes each morning, reading the most breaking stories. After becoming all-knowing and keeping myself up-to-date with worldly news, at around 7:30 am, I get myself into the shower and listen to the Economist’s morning briefing. This further consolidates my understanding of current affairs and prepares my mind for the day ahead.
After a quick shower, I make myself a light breakfast (as I am not really a huge fan of eating in the morning). On this day, I wanted some yoghurt and fruit and had a glass of fresh orange and a cup of tea before packing my bag and setting off to university around 8 am (ish).
My commute to university takes an hour and so to make the most of my time, I listen to an Audiobook using Audible. At the moment I am listening to Heather Morris’ Cilka’s Journey which is the second instalment of the Tattooist of Auschwitz trilogy — I’d definitely recommend you giving it a read if you are into historical books.
So around 9 am, I arrive on campus, at the start of the year I worked from home, however, I very quickly preferred using the study spaces at university and prefer the social benefits of meeting up with people I know throughout the day. At the time of writing, it is Wednesday and so I don’t have anything timetable within university to attend, so the day is very much down to how I organise it.
I start by summarising my Financial Times articles, mainly keeping up-to-date on the harrowing conflict in Ukraine and also upload a TED Talk into the Telegram group chat for inspiration.
Then I focus on my student society commitments as Treasurer and focusing on my campaign for re-election. Once I have done this, I begin working through some reading for my modules on EU Law and research around a debate I am partaking in alongside my peers in class. I allow this to take up most of my morning as it is crucial to understand and work on for the coming week.
At around 1 pm, I throw in the towel and head over to the university gym to create a break in my day and get some headspace — sitting at a laptop all morning is not always the most convenient.
Once I have given myself a good workout I jump in the spa pool to reflect and de-stress before continuing with my other tasks and commitments for the day. This way, I am able to get a healthy balance and work more effectively.
Once I have done this, I focus some more on a mock property law negotiation with a potential land developer so that I can strengthen my argument for the presentation. I do this with a cheeky bite to eat and a catch up with some friends for company; because as much as being in the zone increases my productivity, it is also important for me to socialise and interact with others… after all, this is not self-isolation!
Once I have done this, I take a brief walk around campus, I usually capture some of the most beautiful views from university and they definitely help maintain a balance and taking effective breaks to enhance productivity.
At around 6 pm, I call it a day and head off over to the glasshouse (a student bar on my university campus) with some friends for a catch-up, some food and a drink to bring the day to a close. One thing that I appreciate about this routine, is that I am able to work effectively, eat and exercise properly and also socialise with my friends afterwards, which is just as important as working hard. A balance is key — it’s about the mindset!
Then at around 9 pm, I head back home and keep it chilled all in preparation to go back at it again tomorrow.
Thank you for reading the blog! I hope that it was able to demonstrate why I do the things that I do to maintain a balance, sometimes I think that’s what we need. Please comment below your thoughts and opinions, I have loved getting back to everyone from previous posts and will continue sharing my experiences and ideas in the hope of helping others.
Lastly, I wanted to use the last part of this blog to write some words on the unprovoked, illegal conflict in Ukraine, which is continuing to displace people and take innocent life.
Ukraine, you are in my thoughts and prayers — I stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and pray for an effective conclusion to the abhorrent scenes unravelling before us.
Take it easy ❤️
