Reclaim Your Focus: A Simple Strategy for Productive Days

Transform procrastination into productivity with this simple task strategy

Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash

If work has become less fun and you procrastinate a lot, read this story where I’ve shared my method of becoming productive; it will help you a lot.

Do you feel like after waking up you don’t want to work? It feels boring and stressful.

So you spend some time on social media, watching YouTube, then it gives you a little bit of energy and motivation, and you start some work but during work you too are using your phone, sending messages to your friends on WhatsApp, and multitasking.

Here is why it is happening.

Dopamine Level

Social Media Consumption = High Dopamine Release Activity

Finishing your to-do list = Low Dopamine Release activity

(Whatever I’m sharing applies to those who create a to-do list for the coming day in advance at night. If you don’t create it first start making a to-do list habit then follow what I’m saying)

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter which gives you motivation and energy to pursue things.

Consider it is a water level which is at the surface when you wake up once you do something it goes higher and then it goes even lower than surface level and takes time to come back to the surface level.

Photo by Daniel Sinoca on Unsplash

When the water level goes high you feel good and energetic, when it goes lower you feel sad, bored, and anxious. When it is on the surface level you feel normal.

Social media hacks your brain by artificially releasing dopamine at higher levels. So after that, you are on a low level.

You will not feel motivated to do anything, instead of boosting your mood and motivation social media will deplete your normal motivation level.

Then to feel normal you will again have to use social media and it will give you a little bit of rise in water level but it will go further down, that is why you check your phone like 100 times in a day, and social media apps habitually do not even realize that you are doing it.

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

So if you start your day with high dopamine-releasing activity, Your mind will be less interested in low dopamine activity which is your work.

The worst thing one can do to their energy and mood is to consume social media at the start after waking up.

But I know it’s hard quitting a habit which is deeply engraved in you, it takes take.

So here is a quick fix which if you follow it, will also help you in the long term.

Divide your work into two sections of the to-do list. It should be on sticky notes or paper not digital. (We’ll discuss next time why it is so)

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

1st list is Deep Work.

In this list, you will write the important tasks which are hard to do but important.

The task is deep work if it takes 45 minutes to 90 minutes.

Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash

So there should be only 2 to 3 deep work tasks for the whole day.

Deep Work task tip: Write down the task and divide it into very small steps which you need to take from start to finish.

For example, if you need to publish an article here will be the task divided into steps.

1. Open Mail
2. Download Document
3. Open Document
4. Open Website
5. Login
6. Click on Add New post
7. Copy the article title from the document
8. Paste it on the post title section
9. Copy rest article
10. Paste on editor
11. Set the article
12. Optimize it for keywords
13. Find images from the stock site
14. Add images to the article
15. Design thumbnail from Canva
16. Add a thumbnail in the featured image
17. Publish

This is just an example, Write down your steps according to your task

By dividing the task into small steps you are making it a fun activity for your mind to do, you will love the work but you will have to take the first two steps,

Motivation comes after starting the work not before.

2nd list shallow work.

Photo by Thomas Bormans on Unsplash

In this list, you will write all the tasks which you can do in 2 to 10 minutes. (Most of the time these are the tasks you do after consuming social media).

Start your day by doing a minimum of one deep work task. Before using any social media.

Declutter your table, there should be nothing except your laptop and sticky notes on the to-do list. This will improve your focus.

Start the timer on the laptop for 45 minutes to 90 minutes.

Do the work.

You will feel very satisfied and happy after completing your main important task and this happiness will last longer than the happiness you get from social media.

Photo by Clint McKoy on Unsplash

Then you need to take 10 minutes rest, after that, you can spend time on social media and then complete one deep work.

Don’t shift towards shallow work until deep work tasks are completed.

Day by day it will improve your focus and you will increase your deep work sessions before using any social media.

Let me know after applying this method and share how you feel.