How To Be Productive On Sundays

Authors’ note: Since this is an article on productivity, I didn’t feel like leading off with the same nonsense I normally do. This article gets straight to the good stuff.

Photo by Kate Stone Matheson on Unsplash

Step 0: Get a good night’s sleep! This should be an entirely separate article. I kind of assumed you’d know this, but in case you didn’t, it had to be said.

Here is your process to becoming more productive on Sundays. Today is a bonus: you get 10 steps instead of 5! 😱

1. Do not be hungover or get over your hangover: Side note: I’m going to assume you work at 9 to 5, or are a student, and that weekends represent a different time for you than a weekday. Getting over your hangover is an entirely separate article, but if you don’t regularly drink and party on Saturdays, feel free to skip to the next part. If you do, well, try not doing it on a Sunday where you want to be a human being? (Almost everyone I know knows I’m full of shit at this point, so I applaud you if you keep reading)
2. Spend the first 30 minutes doing something serene and relaxing (AKA, your morning routine): We’ve all read those articles about how CEOs wake up at 4:30 AM and go to the gym, then start working. Now, for the rest of us who do not drink the blood of children and are mortals, something much more tangible and accessible is to calm the mind upon waking. To be productive, you might assume that you should just skip this part and get right to your tasks for the day. WRONG. To fail to prepare is preparing to fail, and a productive mind enjoys nothing more than routine to help get your productivity going. The easiest way to focus your mind is to calm it down. Some of the best techniques are doing meditation (even if it’s for 10 minutes), making your bed, eating a small, pre-prepared breakfast or stretching. WARNING: Checking your emails is NOT acceptable here. This will accomplish the opposite; there’s simply too much of a possibility that something will stress you out and prevent you from doing the following productive steps.
3. Spend the first 1–2 hours of your day doing something you actually enjoy, guilt-free: Alright, time to conquer the world, right? WRONG…kind of. If, at this point, you are really ready to go, then, by all means, skip this step. However, at this point, you need to give yourself permission to do something more that will prepare you to be productive: be unproductive. Again, if you don’t trust yourself around your TV or Instagram feed, that’s cool, skip to Step 4. However, I actually do find that Step 3 does something very powerful that makes you much more productive later on. First off, enjoying a part of your life guilt-free reminds your brain of something very powerful: that fun activities in life are a reward for hard work and are in fact, finite. So sit back with your breakfast and watch that latest episode of whatever you want on Netflix. This is also the timeslot of the day that, if you are a fitness enthusiast, you can hit up the gym.
4. Download the “Self Control” app on your computer and put your 10 most visited websites in your Blacklist: Most apps on your phone are designed to make your poor and stupid. An app that does NOT do this is a little guy called Self Control, a Mac app that lets you put as many websites on a “Blacklist” as you want. When in use, you literally cannot visit these sites (at this present moment, I couldn’t check my Instagram if I wanted to). Boom, you will no longer be distracted for the next 3–4 hours.
5. GET OUT OF THE HOUSE! Find a coffee shop and order whatever caffeinating beverage you prefer: You now have unfettered access to their WiFi, and they probably won’t kick you out. 95% of the people I know are smarter and more productive on caffeine, it’s just science, so contrary to what your Baby Boomer relatives think, that $5 coffee *could* be a good investment.
6. Write out a list of things you want to accomplish: Probably the most important step of all. One of my favorite productivity quotes comes from Ray Lewis, who’s maybe the greatest linebacker and leader in NFL history: “Greatness is a lot of small things done well.” So, don’t skip the small step of writing down your game plan for the day. Every productive day I’ve ever had started with taking 10–15 minutes to jot down what I wanted to do that day.
7. Google “study music playlist” and put it on repeat: Some really smart scientists figured out that music with no lyrics, with an ambient vibe, make you more productive. Personally, I like a little familiarity in my music, so a really good way to find productive work music is to search for piano or guitar covers of your favorite songs.
8. Every time you think of doing something that does NOT relate to your list from Step 6, DO NOT DO IT. Instead, write it down in a separate note: You are now officially working on your side business, essay or project in a peaceful, productive ambiance. Powered by caffeine (and other things, potentially), your brain is officially more lit than a Saturday girls’ night at Gusto 101. Beyond the natural surroundings of where you are, the biggest distraction may actually come from within. Especially if you work in a creative field or you’re an entrepreneur, your brain will naturally start producing ideas that have nothing to do with the tasks you are trying to accomplish. For example, if you’re a food blogger and you wanted to write three blog posts today, it’s extremely easy for you to get an idea for ANOTHER blog post. And if you can do that, go for it! But the majority of the time, new ideas just distract from your original ideas. What you need to do in this situation is simply keep a side note with all the new ideas you came up with while executing your original ideas and save that for the next super productive session you have! 😊
9. After the first 3–4 hours, change your venue: I’m going to guess that this coffee shop has chairs, and you’ve been sitting for a few hours straight. At this point, you need to get up and start moving. You might be super productive at this point and unstoppable, but the reality is that our body was not meant to sit down for hours at a time and grind. For your overall long-term productivity, I recommend walking to a different place with WiFi and minimal distractions, and posting up there for another 3–4 hours. Bonus if they have standing desks.
10. GO HOME! Spend the last 1–2 hours of your day doing something you actually enjoy OR serene and relaxing: Congratulations! You should now have accomplished much more in the last 7–8 hours than most human beings would in 2–3 days. You are probably slightly tired. Or maybe, you’re invigorated by how awesome you are. Again, one of the best ways to ensure that solid, deep work is a habit for you is to play into the reptilian part of your brain: reward and pleasure. If you have worked for this long, I absolutely insist that you go home and watch Netflix, cook or hang with your friends/partner for a little bit. You’ve earned it.

Photo by Boxed Water Is Better on Unsplash

Other awesome articles on this subject:

1. Don’t listen to those productivity gurus: why waking up at 6am won’t make you successful by Aytekin Tank
2. Introvert or Extrovert? Here’s How to Boost Your Productivity by Evernote
3. 24 Life Changing Productivity Tools by Chris Danilo