Productivity Planner

The end of the semester is always very busy but this time I’m busier than ever. I have to finish rewriting my book, prepare the next semester’s courses, and get everything ready for the guests who are coming to stay  for Christmas and New Year’s. And there is a 10- month old baby here who needs me to play with her a lot.

In spite of all the things I have to do, I’m stress-free and on track to do everything on time and be able to take a work-free break from December 21 to January 4. I’m doing so well because I’m trying a new productivity system, and it’s working great.

The system revolves around this productivity planner that helps you clarify your priorities and keep at them. Every day you define a single goal for tomorrow. Ask yourself, “If I only manage to do one thing tomorrow, what should it be to make me feel like I didn’t waste my day?” At the end of the semester, all the little things like printing out the final exam, closing down the course blog, returning the essays, adding up lab minutes, etc tend to crowd out research. But if you put down research as your number one priority, guess what? The little things will still get done somehow but they won’t crowd out your writing.

Of course, the tasks have to be very concrete, and the planner teaches you how to do that and how to estimate the duration of each task. And this is just the beginning. It’s a simple system that keeps you very organized. But you need to take it seriously, fill out the questionnaires, or it won’t work.

This isn’t a promotional post. Nobody asked me to write it. I’m simply very excited about this system and happy that I found it. I’m still very sick and working at half-capacity but still the system helps me do everything I need and more.