Being more productive and focused
Do you have big goals and so many things on your list you want to accomplish, but you never get anything done, because after work you are just tired or lazy? Or you are looking at other people who get so many things done in a time that you can’t even imagine for yourself? You only have 24h a day but most of the time you waste it because of unnecessary routines and habits in your daily life. And then get frustrated because you know other people have the same amount of time but are way better at dealing with it? Well, welcome to the club ;) I’m the same, and to be honest, there is nobody who doesn’t struggle with that. You are not alone.
There are people out there who really know how to be more productive in general but that is only because they tried out a lot of things for themselves as well for a long period of time. The whole topic of Productivity and Focus is something that you can’t really implement immediately into your life when you struggled with it for many years. The reason for that is, that we have learned habits, routines, and a specific mindset that blocks our skill to be that way. We literally just forgot to be productive.
But no worries, everything can be fixed.
But when you fixed it for the majority of your time, you and we all will have still times when we are unproductive as hell. That’s just life. So actually the first rule I can give you is:
“Take it easy and don’t beat yourself up when you have a bad day.“
Because no matter how much we try to stay focused, we will have times and situations where our life can turn upside down. You are losing your job or maybe someone you love, you get sick, a pandemic is going crazy around the world, you argued terribly with your spouse, your car breaks down, or you didn’t get your monthly income on time. Any of those situations can play a big role in your emotions and can’t be avoided. So make sure that even when you figured out how you can stay on track, remember, there will be always times when it’s harder, and that is totally fine. We can’t be fully productive every day 24h 7 days a week. That is impossible. The same with being happy or positive all the time. That’s not how life and our brain work. But we can make the best out of it to use the time more wisely when nothing bad happens. Because that is the time when people also struggle. And that is the time we wanna focus on here. :) The worst thing you can do is thinking when you get more productive, that laziness, less focus, and procrastination will disappear. Because they won’t. But we can learn how to be in control when these times happen.
Keep in mind that there are people out there who get more things done in the same amount of time like you. They are not better than you. They only figured out already, what works for them and how to use that information in their life.
🌙 Life Analyzing
Before you can start being productive at all, you have to look at yourself. No Tool, no nice room, no money, and no people can help you to be more productive when you don’t know yourself and what is inside you. So starting by yourself and your own life and mind is the key here. How is your life situation right now / Start scheduling The very first thing you have to care for is your current life. What are you doing the whole day, what existing obligations do you have, what is your job situation, how is your social life, do you have family, kids, partner or pets, someone you have to care for, any hobbies or events, and what is your own state of mind currently. We all have different lives, and we are all different people with different needs, wishes, and goals, so this is individual for everyone. Before you can start being productive and focused, you have to find out what your current life looks like. Only when you understand what’s going on, only when you are honest with yourself, you can work on it and change things.
📜 So what to do now. Try to list everything up what i wrote above. Everything you think is important in your live and what needs to be mentioned. You can categories them as well so you can find them easier. You can do it in an oldschool way with pen and paper or use your computer, ipad or phone to list things up. I prefer having it INFRONT OF YOU every single day, because we are more willing to do things or think in a certain way when you have pictures or texts physical infront of your eyes. So when you write everything down digitally, print the things out when you are done
📜 When you did that, write down the times when you have to do these things. For example Job from 7am - 5pm, bringing kids to school 6am - 7am, piano lessons 9pm - 10pm etc. Or when you don’t have a specific time frame just write down how much time it normally costs. For example cleaning the bathroom on Wednesday 20min, cooking 30min, write on your own book 45min and so on. It’s important to write everything down so you know which times are already occupied and which times you are free.
Having a schedule doesn’t mean it’s the right thing for you, because I know people who are more productive when they can go with the flow and when a schedule doesn’t block their creativity. Some people just love chaos in their lives, which makes them curious and inspired. I was always the person who needed a schedule and routines because if not, I would be lost during the day and start being lazy and precast for hours. If you didn’t have any plans or schedules yet, and you felt totally unproductive, then probably you are like me and need a more organized day to boost your focus and in general to get more things done. If not, try out to go through your day without any plans. Maybe that is better for you.
Now after you wrote everything down, it’s time to schedule your days. It’s easier now to do that because you have listed everything down that should be in your daily life.
Block out System The best way what I think is to schedule your time in blocks. Time blocks are super useful because you can fully concentrate on one task instead of jumping around too many times to get things done. There is the myth of knowing how to multitask and yes things can be done in multitasking ways but should you? I don’t believe we should multitask at all when we can avoid that. Here is a simple graph that shows what happens when you split your focus in too many directions at the same time.
You can see that the more you split your focus, the less skill and concentration is there for each task. That’s why Artists who specify their skill in only one thing learn faster than Generalists who do everything a bit. Same principle.
Time blocks will help you to focus just on ONE thing at a time, which has the benefit of learning smarter, and to get things done faster.
📜 Do that now with your list and start scheduling your own day. Here an example schedule for a better understanding. You can block out these things:‘Work blocks‘, ‘Meal blocks‘, ‚Morning & Night Routine blocks‘, ‚Fitness blocks‘ and ‚Personal/Relaxing blocks‘.
*The image is just an example.Schedules and daily life blocks can look different for everybody and can also evolve and change over time.
One little thing I love to do is having a BACKUP schedule as well. We all know that sometimes things happen, and we totally mess up our current schedule. We often feel overwhelmed then because without a direct plan productivity shrinks down. To avoid that I wrote down a backup plan besides my normal plan. That means for example.. When my normal plan starts with waking up at 5:30 am but because of specific reasons I had a long night and sleep in the next day, I would have a backup plan which will start at 9 am. It gives you a secure feeling because when this happens you still have a good schedule where
everything is included what you need over the day, even when the day is shorter.
(I will make a video where I explain my schedule a bit more)
Habits & Routines
We all heard about good and bad habits and that they are essential for everybody. Why? Because we are creatures who like having routines. Our brain wants us to be safe and to store as much energy throughout the day to be always prepared for emergency situations. That’s why we love having routines. They are easy to do when you are used to them. You do things more automatically, you don’t need to think about them too much and of course, your willpower would last longer as well.
Also, routines like a morning and evening routine are so important to start the day right and to end the day right. I can tell from my own experience when my morning is a mess the whole day is. I want to go away from this 5 am club though because I think you can’t be successful even when you don’t wake up at 5 in the morning. It all depends on your person, your life situation, and your current mood. If you are more productive in the morning, try to switch to a morning person. If you are a night owl, and you know you are on your peek with your focus at night then do that! I don’t believe in a specific time, I only believe in the right and individual schedule.
Create your own routines and good habits and try to replace bad habits as much as you can. Easier said than done, but I guarantee you, your life would be so much better with the right routines. (I will talk about habits more in another blog post)
📜 Do you have any bad habits you wanna get rid of? Write them down and try to replace them with good Habits. I recommend doing one Habit as a time because it can take a few weeks to fully implement new habits in your daily life.
Also when you struggle with creating new habits and you fail because you are not consistent with it? Then maybe try to combine your bad with a good habit. For example when you wanna make more workouts, lets say running on a treadmill, then combine running with something you love to do. For example watching youtube videos, or a movie on Netflix. After a time you will implement running as something good because you are doing somethign you love besides of that. You can also combine healthy food with something you like. For example everytime you are sitting and relaxing in the sun for a break, you are drinking a green smoothie. So now everytime you get some sun you slowly implement wanting a green smoothie while enjoying your break. trick your mind and be creative.
Goals
When it comes to goals, we can classify them into different categories.
Business and Career Goals
Finance Goals
Personal Goals
Travel Goals
(you can add more if you want to)
Also, you can make Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and Yearly Goals. I like to organize all of them because it’s easier to stay on track and to make sure to filter out important and non-important ones at specific times. Sometimes we are overloaded with a lot of work so our Business and Finance goals are more important at that time. Or we have vacations and want to focus more on Travel or Social goals. So no matter what goals you have, you should write them down and put them in specific lists. Every goal that is out of your head and on a paper or file, will be easier to reach.
We often have so many dreams, goals, and wishes in our heads that we can get overwhelmed by them, and sometimes we lose track. But goals are so important, not only because of the goal itself but because we learn so much along the way.
I use daily goals and write down all the things I have to do over the day on a to-do list. To-do lists are great to know exactly what to do and not to lose the view of all the hundreds of things we want to do. I also write down monthly goals every time when a month is ended. Then I can see what I accomplished and what not. Sometimes I pull over one thing to the next month because I just couldn’t finish it but overall it’s good to plan the month in a way that you CAN finish them all. And I write down some yearly goals on top of that too, because I think a year is a long time but also can be over pretty fast when we waste our time too much. So it’s good to have a look at your yearly goals once in a while, so you know what you told yourself at the beginning of the year.
📜 If you didnt have this already, write down all your goals which you have in your life. That can be ANYTHING. From wanting a big house, to a specific kind of income, to growing an avocado tree, to finding the right partner, to having a flat stomache once, to creating one cosplay costume, to learn how to draw, to visiting Hawaii, to get this specific Printer, to open your own business or shop, to sell your own tshirts or whatever it is. Write everything down and put them in the right category. After you have written down your goals in life, you can always come back to it now and see what you can accomplish during a month for example as your monthly goals. Remember, having your goals infront of your eyes will automaticly sense the spark of motivation on it. So i definitely recommend having a look maybe 5minutes every day on your goal list.
What is your WHY
One of the most important things in my opinion. If you want to be productive you have to know WHY you are doing all that. It is really hard to keep going after a hard day at your job to work more on your side hustle when you don’t know why you are doing it. Or why should you wake up early when you don’t have any reason to get up? Why do you want to be financially free, or why do you want to be good at art? All these questions are not easy to answer. And yes I know when I ask you „Why do you want to be an artist“ you can answer, „Because I love being creative, and it relaxes me. It is my talent or the thing that shows my emotions.“ I can tell you that THIS is not your true why. There is this method called ‚The 7 levels of Why’s‘. I heard it the first time from Dean Graziosi, but I bet there was another person who came up with this. The 7 levels of why is a method to go deep down into your mind and emotions and to reach your true why. You can google that method and try it out for yourself if you are open to that. You can find a lot on YouTube.
I did this method as well. 2 times. The first time I went down 7 levels and I thought I got it. But to be honest, I didn’t feel lighter or more inspired and motivated after that. So it was a fail. I did this method a second time though when I was in my coaching group and even when I knew I failed the first time, I wanted to give it a second try. And this time I reached my true desired WHY. And till today it’s a big motivation for me every day (I have it hanging on my wall, so I can look at it whenever I feel unmotivated. Is it weird? HELL YEAH :D But i love it.)
The thing about the 7 levels is, you have to go down more steps than 7. It can take you 7 steps, 10, 21, 26.. It depends on how much you take this thing seriously and how much you being honest with yourself. Furthermore, it took me 11 steps, and 11 why questions to make me start crying and feeling so emotional that I knew that I finally found it. (Sounds weird, I know, but that’s how it works). I can tell you my why, but it will not affect you in any way, because it is MY why, not yours. You have to find your own. Just to give you a little idea. My why is ‚I want to be their Hope‘. This sentence has a deep meaning for me, what other people can’t understand, but it helps me to stay productive and focused to get closer to all my dreams, goals, and wishes. This is also the answer to why i am an artist. Sounds different from the normal answer of 'I love art and being creative' right? So ya that’s how it works.
I can definitely recommend doing this method as well.
Anyway, the reason why this is so important is, when everything falls apart, when nothing will work like you want it to, when you are alone without any support, and when you rarely see light in dark times, your Why will be always there to push you more and brings you the help you need at these moments.
Negative Mindset
One thing when it comes to productivity and actually everything else is that our mind tricks us every single minute if we are not aware of that. Our mind talks with us very often in a negative sense and things like 'I’m lazy, I can’t do that, I was always a procrastinator, I’m always slow when it comes to deadlines, i can’t finish a model in 3 days.' and so on is just negative self-talk and don’t bring you any good.
"No matter what you are saying to yourself, you will be always right."
So when you say you are a huge procrastinator, or you were never someone who can wake up early, then YES, you are right. Because that’s what you are telling yourself. STOP IT! Don’t beat yourself up for something you are just used to be. Who said you are not an early riser? Who said you are a procrastinator? YOU do that. And if you are in a bad environment other people will too. (don’t listen to them!) But that is not what YOU ARE. YOU are the only person who can decide what you want to be. If you were always a shy person or an introvert, but you hate it, and you want to be different, then YOU CAN be different! Just because you were someone in a certain way your whole life, doesn’t mean you can’t be different in the future.
So when it comes to your mindset, please take care of how you talk to yourself. You can be ANYBODY, you can do ANYTHING, you can have WHATEVER YOU DESIRE. It’s just a question of your own mindset. It sounds all very spiritual, but it’s proven scientific, that talking to yourself in a good or bad way, has a big impact on your real world. So if you can, talk good to yourself, and support yourself in any situation, even when it sounds silly to you in the beginning.
📜 Be positive as much as you can. Negitive thoughts can help you to figure out situations or your true wishes, but dont let yourself be controlled by that.
"Use negative thoughts, but dont get be controlled of it."
🌙 Distractions
This section is so important when it comes to productivity because in this world we get distracted every single minute because of images, texts, videos, phone calls, social media, traffic noise and so much more, and we are constantly overwhelmed with things in our mind. Our brain can’t handle all that drains our energy slowly. Even more in this fast and noisy world, we have to force ourselves to cut the line between all this noise and our inner silence. Especially when it comes to productivity, we HAVE TO do that. Here are a few things you should care for.
Phone
The phone is one of the things we actually can live without anymore. For some, the whole life is in it. Hundreds of images that were collected over many years, messages, emails, passwords, finance accounts, phone numbers, schedules, and plans, notes, sometimes work as well. Most of us can’t go through our life without looking at it for a few hours. (what is so sad..)
So how can we get our control back?
First, you have to realize what you actually truly need from your phone and what you are doing with it. Can it be replaced with another device?
For example, some Social Media apps (if you don’t need them for your business), can be deleted on your phone, and only when you are on your computer you can have a look. You don’t need to check your social accounts every 20min. This would be an obsession and not healthy anyway. Don’t give strangers on the internet too much of your time. Do your business with it but don’t let the endless scrolling be a part of your routine.
What about emails? Do you really have to check and write them from your phone? Or maybe you can do that only when you are on your computer or tablet. Same with social media, we don’t need to check our emails 20 times a day, even and especially when you get a ton of emails, block in this time. Say you look through your mail 20min before 12 and the other block will be before you leave your workplace. Don’t check them when you have your evening relaxation time. There is nothing so urgent to do that.
Notifications are a big thing too. Turn them all off. Maybe only a few ones when your family is texting you. But 99% of the messages we receive on a daily basis are not important. Even not from family or friends. If something would be really urgent, then people who know you, can easily call you or drive to your house because they know where you live.
I turned off all my notifications. From messengers, from apps, from actually everything. I don’t have a little light showing me that i got a new message (this distracts me so much each time). Also, no sound is on, only when someone is calling me.
Put your phone away. Something we should do more often. If you really want to be sure to let the phone where it is over a specific amount of time, then turn it completely off, turn on plane mode, or just lay it in another room. When you have a working block for 2 hours, then this would be a huge benefit for you. You can also use apps or codes that make it harder for you to open your phone. Having some mathematical calculations which you have to solve first, or a really long complicated password.
Learn how to survive your day without a phone. We can do that, we did that in the past, but we are just not used to it anymore. The more you control your addiction to your phone, the less it will distract you.
People
Something we often underestimate is that people can distract us as well. Especially when you are a freelancer, and you live with other people in the house, or you have a family and your partner or kids are running around all the time. Even in a company where most of the time you work in an open office, people can be a huge distraction. Small talks here, jokes there, loud noise on the neighbor's table. Having some music and headphones on helps in those situations. But something that is more important, is to communicate with these people. Tell them when you are busy and when you need your quiet. A good thing is to have a time block for your work so people automatically know when you are in work mode and when you have more free time. Communication is essential for this to get rid of social interactions.
Environment
I told you before that distractions can drain your energy. But we are all different when it comes to that. Some people need their quiet time, while others benefit from having people around. That’s why it’s so common that people who study or work go to a coffee shop or a library to do their work there. Because of this little noise in the background or because they feel more motivated when other people around them are working too. You have to find out for yourself what you like the most. I was always someone who needed my quiet time alone in my room to be fully productive. Any interaction with other people drained me so for me working in a coffee shop is not my best time to be productive. Instead of working on my balcony or in a garden sitting in nature, having some birds singing or rain sounds on is perfect for me. When you are working in a company then most of the time the only way to have this silence is to put on some headphones and play some music or at least have some white noise on.
📜 What you can do now is take your phone and clean it. Turn off notifications you truly dont need, you can delete apps you know that you only scroll endlessly through but never bringing you any benefit and you can make a simple habit of a phone time block for the beginning so you are only maybe going on your phone for 30min in the mornign and 30min in the evening. Thats it.
Then go make sure to tell people that you have specific times you dont wanna be called or talked to because these are the times you want to be fully concentrated.
And last, have a look at your environment and workplace. Can you change soemthing about it to make it more useful and simple. Where you can find motivation to work on your tasks. Or try out to work in a coffee shop or outside in nature as well.
🌙 Environment
The environment we are in for many hours to be productive is important to care of. If you live in a chaotic home, but you can’t handle chaos, then this would make you less productive and focused. We are all different when it comes to how and where to work so here are a few things to keep in mind.
Create a nice work atmosphere
We have to differ here from a home office and working in a studio. In a studio, you can’t do too much of having a nice environment, but you can still put some things there which make you more inspired, which also brings you more productivity. Good headphones so you can block out the studio noise, maybe a playlist of good music or sounds. Put a plant on your desk when you love nature or some nerd figures.
When it comes to the home office then you have to be creative with your workplace. If you have a separate room for your work, great, work in that room. If you can because you only have a flat with one or two rooms, then you have to split this room as much as you can. You can try to have a cupboard in between the bed and the workplace, or you can have those moving walls for that or a big plant as a wall. Then it all depends on what brings you inspiration. Are you a person who needs a clean and simple workspace, where you only have the most important things there? A screen, keyboard, laptop, mouse, some paper and a pen for notes, and a glass of water. Or do you like having a bunch of nerd stuff around and cool lights and maybe a window or whatever to get inspired? Try to learn more about yourself and see what gives you the best feeling of being productive and motivated.
Also, it’s always good to open the window a few times a day to get fresh air. Sometimes when we work the whole day we forgot to take a break and get some fresh air. So don’t forget to open your window from time to time, go on your balcony, or take a walk to get that fresh feeling and energy. Also, if you need it, you can buy those air conditioners which have the benefit of cleaning the room’s air.
Declutter your stuff
Life can be long, very long. And in those times we can hoard so many things in our homes or workplace, it’s crazy. Something i learned along the way is, that the fewer things I have around that can drag my attention, the better I can focus on the important things. I love things, especially when it comes to my nerd stuff, but i also have a lot of things i don’t use for many years or which are just old or broken. (things which you have memories with are not included). Try to declutter all the unnecessary things in your life. I guarantee you will feel lighter.
This also can be the same with digital decluttering. As artists, we have a bunch of weird messy folders lying around. What about decluttering it, bringing in some new systems to it, some organizing, and kicking everything out that is not in use anymore? Instead of having a bunch of pictures on your computer, put them on an external drive (for example private pictures) or put references and inspiring images in accounts like Pinterest. Fewer things in your mind, less distraction.
Change your workplace
Something that is always a good idea when you get bored fast, is changing your workplace over the day or any other day. You can do it inside your own home when it’s big enough, or you can go outside and work there. If you have a laptop or a tablet, you can do so many things in a bar, coffee shop, park, library, or like i said going from room to room in your own home. Some people like to change their view over the day just to not get too bored by it. And some people just like their usual environment for being productive.
Music
A topic that can be different for everybody. We have all different kinds of tastes when it comes to music. But also keep in mind that the right or wrong music can impact your productivity as well. For me, i worked in the past on a lot of epics, game music while sculpting my creatures, and it was great at that time. But at the moment, not sure why i get highly distracted when i have music on. Especially when it comes to music with vocals. I want to sing with it, i start doing little dances when i sit on my chair and i concentrate on the melodies or the text a lot instead of my actual work. So i tried something different. Total silence is nothing for me, but i knew that nature helps me a lot with being calm so i tried to have some ambient sounds in the background while I’m doing something. And this helped me SO much. Some light rain or birds singing beach waves, or a crackling fireplace makes me so focused and comfortable that i get a lot of things done.
For you, it can be different. I know people who love to work when heavy metal is on or maybe some classic piano sounds or just the normal dance-pop whatever type. It all depends on your current mood and interest. The best advice i can give you here now, but i guess that’s something you already did, is putting your favorite music together and categorizing them. Smooth Jazz, RnB, Podcasts, Dance, Happy songs, Calm songs, Songs without vocals, epic, game 8bit, classic, study music, ambient sounds, and so on. So depending on your mood you can easily switch without scrolling through YouTube, Spotify, and so on to find new music you like right now.
Movies & Shows
Oh, ya. If you are an Artist you already noticed that you can watch movies while you are working. You also can turn on some Art Streams or Podcasts or whatever you like to watch. And yes that’s pretty cool in the beginning and i did that A LOT in the past. Watching some Lord of the Rings while sculpting my creatures. But i think that is not the best thing to do anymore. The reason for that is, that we often (not only in movies), are never really focused and conscious about ONE thing we are doing. What can bring a lot of weird feelings? (I will talk about that in the Balance part here). So in short. When we do things besides our tasks, we are never really focused on one or the other. We are kinda in a gray zone. If you like doing it, and you realize you are distracted on and off during that time, then probably you should not watch any videos, movies, etc. during your work time. If it helps you to be inspired? Sure why not. But always keep in mind, that you still can take some time outside your work to get inspired. You don’t need to be productive AND inspired at the same time.
Scents and Stimulation
When it comes to the right environment then we as humans use all of our senses. So we have our ears with the music, the eyes with how the overall environment looks like, we have our hands where we mostly do our work (I’m wearing gloves sometimes because my body is always cold and warm hands can help me to stay focused), we have our mouth, not sure if there is any taste we can use for being more productive. And we have our noses. All of these senses are stimulating our brain which of course helps us in our focus or falling better asleep, or helping with reducing our anxiety, and so on. Essential oils are something that you can use for your nose scents. I use that every day and i have the feeling that they are helping me with my feelings, emotions, and of course my productivity. I just feel better when i have the right scents around me. Here is a list i found on Google of what benefits each scent will give you. You can google around and make your research.
Light Setup
Also, another important thing is to have the right lights in the room or the place. Red/Orange lights can make you feel less energetic which is often used when you need to get more sleepy during the evening. All the blue lights on our screens keep our serotonin levels high which makes us awake and full of energy. I’m not an expert in that but when you planned to have your productive times more during the night or in darker rooms, then you have to use blue lights to make you feel more awake.
Natural light is always the best choice so if you have the chance to place your computer next to the window then that would be perfect. (Make sure though that you don’t get blended from the sun when it’s shining on the screen)
📜 Your turn now. Have a look at your current environment and see what you can improve there. What is maybe bad and distracts you a lot, then get rid of it from your view. Create a nice small corner where you only do your work. Not watching movies, not playing games or coolking, just your work. Make the cut there to get more used to it. Take care of your scents to stimulate your brain in the right direction. Try to declutter everythiong what you dont need and bring a bit simplicity in your chaos. And if you need a break then change your workplace.
🌙 Tools
Tools can be so helpful when you try to organize all of your stuff and be more on track. It all depends on your personal needs but here are a few things that can be helpful to be more productive and focused.
Standing Table
A standing table is more and more in use by a lot of artists and i can totally understand why. It is good for your health in general when you stand instead of sitting all day. (still, be careful to stand only on one leg, this can increase leg pain too). If you have the money for a standing table, i highly recommend it. I sadly don’t have one yet but i try to get one as soon as i can. The good thing about those tables is, that you can sit and stand. Not only stand so it’s definitely worth investing in it.
Arm support
One thing that is maybe not as common is an armed supporter for our mouse hand. It can definitely help to reduce arm, shoulder, and wrist pain so if you have the money for it, why not. The cheaper version is definitely taken a lot of breaks, but everybody has different things to deal with. I know someone who is using it, and he loves it. He mentioned the ErgoRest 330-016-BK. So if you wanna search for it, here you go. :)
Time Tracker
I’m totally fascinated by Toggl at the moment. Time Tracking is a big thing when it comes to productivity and staying focused for a longer period of time. The Pomodoro Technique is also a very common thing to stay on track and to use your block time wisely. If you don’t know the Pomodoro technique, it’s simple. Work for 50min and take a 10-min break. Work 30min and take a 5min break, and so on. You can define your own time and how long your break should be, but it’s a good way of being focused and also getting the right breaks in between.
Excel tables
I’m a huge Table person. I do everything in tables to know exactly what i have, don’t have, have to do, or plan for future situations. You can also use Excel tables for calculating your finances which is a big PLUS. I have one post here with a template client project list you can use. But yes, everything is way better at a table than anything else. Being organized means also being more productive. Oftentimes when we don’t organize our things, and that doesn’t only belong to work, then we find ourselves in chaos. Maybe not finding files we need immediately, we get less inspired because we have to search for minutes or hours for a specific thing we know 100% that we have, or we get overwhelmed when nothing is written down which also can cause procrastination out of fear and depression. So make your tables guys. They're helping me a lot and when you have them set it’s easier to add things to the lists from time to time.
To-do lists
Same with Excel tables, to-do lists are pretty useful to know exactly what to do in a day. There is also a thing of writing down not-to-do lists which can be, 'not watching TV before 6 pm, not going on social media today, not eating that chocolate bar in the fridge, and so on. I’m not a huge fan of it because i think we should concentrate on the things we WANT instead of what we DON’T WANT. But if it helps you, try it out. :)
There are also a lot of books or journals out there with different to-do list designs but to be honest. If you want it cheap and simple, do your to-do lists. I tried a few of these journals from other people and i never stuck with them. It’s because we all need something different so my advice, is just do it on your own. :) Here is an example of mine. It’s simple but cheap and cute.
Calendars
Everybody knows them, everybody uses them. Even when you never did a scheduled day you still already write down your dates with doctors, meeting friends, or going to a seminar. Calendars are nothing new. It depends on you if you like having a digital or a traditional calendar in your workspace. I like having everything visual in front of me so i can look at it whenever i want to. Digital calendars never worked for me, because i just don’t look at any kind of digital planner. But try out both and use the one you like.
Todoist
Todoist is a great app to just organize your ideas when you don’t like having everything on paper. You can connect it with your phone, tablet, and computer. I have all my upcoming ideas collected there so that i don’t forget them. But you can use any other list program to write down all of your ideas, so you won’t forget them.
Post-its
Little notes hanging everywhere are a good thing to be more productive as well because they can help you to focus on the things you need to. Also, you can write some simple quotes on it which inspire you and hang them next to your screen or mirror, or fridge. I also use Post it’s on my whiteboard. This is kind of a to-do list of monthly upcoming tasks which i can put off when the task is done and hang on to again when i redo the task.
Also, you can use post-its digitally as well and use them to open immediately after you started your computer. This is pretty good because you can write down something the day before on these little notes and put it on your screen, so the first thing you see is this note.
Apps and Add-ons
There are so many apps and add-ons out there that can help you with your productivity. Phone apps that can tell you how much time you stayed on your apps and phone (in the past i was 5h a day on social media... 5hours!! It’s crazy how much time we sometimes waste), you can have apps like Forest where you can plan a time, for example, 30min and in that time you can’t use your phone or your tree will die, or you have little RPG games where you can get points to skill your character when you are not on your phone. The choices are endless.
Also, there are add-ons for your computer where you can, for example, blend away YouTube content on the sidebar, or block specific pages for a specific amount of time, so you can’t go on there or for example Adios for Chrome or the website freedom. This allows you only to refresh your email 3 times a day and that’s it. So there are a lot of different things you can use if you really struggle with your attention.
I don’t use too many of these apps or add-ons because i don’t want to be too much on my phone (so no using apps there) and i can’t really block my internet because as an artist we have to use it for our job, what makes everything a bit more complicated. But whatever you find try it out, use it, and see if it works or not.
Templates
One big thing i love using to be more productive is templates. Actually my own templates most of the time but you also can use templates from other people. What i mean is, let’s say you need a thumbnail for your YouTube videos. Instead of creating a different thumbnail every time you have to do a thumbnail, you can save the overall layout as a template and use it whenever you want to and just replace a picture or a text. Or you are a 3D character artist, and you want to create all kinds of characters or creatures. If you have templates like base blockouts or already the base file set with a base character mesh, then this will boost your workflow a lot because you don’t need to import stuff again or do base shapes again because they are already done before. Use this. Use templates in all kinds of forms. Template text files, template hashtags, template base files, template folders, and so on. Save the basics of a file and when you need it you can just change a picture, model, or text and jump right into it.
Books & Videos
Great tools are always books and videos. Also in this age some blog posts. You actually don’t need to buy any of them if you really don’t want to because almost everything is for free these days. Of course, when it comes to teaching, paid courses from professionals are always better than the free stuff but when you just started out in any kind of area, have a look first if you can grow your skills and knowledge on platforms where you don’t have to buy anything.
Be careful though. Books and Videos (especially videos) can shoot in the wrong direction when it comes to productivity. We often tend to binge-watching videos when we started with the first one. Even when it’s a motivational video or a video with tips for being productive when you watch one video after another without stopping, then it’s not productive at all, then it’s just entertainment. So be mindful of that!
Here is a nice list of books you can read for some inspiration and motivation. Also, here are some nice channels you may like. Matt D'Avella , Thomas Frank, Better Ideas,
📜 Take your time and try things out. I did the same with so so many apps and tools and add-ons. I cant eally say what will work for you because we all need different support to be more productive. It will take its time but its definitely worth it when you finally found the right things for you. You can use all or just one. It doesnt matter as long as it really helps you with your work.
🌙 Balance
Productivity can’t be alone. If you want to be productive and focused you HAVE TO be in balance with the rest of your life as well. If you feel bad and depressed you can’t put your mind to work. If you have any kind of body pain because you are too lazy to get up and move every day, then you will not be productive for a long time. If you feel alone your inspiration will slow down and after a while, you procrastinate in binge-watching movies to feel a bit of socializing. Being an artist, being a human being, and being successful means not only hustling 24 hours a day. It means that you can work wisely instead of hard.
The deadly Grey Zone
What a lot of people don’t understand is, that we humans most of the time live in a gray zone. What do i mean by that? A gray zone is a zone where you live between two worlds (or even more). You are never fully at the moment which means you can’t fully focus on ONE thing. For example, when we are at work we still think about 'our family or what we want to do when we are home, or what our friends are doing right now'. And when we are at home or have free time, we have 'work stuff flying in our head, what we still have to do tomorrow, what your boss said to us today, if the gossip you heard from the person in the other department is true or not'. We think about other parts of our day instead of being fully at work when we are at work right now. When we live like that it can ruin everything. Especially our Free time and Productivity time for our job. How bad is it when we finally have some relaxing time but still think about arguing with the boss? We can’t fully enjoy our free time then, right?
So what to do about that? I know it’s hard sometimes to control your mind but if you can, try to avoid thinking about other areas in your life while you are doing another one. When you are at work, only think about your work. When you are home, stop thinking at all about your work life and fully be there for whatever you are doing at home. And when you have free time, then pls don’t care about any stressful situation you have in another area or place or with another person. Fully enjoy your break. You deserve it!!
Stop living in the grey zone and start living in the NOW! You need this balance or you will never rest. Not your body. Not your mind. Not your happiness!
Other interests besides work
Something we often hear is 'be an artist 24h a day'. And well, that is not wrong. I say the same thing as well because i know as artists we think about art all the time, and we love it. So as long as you love it it’s totally fine to think about art all the time. But our productivity and focus can only hold on when we see other things besides our work.
Having other hobbies, interactions, and interests besides the whole art industry is essential. Not only for being an artist to widen our horizons but also as a human being. WE ARE NOT ONLY an artist. We have so many interests besides that and that makes us all more unique.
Also, when we are doing other things besides art, we are refilling our visual library more and more. What can help us a lot in being an artist? So actually not being an artist makes us more an artist. (Does that make sense?)
Social life
Well depends on your personality some people need social interactions more than others. As an introvert, I’m totally fine when i don’t speak to anyone for a few weeks and i don’t get crazy because of that. But people are different and i know a lot of people, for example, my mom, who needs other people around to be happier. So no matter what personality you have, make sure you spend some time socializing and just being a more human being. We are creatures who need interactions (at least from time to time) or we are getting in a bad state. Also, the simple touching of other people, maybe as a hug, kiss, or whatever, reduces our depression and sadness and increases our happiness and energy. And we all know, it’s so much easier to get work done and jump into being fully focused and productive when we feel good right? So keep that in mind. Like i said some people need more than others but just try to care for your social skills.
Working out
Well, i don’t need to tell anybody that moving your body is important. Yes, we can live without it, but what are the results of a live long sitting body? We all can imagine how painful the end of our life would be if we get so far.
Working out, no matter if it’s just yoga and riding a bike at home or going to the fitness center and lifting heavy weights or doing any kind of sport is so damn important. Especially as an artist, we have to care about our health when it comes to arms and backs. I heard so many times that artists deal with a lot of pain in their wrist or arm and shoulder joints because we are drawing too much for many hours over many years.
Also, back pain because of hourly sitting sessions are a common thing. So please guys, stay up every hour at least for 5 or 10 minutes to move your joints and body. It is also better when you move your body a few times during the day for a little bit instead of having one big session once. But if you can have a big session and little moves. ;) The more the better.
Remember. You cant produce amazing art when your health is suffering.
Self-careWell, this can go in many directions because everybody has different needs for themselves. Some people like having a good deep massage to lose up the muscles from all the crunch times. Some people love to make their favorite food as a self-care ritual. Warm baths, sheet masks, a relaxing comfortable sleep without any alarm, a long meditation, or a walk outside in nature to breathe in some freedom. You can do everything for self-care, but you have to do it.
We often think that when we take time for relaxing or having just a chill evening with a good book and a glass of wine, then we are lazy. Also, more than often other people think we are lazy which makes us crazy all the time. But don’t be. People who only live from hustle to hustle, from crunch time to another job with crunch times, then people will be burned out pretty fast. Burnout or falling into depression. So don’t be like these people. Yes to be successful means to work hard (and smart) and to really focus on the goal but when you only put work or money or other things first, then you will slowly suffer from it. , which is even more dangerous because we don’t see our mental state when we are so busy.
Selfcare is not being lazy. It is the attention and worth we are giving to ourself because we deserve it.
We deserve to be treated well, we deserve to have a break, we deserve to be happy and fulfilled, we deserve to be financially free, and we deserve to do something that is not connected to any goal or task.
Love yourself, and be proud of yourself and what you already accomplished. You are amazing and you deserve just the best. In good and in bad times. I hope you learn this along the way. The thing about loving yourself is, the more you love yourself, your thoughts, your ideas, and your work, you will, even more, love your art and what you give to people. Things will get value to them and have meaning when you love yourself. So please keep in mind that whatever you are doing, no matter how hard you are working, you deserve everything you wish for. So take a break when you need it and don’t feel bad about it. Never.
📜 What you can do now is, look at your life. Do you really enjoy your breaks and freetime? Do you focus on work when you are at work? If not try to change that. Be more in the present and enjoy it. You can also practice that in every other situation. I tried a few times being fully focused when i sat on the toilet. just concentrating on whatever comes out (yes.. im weird, but it helps to train being in a moment). Look if you give yourself enough credits for your live. Love yourself more. Do something good for yourself and dont feel bad about it. Plan a whole time block for it. Move your body as well so you can do art for so so much longer. And never forget that you can still be an artist even when you have other interests. Have a look and see what you can change to increase your happiness and inspiration so you can be mor productive when the time comes.
🌙 Other Tips
Stop Overthinking and Start Acting
When it comes to productivity something is really, really important. You have to ACT. You have to DO something instead of only being in your mind. Of course, you can have amazing plans and ideas which could be great for your business or goals, but nothing will happen when you only think. 1 day..2 days.... 3 weeks... 2 years. If you have a problem with overthinking (welcome in the club, I’m a huge overthinker), then have to keep that in control. Because you will never get anything done when you don’t do it physically.
What do you think about starting streaming? Do it and everything else will follow.
You wanna start your business? Do a small thing every day for this goal.
You wanna share your art on social media? Do it even when your skill level is low.
Don’t get me wrong, thinking is amazing and important. I think all the time. And sometimes it’s better to think first before acting at all. But thinking and overthinking are something different. I know a lot of overthinkers have a fear of being judged or fear of failure. I know all these feelings and i also know it’s hard to overcome this. But you have to when you want to be more productive and when you want to get more done in your life.
Emotions are not important
Something very important to understand is, we can’t let our feelings and emotions control our life. The truth is it is so easy to be productive and focused when we feel happy and fulfilled right? But we also know that we can’t be happy and positive all day long every day. We have bad times, we have a bad day when we just don’t want anything. And when you let these emotions control your productivity then you are lost.
We have to learn to get things done even when we dont feel it. Especially when you have clients and a deadline, you can’t just say 'im not feeling it so i won’t work. So you have to find ways to stay on track, to get your ass up, and still do the work no matter how you feel.
You have to try it out on your own
No matter what advice or tip you get. You have to try it out on your own. Doing one thing because it works for someone else, doesn’t mean it works for you as well. So i can give you here many tips and advice from my own experience but in the end, we are all different. And i hope you will understand that. Being successful and productive means that you have to try and fail on your own and know what works best for you.
Dont get stuck with one thing
productivity is such a big topic and our life is not standing still as well. Our life can change in a second. Our mood is sometimes high and sometimes low, and our interests and thought are evolving as well so when i say have a schedule for your day, that doesn’t mean you have to stick with it forever. I changed my schedules so many times because they are not always useful in specific situations. For example, when you have high energy and are totally happy, you normally feel more inspired and motivated, so you can do more work. But if we have a time when we feel more down then we have to take care of that, put more time into self-care and less into work. So when it comes to scheduling and being productive, you should keep in mind that sometimes we have a schedule, and it works for maybe 2 months. And then we have to change it a bit based on our life and mood. And then this schedule can last maybe 1 month, and the next one can last 6 months or a year. So being productive means you have to sit sometimes down when you feel something is not right, and then you have to go through every step again to reorganize your life.
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Okay, i guess that’s it for now. It’s a HUGE topic, to be honest, but i hope you can get something out of it. :) I will also talk about each point here more in-depth in other posts, so there will come more. Like always, if you have any more questions which you want me to talk about, let me know in the comments.
