Hello my lovelies, how are we?
I think productivity is such a hard thing to ‘master’ as such, I like to think of it as coming in waves and when you are riding said ‘wave’, you’ve gotta make the most of it! 🌊
I feel as though it’s about utilising it when you are feeling productive, but to be careful and not go too crazy to prevent burn out. Ok, let’s do it;
1.Us females, we are all familiar with our cycle, or at least I hope we are! Understanding our cycles has genuinely helped me so much and helped me to come to terms with my body and how I’m feeling. To do a short little recap; our cycle is complex and is controlled by our female hormones.
The cycle is broken down into four phases being menstruation, follicular, ovulation, and the luteal phase. By understanding each of these phases we know that during menstruation your estrogen levels are at their lowest causing our energy to match that.
During the follicular phase, typically week two into your cycle, you’re going to feel a burst of energy as your estrogen levels begin to rise again and your mood will be boosted. In ovulation you may notice a surge in mood and energy as your estrogen peaks about a day before this phase.
Then in the Luteal phase there’s a lot of hormonal changes with the progesterone peaking, then just before your period both progesterone and estrogen levels drop. Here you will notice your changes of moods, here I would say give yourself some slack and be kind to yourself.
After that mini science lesson, understanding all of this allows me to be smart and calculate when I can peak my productivity, but also allows me to not beat myself up when the ‘productivity isn’t producting’. In regards to all of this, if you are a little unfamiliar with your cycle like I was. Honestly ask me three months ago if I understood my cycle and the answer would have been no! I would check our @Drfrankiejs on Instagram, she is incredible when it comes to understanding our female bodies and embracing it.
2. I’m a really big list girly.When I know I’ve got a lot of get stuff done, I like to physically write a list so I am able to tick, cross, and scribble things out. I get so much satisfaction from this hehe. I think no matter how big or small the list I think they always help. Equally even breaking down steps into even smaller tasks helps to draw out my productivity, and before you know it you’re getting through that list! Get yourself some cute stationery and a little notebook or planner. Some great ones I would recommend looking out for are Papier and The Head Plan (a personal favourite of mine).
3. Similarly; rewards. As much as we may find it childish or mundane, as humans I feel like it’s in our nature to do transactional things. So utilise that, rewards can be in the form of anything. Whether that’s an activity or a little sweet treat. As soon as you’ve got that list done ;). My favourites are bribing myself with a Grey’s Anatomy episode or a salted caramel latte to get stuff done 💖
4. I was talking about burn out earlier, and it happens to the best of us! Sometimes we can really get caught up in our jobs, and we work, and work, and work.....
And it can be that we are on a roll and don’t want to let it go, so we just keep going and then low and behold- we wake up and we are shattered, don’t want to keep going and are bit fed up of what we are doing! I am massively guilty on this, I’m a crammer and I love to keep going and keep cramming when “I’m in that zone”, but it’s just not achievable to do so day in and date out. For me, being self-employed it can be really hard when these are my habits because it means that my hours aren’t set, meaning sometimes I don’t switch off till gone 11pm.
This, this is not healthy
We need to allow ourselves rest to assure that we can go about the next day in a healthy productive way. Equally if we are burnt out, something I do (which is not scientifically proven in any way shape or form) is I do NOTHING. Absolutely nothing. Even if my brain is telling me to do something. I find a day and I do F-all, excuse my language. I do a FULL battery reset; I make myself bored ahah. I don’t see anyone, talk to anyone.
So the next day I’m ready, I’m eager for it. I know in a busy week this may be hard for some nor physically possible, so if you can’t just take a night to yourself. No phone, just detox and allow your brain to kick it’s feet up. Or if this isn’t you, you really don’t need to listen to me. Who am I to give advice aha.
5. Bringing me to my last point. My holy grail, that is my night routine 🌙 I think night routines are so important, and I find them so grounding. In a world where no day is the same, I think having your set non negotiables that you do every night is so beneficial to your productivity. I encourage three non-negotiables, if not more in your evening routine. Mine consists:
A great balanced dinner that is going to help my body refuel overnight,
My tv time (because yes, I am a kid, and yes I am partially addicted to Grey’s Anatomy)
My skincare routine! I think the same thing follows in the morning, I set myself up with my Free Soul mango greens and caramel latte, and that way I know my day has begun and that I’ve started the day in the correct way for me. We may not like to admit it, but we are creatures of habit, so setting these habits really help me.
To finish off this blog, firstly I hope this has helped a little bit or in any way, but secondly and more importantly these are all catered to my context. When going through life always remember that everyone has their own contexts, their own psychological makeup.
Things that work for some people may not work for you, and that’s so fine.
Everyone’s jobs are different, and everyone’s days are different. And that’s why I urge you to also think and reflect on what actually helps you be your best productive self. I talk about routines, because I’m a little bit of a control freak, whereas for you maybe routines don’t spark inspiration. Regardless I hope that you are inspired and that you enjoyed our lil’ Sunday read!
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