A little about my creative process
Added 2023-07-17 19:57:16 +0000 UTCAt the beginning of my creative 3D modeling journey, I worked as much as I wanted. And this led to unexpected unpleasant results - a couple of times I burned out. I am a very passionate person. Sometimes it happened that I woke up in the morning, went to model and after a while I noticed that it was already night. I literally sometimes forgot to eat on such days. I really love what I do, but this mode of work has a very negative effect.
At some point, I came across an application for efficient work. It was just a random app from Play Makret. I didn't believe it would help...
But it turned out to be incredibly effective. There are 2 timers in the default settings: 25 minutes for work and 5 minutes for rest. And it also seems that this application puts the phone on silent mode during the working timer (or I set it up, I don’t remember exactly =)). A few months later I learned that this technique is called Pomodoro. As far as I know, there are youtubers-streamers in the "study with me" genre who conduct streams using this technique. =)
When you know that nothing should distract you for the next 25 minutes, you dive much deeper into the process. So much so that, according to my feelings, I began to work twice as efficiently. I do not need to constantly look at the clock so as not to forget to rest or eat, I have breaks for this. And there is also a "persistent notification mode", which is very useful for me. I'm an addicted person, one alarm call is not enough for me to switch =)
Do you have any stories or techniques for time management or (non-toxic) productivity?
Comments
I fully understand the ‘going down the rabbit hole’ situation, being unable to pull free for hours on end. As well as diving in too deep and burning out. What works or not can be very personal, so my suggestions might not help you, but here are some things I learnt when dealing with such moments. Most revolve around creating healthy habits that provide long turn stability: - make certain moments in your day mandatory; eating and drinking regularly should always make you drop whatever you are doing, no matter how engrossing it is. Once you’ve taught your brain to always give top priority to such moments, stepping away becomes easier, at least for essentials like this. Of course you need to be reminded of such moments, so the app you found that works well for you is a great step. Fixed alarms for eating and drinking moments might help too, if necessary with a specific jingle just for them (if you have the tendency to ignore your ‘generic’ alarms). - to prevent burn-out, pulling yourself away often enough and back into ‘the real world’ is important. For me, going out in nature, getting fresh air and a wider view (literally) creates this break-away that helps keep me grounded and keeps me motivated. Here too it’s important to turn it into a habit and a priority, even in moments when you don’t feel the need. Once it becomes a fixed part of your daily routine, it will be easy to ‘do’ and automatically help preventing burning out on a long project. Moments like that help your brain to ‘file away’ things, which can help increase productivity afterwards. - if your project will take several days/weeks, plan the time when you’ll quit for the day beforehand, making sure you have time to give your brain time-off. Ready or not, feeling good or bad, at hour X you’ll stop working on it, every day (there might be apps that will block your software tools at the time you set). This is again with the philosophy of creating lasting habits and of allowing your brain breaks in between to prevent fatigue/burn-out. - my own productivity issues often stem from difficulties concentrating, and anxiety to tackle larger annoying tasks that ‘need to be done’ but keep being put off (tasks that are not motivating, so perhaps less applicable to you). What helps me there is a mindset shift: the only way to eat an elephant is piece by piece. Meaning dividing the task at hand in smaller pieces and just starting on 1 piece at a time, if needed only for 30 or even 15 minutes. It sounds stupidly easy, but since it’s anxiety related it is about how I mentally tackle the task, how I can get myself to take the first step. The actual execution is usually easy and simple, and once a first little ‘succes’ has been obtained, it’s easier to do the next bits. Creating habits is hard, and takes about 3 months. So keep that in mind when you try to implement such things, you might not succeed at first and that is ok.
Wim D.
2023-07-18 19:02:58 +0000 UTCThat app sounds pretty good! The only productivity tool that really worked for me was Adderal.
Ryan
2023-07-17 20:48:37 +0000 UTC
