I was always a productivity freak but I was never being productive. I used to download apps like Tick Tick, Evernote, Forest and would try to be productive but I would last just for a few days and completely stop being productive. A few weeks ago I went all in and tried to be productive for real this time. This is how It went.

Getting over my addiction to games

I get addicted to games pretty quickly. I was playing Valorant when I decided to be productive. So, I deleted the game and it was tough to not play but I soldiered on. I did install it back after a couple of weeks but I was feeling so guilty just by the act of installing it again that I deleted it even without playing.

Using deadlines to be productive

I don’t think I can be 100% productive until I have a deadline for something important. For example, in my Engineering 4th semester last month, we were informed about lab exams exactly a week before the date of the exam. I hadn’t written my record or knew any lab programs but in one week I planned every single day so that I can simultaneously complete the records and study the programs. Surprisingly, everything went according to plan. So, I started giving myself deadlines to complete the tasks. Ok, enough about me. My point is that if you feel that you aren’t being productive enough, just give yourself a serious deadline and write down what you’ll have to do(something you don’t like to do) if you don’t complete the task by that deadline.

Reducing mobile usage

Mobile is one thing that stops you from being productive, so that’s where I started making changes. I deleted Instagram, disabled YouTube, customized my phone to make it just too boring. My phone was monochrome all over and it worked! I didn’t have apps that distracted me and without any valid reason, I wasn’t using the phone much, and my screen time, well it plummeted. Just without youtube, I didn’t feel like using the phone. If you really can’t live without Instagram or YouTube, use the browser version of them on your phone and you will automatically use less of them.

Conclusion

Now I started using the productivity apps the right way. One app which I liked was Forest. In the app, you set a timer for how much time you are gonna concentrate and the app will plant a tree for you at that time. If you give up and start using the phone, the tree will die and that’s not a good sight. I was focusing for 2 hours and didn’t feel like checking the phone at all. So, that’s been my experience on being productive and I am continuing these practices although I’m not being perfect. One thing I have learned the hard way is that not being perfect is perfectly fine. What matters is being consistent.