6 Time Management Tips for Finals Week

First off, I feel obligated to say that I have absolutely not been using these tips nearly as much as I should be (oops). Usually, I'm very good about staying on top of tasks and motivating myself but procrastination has been hitting me hard these days. I only have two exams left, one next Tuesday and one on Thursday, but my very last one (organic chemistry) will be a doozy. SO I've started using these strategies to keep me on task with everything I have to do!

+ Split all big, scary tasks into teeny, not-scary tasks. Specifically, take vague tasks and try to make them more concrete by splitting them into individual, specific tasks. I especially like to narrow everything down to tasks that will take at most an hour at a time. For example, instead of telling myself that I have to "study for chemistry", I can split that into the tasks of reviewing notes, redoing problems missed on old exams, doing practice problems and doing a practice exam. Each of those sections can even be narrowed down even more by chapter. This method really helps me not to get overwhelmed by huge tasks by taking things one baby step at a time.

+ Be disciplined in getting rid of distractions. I feel like this is one of those easy-peasy helpers that I know I should do...but for some reason I never do. But I know that getting rid of distractions always makes me more productive. Maybe that means blocking social media and certain websites from your computer, deleting apps on your phone (or turning it off altogether) or even going somewhere else so you're not constantly tempted by the cookie dough in your fridge (and by you, I mean me). I use a great extension for Chrome called StayFocusd. I can block a list of websites for a given time (bloglovin, facebook, pinterest, etc) or go in "nuclear mode" and turn off all internet for a time. It's really helpful to force myself to get away!

+ Staying healthy is the best way to make sure you can use your time productively. I have a friend who gets sick every single semester right before finals week--it's natural! We're stressed, we're probably not taking very good care of ourselves, so naturally our body gets tired and our immune system just can't keep up. But once you're sick or super tired, none of these tips above will help you. Keep your health up by exercising every other day, eating regular healthy meals (no skipping! no late night chocolate/cookies/pizza!) and SLEEPING eight hours a night as much as possible. Y'all. I'm serious. Sleep does not make you lazy. Sleep is a glorious thing.

+ Keep a positive mindset. Sometimes my biggest stumbling block is that I'm horrible at dealing positively with my own failures. If I make a study plan and get distracted and behind, I actually get angry with myself. I get upset and frustrated. But then, I spend so much energy getting mad at myself that I don't have any left to work on that thing that I was supposed to be doing! It becomes a negative cycle. This can alllll be prevented just by reacting kindly to whatever happens. If you don't do as well as you had hoped on something, it's okay. Take a deep breath. You can't change the future but you can keep it from messing up the rest of your day.

+ Build in regular breaks. I aim to take about 15 minutes of break after every 45 minutes of work, but if I'm doing something particularly unpleasant, I might even make that 10 minutes of break for every 30 minutes of work. You can fiddle with it and try to find a ration that feels good without getting lazy. But the trick to this is that you have to be ruthless in the timing. It's just as important to force yourself to take your whole break when it's time as it is to make sure you're working hard during your work period.

+ Take intentionally relaxing/fun/rewarding breaks. When you do get to your break periods, I highly, highly recommend that you not spend it noodling on facebook unless you just really enjoy that. Most likely, it'll feel like wasted time and you'll want to take an even longer break. What I do recommend: reading, coloring, meditating, (sometimes) Netflix, cleaning, cooking, etc.

What are your time management tricks? Any finals tips? Fellow college bloggers/blog readers, come say hi!

A Simple Method to Fall Asleep Faster

Lately, I've been testing out a different sleep cycle called biphasic sleeping, which, like it sounds, refers to sleeping in two sections a day instead of one long chunk during the night. To do this, I sleep about 4.5 hours during the night (usually 2am-6:30am) and then take a 60-90 minute nap in the afternoon around 2 or 3pm. Supposedly, according to mostly anecdotal evidence, this can make you feel just as rested as if you were sleeping eight hours during the night, even though it only adds up to six hours (or less!) a day. 

I'm going to talk about this little experiment more in the future, once I've been at it for a little longer. But for now I want to talk about a cool method I've learned to help you fall asleep faster. Before I started this experiment, I was more in the habit of watching Netflix or noodling around on Bloglovin' until I got sleepy (which is horrible, I know). 

So I'm not used to laying around, waiting to fall asleep. I started to get in that irritating mental state where you try to hard to fall asleep that you never get sleepy. You know what I mean? So naturally, I took to the all-knowing google to look for ways to fall asleep faster so I don't have to wait through that waiting period. 

And I found out about 4-7-8 breathing. 

There's a medical doctor from Harvard named Dr. Andrew Weil who developed this technique and he calls it "a natural tranquilizer for the nervous system." And the awesome thing? It's super super easy.

That's all there is to it! Dr. Weil claims that if you practice two sets of four breaths every day for two months, you should be able to fall asleep in around a minute. While I'm skeptical of that, it definitely helps me relax whether I'm stressed or just trying to fall asleep. 

Have you every tried 4-7-8 breathing? 

How They Do It: Gina

How They Do It is an ongoing series in which I interview creatives, bloggers, students and freelancers about their productivity and time management strategies for creating awesomeness. Today, we'll hear some thoughts from Gina, student, blogger, creative mind and travel dreamer.

1. How would you describe the work that you do (whether it's an actual job or around the house or hobbies)?

I’m all about seeing people’s stories come alive through creativity. As a college student, I dabble in many different areas in my major, strategic communications, but I focus on web design, graphic design and interactive media. On the side, I run a blog and I’m in the process of opening design services for bloggers, too.

2. Would you (briefly) describe a typical work day for you? 

There’s never a typical day for me in college, but my day–specifically a Thursday (my favorite day of the week)–goes a little bit like this:

8:30am : Wake up and relax in bed, checking my phone for social media updates, emails and the news.
9:30am : Eat breakfast and get ready for the day.
10:30am: First class of the day!
12pm : End class and walk back to my apartment to make lunch.
1pm : Work on school work for my classes and send emails to professors and/or bloggers and classmates
2pm : Second class of the day.
4pm : Class ends and I usually go back to my apartment and unwind by checking emails or social media. Or I clean up the apartment and do laundry.
5:30pm : Go to Zumba class, one of my favorite exercise routines.
7pm : Rush out of Zumba to grab a quick dinner on campus and go home to shower.
8pm : Attend a meeting for an organization or a class project.
10:30pm : Finish up schoolwork for the night and review my to-do list.
11:30pm : Catch up on my favorite TV show or Youtube channels before going to sleep.
12:30: Time for bed!

3. What's your workspace like?

My usual workspace is my desk in my room, complete with some flowers, my favorite pens and a notepad handy for to-do lists and reminders. I also like keeping some of my favorite journals nearby, which contain much of my blogging inspiration. When I’m not working at my desk, I choose the couch in the living room of my apartment, because it is a bright and sunny area!

4. When you are working, what is your biggest struggle as far as staying motivated and focused?

The hardest part for me is getting the courage and motivation to start a creative project (whether that is a paper for class, a design for a client or a blog post). I struggle with viewing work as huge projects and it’s sometimes hard for me to break it down into smaller pieces in order to be productive. Also, staying focused with social media at our fingertips is a skill in itself!

5. When you feel drained, what inspires you or pushes you to keep doing what you do?

I think it’s so important to have a creative community to inspire you and lift you up. My friends in my major and the bloggers I connect with have been major sources of motivation for me! Also, I love taking a break to refresh by working out or reading some of my inspiration journals that contain blog post ideas.

6. Do you have any favorite resources for organizing your work and time?

My planner! I found a planner at Target this year, and it has become my favorite planner of all time. I’ve used it more often than any planner in the past. I discovered I like the planners with the professional layout, organized by hours, rather than the academic setup in planners. My second go-to tool is Google Drive. It has become so helpful this year with organizing my classes, group projects, collab posts and blogging activities.

7. How do you refuel your soul after a long day?

I love to talk to my roommates and my friends after a long day and catch up with their lives. Also, I love journaling and reading at night, some of my favorite things.

Lastly, just for fun, would you list a few songs that you listen to while you work (or while you're not working!)?

I listen to the American Authors station and the Bad Suns station on Pandora, and lately I’ve been loving the song “Parachute Heart” by Aaron and Andrew, as well as many of their other songs.

Big thanks for Gina for sharing on the blog today! Do any of you use the same methods as Gina to stay focused and creative? Don't forget to say hi on Gina's blog!

How They Do It: Amber

How They Do It is an ongoing series in which I interview creatives, bloggers, students and freelancers about their productivity and time management strategies for creating awesomeness. Today, we'll hear some thoughts from Amber, blogger, coffee-lover and productivity master.

1. How would you describe the work that you do (whether it's an actual job or around the house or hobbies)?

I’m a full time student by day, and part time blogger and creative by night! I spend most of my days running from classes, to meetings and then to my part time job as an office assistant. When I’m not doing that, I’m brainstorming and creating over at Ember & March.

2. Would you (briefly) describe a typical work day for you? 

All of my days vary a bit, but here’s the general flow of things:

6:30am : Wake up, and convince myself to get out of a warm and cozy bed! Make coffee, and breakfast before spending a few minutes answering emails and getting ready for class. I sometimes use the morning to study.
9:30am - 12:30pm: Class
12:30pm-4:00pm: Work/homework… also, a second cup of coffee usually happens.
4:00pm-6:00pm: Meetings (or on down days, grabbing coffee and catching up with friends...or Netflix.)
6:00pm-bedtime: Read blogs, edit upcoming posts, do some writing for my upcoming ecourse and a few other projects!
11:00pm: Shower and (hopefully) bedtime

3. What's your workspace like? 

My desk is pretty simple, and usually very tidy under the sea of post its. I love working in my room during the morning and afternoons because it’s filled with natural light which keeps me productive!

4. When you are working, what is your biggest struggle as far as staying motivated and focused?

Eliminating distractions --especially social media. I’m always tempted to “check in” to what’s happening, which leads to me getting off task. Keeping my phone off my desk when I’m working has been a big help.

5. When you feel drained, what inspires you or pushes you to keep doing what you do?

I’m really big on setting goals, and seeing the bigger picture. Knowing that I’m working towards a much bigger goal than the small tasks at hand is a huge motivation to me.

6. Do you have any favorite resources for organizing your work and time?

I love Evernote to keep track of notes and projects. I use the web app and the Mac app to keep everything together. I’m also a huge fan of Google Drive for storing and sharing work when I’m on the go. To stay on tasks daily, I’m pretty old fashioned --a standard weekly planner helps get me by without getting lost in everything going on.

7. How do you refuel your soul after a long day?

At the end of the day, I can be left feeling pretty drained (especially when most days I leave my house by 8am and don’t get back until 7 or 8pm). Two things really help me to refuel: making a delicious dinner for myself, and spending some time alone in my room for at least an hour. The introvert in me loves the alone time, and no matter how tired I am after a long day, taking the time to cook myself a meal does wonders for the soul.

Lastly, just for fun, would you list a few songs that you listen to while you work (or while you're not working!)?

My playlist changes based on what work I’m doing! I’m a huge fan of Sara Bareilles radio when I need a tranquil setting, and Beyonce radio when I’m into something more upbeat. I also love old 90s r&b (think Toni Braxton and Boys II Men).

Big thank you to Amber for sharing today! She inspires me to be a better blogger and live a more inspired and minimalist lifestyle. Now, if you wouldn't mind, would you take my super short survey! Thank you bunches!

5 Ways to Kickstart an Unproductive Day

Y'all this is my first official post on the shiny, new, updated Call Me Sassafras (and updated it is!) and I am so glad you're here reading this! Big yay! 

So this here post is very representative of my vision for the content I've planned for the blog. When I was reconsidering the topics that I post about, I knew I wanted to put more focus on writing things that are helpful and useful while still writing things that I have experience with and are personal to me. 

As a student, I care about productivity because it helps me waste time on the things I want to waste my time on. Instead of spending three hours sort of working on a task, sort of on facebook, sort of texting my friends, focusing on my productivity means that I'll spend an hour and a half on the task and then I have an hour and a half to read, blog, find new music, or try to make victory rolls look as good on my hair as they do on Victoria's (spoiler: they never do). 

As much as I try to be productive, sometimes I have days where I'm just plain not. Whether I overslept or got sidetracked early on in the day, some days I get in a time-wasting groove and can't getting out. You feel me? Well, these days suck + I've started practicing some of these tried and true ways to pick yourself out and get going again.

Reprioritize and refocus.

If I get stuck on a task and I'm not making progress, I like to stop what I'm doing, physically move somewhere else in the room to distance myself from the project, and reconsider my priorities. I'll brain dump a list of things I need to do an quickly prioritize them by numbering them from highest priority to lowest, consciously thinking about why my important tasks are important. Then I'll choose one of my higher priority projects and focus on it. 

Move to a new location.

Especially outside, weather permitting. Changing locations forces our brain to process new information, really waking up your brain cells so they can process new information! Plus, we could all use a little more fresh air. My new favorite (because it's still in the 60s here in Florida!) is setting up my eno behind my building and studying or reading emails. 

Do some quick exercise.

Sometimes, I'll do fifty jumping jacks or a couple minutes of yoga flows (modified plank, cobra, downward dog, plank, child's pose, and again). Usually this is enough to wake me up + get blood pumping. Whenever I do quick spurts of exercise, I can feel my brain start to pick up speed and prepare to get work done.

Consider what's stopping you.

Did you not get enough sleep? Take a 30-minute nap. Is social media distracting you? Turn on a web filter. Is your project too large? Break it into five steps and just do one. On top of that, take note of the things that made you have an unproductive day + try to make sure they don't happen again. When I sleep late, it takes me forever to get focused. So now I know getting up on time is a huge priority for me.

Dig deep and work.

If you try, you can come up with a hundred reasons why you aren't productive. Sometimes, the solution is just to grit your teeth and get back to work. Set a timer for 15, 30, 60 minutes and work. Be sure to reward yourself afterwards--you worked hard! 

Thank you for reading today, you guys! Do something amazing today! And please take the short reader survey :)

How I Formed My Morning Routine

Haiii there friends! Notice anything different around here? I've been practicing digitizing my hand-lettering and I'm working to incorporate it more into my designs. Not to be all egotistical and all, but I think it looks rather smashing. I especially like my new signature (scroll down and see it!).

Anyways, today I want to talk a little bit about morning routines. We all have one, even if it's just rolling out of bed five minutes before you need to be at work. But the interesting thing to me is how I've found that my morning routine--what I do for the first hour or so that I'm awake--shapes my entire day.

On mornings where I sleep late, exhausted after a busy night of work, stumble out of bed at 11 and don't shower for an hour, I find that the rest of my day is similarly unfocused and honestly, wasted. On those days, I never really do anything until I have to get ready for my night at work. But not only am I unproductive, I just feel badly. I know it's been said before that sleeping in late can keep you from being productive, but have you ever noticed the impact of sleeping late on your mood? The way you interact with others? Even the choice of what you wear (and therefore, how you carry and present yourself)? 

In the summers, morning routines are especially hard for me to form. I work nights, until about 11:30 or 12 every night. And I often find that I'm so wound up from talking to customers and being cheerful all night that sometimes it can take me hours to feel "ready" to get to bed. So I've struggled to balance the two sides of my day so that they don't ruin the middle. 

I've found that first, I have to focus on calming my mind so I can sleep as soon as possible at night. In the past, I would start a blog post when I get home, maybe do some cleaning, and before I knew it, it would be three or four in the morning. Now, I choose to quiet my mind, stay away from active technology (meaning no blogging--I just can't say no to my Netflix habit), do some yoga if I need and settle in bed as soon as possible. I like to take my ride home from work as a chance to clear my mind of all things work and transition into planning for sleep.

The other key part is setting an alarm. I know it sounds so terrible not fun, but I'm really a big believer in setting an alarm everyday, even if you set it for noon. I set my alarm to allow me seven and a half hours of sleep, which I have found is my sweet spot of waking up rested but not groggy and lazy. I set a second alarm clock for 30 minutes later. If I wake up with the first alarm and don't feel rested, I'll go back to sleep until the second. But I've found that I don't even use the second alarm most of the time. 

Lastly, I like to make my plan for the day (or at least until lunch) first thing in the morning or right before I go to bed. I like to choose 2-4 big things to get done (weed, write a blog post, exercise, go to the grocery store, etc) and then list a few reminders for smaller things (i.e. reply to a certain email or catch up on my blog feed). I make sure to add at least one item for something I'm looking forward to about my day.

Here's a peek at my morning/night routine:

12:00 am // Get home from work, get ready for bed, watch some Netflix.

1:00 am // Turn off all technology, lights, etc, and go to sleep.

8:30 am // First alarm goes off. Relax in bed or go back to sleep.

9:00 am // Second alarm. Get up. Brush teeth, wash face, etc.

9:15 am // Breakfast. I'm not a huge breakfast person, but even a yogurt reminds me that my day has begun.

9:30 am // Blog or exercise/shower. I mostly alternate days, but some days I get ambitious and do both.

10:30 am // Begin my to-do list.

So even though I don't get up all that early because of working nights, scheduling out my mornings has helped me stay productive all day long.

Now, I want to hear from you! What do your mornings look like? If you want to write your own Morning Diaries post, please leave a link!

My Favorite Productivity Apps

Guys, I love my iPhone. I really, really do. AND I love a good app. There are so many great apps out there for literally anything you want to do and "getting stuff done" is no exception. I use a variety of apps on a daily basis to help get things done faster + more efficiently. Hustle and 30/30 are by far my favorites. 

Hustle

I wanted to share this app because it's a lot like a website I shared awhile ago called Liltup, but in app form. Hustle (and Liltup) are super awesome because they're to-do lists with one simple-but-genius twist: a timer. Clearly, I only get things done with a timer going. This app is great for when I get back home from classes in the afternoon and I want to organize my crazy life + make sure I get everything done, from my design to blogging to classwork. And it's so easy! All I do is input all my to-do's into the app, add a time estimate/goal for each task + voila! I have a clear picture of my afternoon + how much work I have on my hands.

Once I get started, I use the timer to push myself to finish everything faster. When I finish something a few minutes early, I treat myself to a little blog reading, a little TV or something else fun. As an added plus, I can see everything I got done at the end of the day. So I get to give myself a little metaphorical pat on the back before bed!

My favorite part about Hustle is that it helps me think realistically about how much I can get done in a day. If I get home at 4 pm and try to get in bed at 9:30 pm, I can't plan six hours of work to do. I just can't. In my head, I might. But when I plan it out like this, I have no choice but to be realist about my time.

30/30

I love 30/30 because it helps me get through the menial routines of my daily life. I use the app on weekday mornings to help me get ready for my day quickly + efficiently. I'm a quasi-morning person. I like being up early because I'm productive + I get stuff done, but I also don't like getting up too early. I leave for class at 7:15 in the morning, but (herein lies my predicament) I also exercise best in the mornings. But homegirl also loves her sleep. Sooo I have my morning scheduled out down to the minute (literally) so I can sleep in as late as possible + meanwhile still get everything done before school. I'm pretty proud of this actually.

I use 30/30 to help me stay on task in the mornings so that I can be on a tight time schedule but so that I'm never late. Like Hustle, you put in all your tasks + a time limit. But unlike Hustle, 30/30 is really well suited for routines. I find myself trying to beat the clock + often times I'm able to finish my routine up to ten minutes early!

My favorite part of 30/30 is that, unlike Hustle, it runs continuously. Meaning that if I take too long on one thing, I have to make it up by speeding up on the next thing. It's impossible to ignore if I'm way off track! So I end up on time for class, exercised + prepared for the day. Win-win-win!

Here's the thing about productivity: I had someone in a comment on an old post ask me why I'm always rushing to finish things. Why I always want to "get stuff done" (which is literally my favorite phrase ever). And I thought about her question for a really long time--it's really a good one! 

As I thought about that, I kept coming back to a quote that I remember from Cheaper By the Dozen. For those of you that have only seen the Steve Martin movie (which is nothing like the actual book), it's the biography of two time and motion experts, which is old timey language for professional productivity nerds. And near the end of the book, someone asks Frank why he's always rushing, why he wants to save time as much as possible. And he responds with this:

“For work, if you love that best…For education, for beauty, for art, for pleasure…For mumblety-peg, if that’s where your heart lies.”

And I just wanted to leave you with that today as a reason for posts like this. I believe in working productively so that I can have time for play, for designing for fun, for laying in my ENO doing nothing, for watching Law and Order. 

Do you use any apps to help you get things done? Share them, share them! Really. I want to know your favorites.

What Kind of Blogger Are You?

Hey guys! Boy, are you lucky today--I've got the lovely Kenzie taking over with this stellar post about figuring out your blogger type. Enjoy + go check out her equally-lovely blog! (also, she's expecting! Go congratulate her!)

Hello lovelies! I'm Kenzie, and I blog over at Chasing Happy. I was super excited when Allie asked me to join you guys today--I dig meeting new people in blogland, and Allie rocks. That means you guys must rock, too! Obviously. 

I know a lot of people who read blogs are also bloggers themselves. It's what makes this community so awesome--we're all learning from and supporting each other. We're more engaged than many communities because we're all contributing consistently. Yay us! That being said, not every blog--and not every blogger--is created equal. We work hard to make our blogs the best they can be. But, unfortunately, we don't always work smart.

Blogging takes a lot of work--anyone who's been at it for more than a week could tell you that. It's important to approach it intelligently, so our work is never wasted and we get the best results. In his book The Accidental Creative, Todd Henry talks about three different "modes of focus." (I love reading about creativity... I'm currently about halfway through Henry's book and it's great! I definitely recommend picking it up yourself if you're at all interested in improving your own creativity or productivity.) Those modes can also represent three different approaches to blogging--exploring them can help us identify where we might be falling short in our efforts and how we can achieve a better balance.

Drifter

Drifters bounce from task to task at the speed of light. They might get a lot done, but they often still feel as though their blog isn't making the kind of progress they hope for. This is because they're missing an overarching strategy--the big picture. 

You have to know where your blog is headed, what you want it to be. Without this long-term strategic perspective, your approach isn't cohesive. You cross things off your to-do list like the best of them, but you're not thinking far enough ahead to be doing much more than treading water. 

Driver

Drivers, on the other hand, know exactly where they're headed. They have a very clear picture of their end goal, and they won't let anything stand in the way of achieving it. Every task contributes in some way to their objective, and they work with intense focus. 

This might sound pretty good to you, but the truth is it's not an ideal situation. The driver is so focused on her end goal that she often overlooks opportunities that pop up unexpectedly. And there are a lot of those in blogland! But the driver doesn't accept anything that doesn't fit into her plan, even though the new opportunities are often the ones that help us the most. 

Developer

The happy medium is the developer. This blogger has a clear understanding of her overall strategy and end goal. She knows where she's going and has a plan for how she'll get there. At the same time, she remains open to opportunities. As Henry puts it, the developer "purposefully approach(es) each task or element of a project as an opportunity to develop new connections or potential ideas." She keeps her head up and her eyes open. As new opportunities present themselves, she evaluates them one by one and decides if they're worth pursuing. The ones that aren't get discarded, but the ones that are get incorporated into her activities. 

A developer's blog is practically a living organism--it's continually growing and evolving. The developer herself feels good about her work and can see the positive returns of her efforts. This sounds much better, doesn't it? 

Every blogger falls into at least one of these categories. In fact, a single blogger could take all three approaches in one week! It's perfectly OK to be wherever you are right now--we've all been through each stage at one point or another. What's important is being able to recognize where you are and take steps to correct your course (or stay on it, if you're in developer mode).

If you're feeling as though you're getting a lot done but lack direction, revisit your blog's overall strategy. If you don't have one, it's time to create one! Make updates where needed and see if there are any current opportunities that could help you move your blog forward.

If you've been extra focused on your end goal lately, make sure you're also taking time to evaluate opportunities as they arise. Don't pass over good things simply because they aren't in your original plan--instead, evolve your plan. 

If you've been striking a good balance between pursuing your overall strategy and accepting the right opportunities, good for you! Keep it up, girl. Periodically review your position and look for ways to keep moving forward.

There you have it! Keep an eye on yourself and readjust when necessary--your blog will thank you for it. 

Thanks for hanging out with me here today, friends. I hope you'll come visit me over at Chasing Happy sometime. You can also find me on Twitter and Facebook--I'd love it if you came to say hello!