Productivity—that ever elusive thing we’re constantly trying to grasp. Sometimes enthusiastically, sometimes halfheartedly. But one thing we can all agree on: IT’S HARD.

Productivity is as slippery as a banana in Mario Kart. It can trip us up. It can aid us. We may wish we’d stop obtaining these ridiculous bananas and just get the blue shell so we can cheat our way to #1. But if we know how to strategize, we can use them to make it to the top. (What even is this analogy?)

I’m a bit of a contradiction because I can be SUCH a workaholic, and yet I get burnt out fast. I feel this constant need to be doing doing doing. To accomplish so many things. To always stay on top of my to-do lists. To reach toward my goals. But the other part of my wants to throw in the towel and just read and watch Netflix and live off potato chips in the middle of Antarctica. I can never decide if I’m ridiculously ambitious or horribly lazy.

I do have so many goals I want to reach, and I do like to stay busy, but I also get exhausted and overwhelmed sooooo easily. So what is one TO DO?!?!

WELL. Literally in just the past three years I’ve been working extra hard to cater to my contradicting personality. To reach for my goals without absolutely exhausting myself. And the fact that I’m writing a post about how to stay productive is hilarious because I do NOT feel like one of those types who has their life together. I don’t get up at 4 in the morning and have 3 blog posts scheduled and a chapter of my book written before lunch. I don’t have a specific time of day I write like you’re supposed to. And I do have an unhealthy addiction to pinterest.

This post is in no way implying I have my life together because bwahahahahahah. NO. BUT when I look at my current self compared to myself just 4 years ago, I have formed much, much healthier habits and found tricks that help. A lot.

SO THAT’S WHY WE’RE HERE TODAY. To share the things I’ve put into practice that helps even my chaotic self to stay productive (without losing my mind)!

5 WAYS TO STAY
PRODUCTIVE

TO-DO LISTS

If I could only share one tip with you, THIS WOULD BE IT. To-do lists saves lives. It’s a fact. (I mean maybe not really??? But they could.) It doesn’t matter how you do it—whether in a notebook, a word document, a chalkboard. IT’S ALL GOOD. Just…just make lists.

You should know, I am a list NERD. I love making lists for eeeverything. But I have two types of lists I keep up with on a regular basis. The first one is…

DAILY TO-DO LISTS

I have a dry erase board that I use almost every day to make a daily to-do list. The days I DON’T make a list, I poke and prod at things aimlessly, giving myself the illusion I’m being productive, but not really getting anything solid done. But the days I sit down in the morning, consider the big things I want to accomplish that day, and write them out on my dry erase board, are the days I go to bed feeling so productive. Because when I see clearly written-out items staring at me with empty check boxes next to them, I HAVE to do them. There are fewer things in this life more satisfying than marking off an item on a to-do list. #FACT

So start the day off right by considering what you want to accomplish that day and write it down. Seriously, it helps so much.

But more than just daily to-do lists. I also make…

MONTHLY TO-DO LISTS

In all honestly, I started this in June of last year. So it’s a still a fairly new thing but OH MY GRACIOUS. It has been a game-changer.

These monthly lists I keep on the computer, in a Scrivener file where I can reference it constantly, and I organize it in categories as followed:

• BLOG POSTS – Since I have two blogs, I have one section for this blog and one for Fairy Tale Central. I put the date of when the post will go up next to the title of the blog post, that way I know what needs to be written next. For Example, February’s blog section looked like this:

  – Favorite Fairy Tales (February 3rd)
  – Fantasy Month Tag (February 10th)
  – January Snow Book Review (February 17th)
  – FTC Tag (February 24th)
  

• INSTAGRAM POSTS – This is pretty much the same as above. On IG I post on Mondays, Wednesday, and Saturdays. So I write all the dates and put down what I want to post each day that month.
  
• WRITING – Here I list whatever writing accomplishments I want to tackle for the month. Such as: Send query letter to 3 agents. Rewrite the first 3 chapters of The Nether Isle. Things like that.
  
• OTHER – This is just for random stuff. Like Send birthday card to so-and-so. Beta-read so-and-so’s novella. Just life-y things that don’t go along with my regular tasks.

Those tend to be my main categories, but sometimes I’ll have something extra, depending on the month. Like last June and July I had a “Realm Makers” section to help keep up with all the RM prep. The point is to just make it organized and easy to reference. Whenever I accomplish something, I strike it out. And it’s soooo exciting to reach the end of the month and find everything crossed out.

BUT WHY DO I NEED TO-DO LISTS?

Maybe you’re naturally organized. Maybe you’re constantly productive and don’t need the motivation to-do lists provide to get things done. WELL ACTUALLY. They serve more than one purpose!

Not only do they help us stay on top of things, but they also free up head-space. Which, as a creative, is suuuuper important.

These lists I make? They used to reside in my head 24/7. My poor brain was constantly crammed with all the things I needed to do, all those deadlines looming, AND trying to figure out what blog posts I was going to write or what my next Instagram post would be, etc., etc. It was never ending thought and stress. Not too long ago I didn’t even know what my next blog post would be until like the night before I had to post it. Or I’d have to scramble up with some interesting bookish topic for my Instagram account the day I was supposed to take a picture and post something. This was exhausting. And as a result? I had no brain space left to create stories.

I was finding my story ideas dry, cliché, my writing bland and tiring, and my drive to write next to gone. And why? Because the constant to-do lists crammed inside my head were draining every last drop of my creative energy.

I knew something had to change. So last year I decided to start pre-planning and writing everything down. Like I said, total game-changer. Now while I take a shower or do dishes, I have the freedom to think up fun story ideas, instead of stressing over my next blog post or something because it’s already planned and written out instead of taking up my very limited brain space.

Just taking an hour or two at the beginning of each month to figure out what all I want to post and accomplish for the month has changed. my. world.

And wow, I didn’t mean to write a whole post on to-do lists alone. BUT THAT’S HOW IMPORTANT THEY ARE. I’m tellin’ ya, to-do lists saves lives. (Or at least our sanity.)

CHOOSE SPECIFIC DAYS OF THE WEEK FOR CERTAIN TASKS
(or take time to stockpile)

To go along with making daily to-do lists, it helps a lot to have a specific day of the week/month/whatever for repeated tasks. For example, I always prewrite these blog posts on Thursdays, even though they don’t go up until Monday. But if I can write my post Thursday, that frees up my entire weekend where I don’t have to worry about scrambling around getting a blog post ready before Monday rolls around. (And if you’re a blogger, that schedule button is a fabulous tool that I 1000% suggest using.)

This is another thing that helps free up that ever precious head-space. Because if you have a certain day for things, you don’t have to worry about it until that day, which then gives your brain the freedom to also not have to think about it. I used to struggle deciding what to prioritize. Should I write a blog post today? Get Instagram pictures? Answer emails? Spend the day editing? What should today’s big task BE??? It was exhausting. But now I have certain days for all those bigger weekly projects, and it keeps me focused.

On the other side of this, instead of having a project for each day of the week, you can also use a day or two to stockpile on things.

Used to Tuesdays were my Instagram days. I’d spend a good chunk of Tuesday afternoons taking book pictures to last me for the next week. But I kind of hated always giving up part of Tuesday for that. Because it wasn’t just snapping pictures (which, gonna be real, I am sloooow at), it was also figuring out what I was going to post about, and that took up yet more precious time. This was the big thing that urged me to start monthly to-do lists (yep, we’re back to this subject! #sorrynotsorry). I decided I’d start planning out all the posts I’d do for the whole month, instead of figuring it out little chunks at a time. THEN I stockpiled the whole month’s worth of pics. These days, at the beginning of the month, I take two afternoons out to go picture crazy and stockpile all the book pics I need that I use for Instagram and my post banners here on the blog. And LET ME TELL YA. This has helped so, so much. Now I have the whole month free to not have to worry about picture taking.

Doing things in batches to free up your space is just a lovely thing. It’s not for everyone. Some people work better doing tasks in small chunks, which I totally get. That’s why also I suggestd choosing a day of the week for each specific task. But if you like to just get ALL THE THINGS done at once, why not work in batches? I do a little mix of both of these strategies and it has definitely aided in me keeping my little shred of sanity.

DO THE HARD THINGS FIRST

Every little task we do whittles away at that creative energy. We may start the day charged and ready to go, but after 2 hours of answering emails, 3 of writing a blog post, half an hour of catching up on social media, and 1 of making dinner, well, we’re TIRED. All that energy is as deflated as a week-old birthday balloon forgotten in the backyard. (Someone please stop me with these analogies.)

That is why, during our peak of creative energy, we should tackle the biggest, hardest projects FIRST. That looks different for everyone. Maybe it’s editing that next chapter, maybe it’s writing a blog post, maybe it’s tackling your inbox. We all have tasks that drain us more than others. So it’s important to know what drains you and what’s not a big deal and figuring out how to balance it from there.

Starting out the day or the week or even the month accomplishing those big, looming, scary tasks can make the other projects look like fluffy kittens instead of hungry lions. (Seriously, stop me.) This is like the one and only thing on this list that I’ve actually done my whole life.

Back during my school days, I always tackled math first. (I should probably mention I was homeschooled, otherwise that sentence sounds really confusing. XD) Because math was always the longest, most grueling of the subjects. But once I finished it for the day, it made the other subjects feel like a breeze. AND YET, if I did the other subjects first, my brain would be too exhausted to accomplish the Big Beast that was math. (I actually didn’t even hate math. But it was still definitely the most time-consuming one of all the subjects.) I needed to do it first while I still had brainpower.

Basically? Don’t do like the video games where you fight the Big Bad Boss last. Tackle him first while you’re bright-eyed and bushy tailed, and then all those little baddies will feel like nothing more than pesky gnats. (Don’t analyze this analogy too hard, because then you’ll make the argument that you need to level up and gain experience and yadda yadda. Just humor me please.)

CLOCK OUT

This is such an important topic to me, I actually wrote a whole post on it once. I won’t repeat everything I said there, but the gist of it is: We creatives never “clock out”. When you go to a day job, you have a specific time you’re there, and then get to clock out and go home and leave work behind, right? But if you’re a writer or follow another creative avenue or even work from home, you’re ALWAYS at work.

We writers have 289823948 tasks keeping us busy 24/7, and, as we’ve learned, even our brains don’t get a break. There’s no REST. And this is bad. Very bad. Because if you’re not resting, you’re not reenergizing that creative tank, and if you’re not reenergizing, you can’t put out good content, and if you can’t put out good content, what’s the point of this whole lifestyle??? *collapses* Yeah, like I said: Very Bad.

That’s why it’s super, super, super important to MAKE YOUR OWN clocking out time.

Mine is 8 p.m. I try to be as productive as I can during the day, but once 8 hits, it’s time to close the laptop and rest. Do I always stick to this rule? BWAHAHAHAHA. I fail. so. MUCH. Remember when I said I was a workaholic? Yeeeeah. It’s hard walking away when there is an endless list of things that need to be accomplished staring you in the face. BUT IT IS VITAL. Because if you have zero energy, how are you going to accomplish these things in the first place?

We creatives, and just humans in general, HAVE to give our brains a break. God was pretty clear that we’re supposed to REST. He did not mean for us to be 24/7 working machines. Our bodies and minds aren’t equipped for that.

Choosing a specific time in the day to force yourself to turn off the computer, close the social media sites, tuck the paperwork in a drawers, is vital for your mental and physical health. And the awesome thing about it? Resting will make you MORE productive in the end, because you’ll be running on refueled energy each day instead of fumes.

BUT you should be very intentional about making the most out of your clocked out time. Which brings us right to the final point…

DO THINGS THAT REFUEL YOU

It’s not enough to just close the laptop. Our brains need activities that refills our creativity, that awakens our soul.

We have to allow ourselves regular activities that recharge us, otherwise the burn out can be debilitating.

For me, reading absolutely recharges me, and often makes me want to write. So most nights, I close the laptop at 8, get ready for bed, make some tea, and spend the night reading until I’m ready to go to sleep. It’s relaxing, it’s refueling, and it makes me ready to charge into the next day. Sometimes I’ll watch a movie with my sister instead of read, because movies and good TV shows also recharges me. It’s so, so important I use my clocked out time intentionally, instead of meandering it away, because otherwise it’s just wasted time.

More than just quiet nightly activities, we need other things that refill us as well. Maybe it’s going to the theater, catching up with friends, taking a walk at the park. Whatever refueling looks like to you, do it. Yes, we should definitely carve out time to be productive, but it’s equally as important to make time for some FUN.

Again I say: God did not create us to be 24/7 working machines. It’s all in the balance. Sometimes we’re workaholics, and sometimes we schedule a little too much fun time and not enough productive time. I have been guilty of both. Am guilty of both, constantly. But, slowly but surely, I’m finding tricks to help me live a more balanced life.

In Conclusion…

I babbled about each point waaay longer than I meant to (story of my life). So to quickly sum it up:

• To-do lists = LIFE
  
• Choose certain days of the week for specific tasks (or set out a day to stockpile things)
  
• Take on the the hardest tasks first
  
• Clock out at a specific time each day
  
• Make sure you do activities that refuels your creative tank

These things have honest to goodness changed my life. Do I fail? YES. Do I still get stressed and overwhelmed? All. the. time. BUT as I put into practice healthier habits, I’m finding I am way more productive and way less exhausted than I once was.

It takes practice and discipline, and know not everything works for everyone. We ALL lead different lives and it takes a lot of trial and error finding that perfect method for YOU. But I do hope these tips were at least a little helpful as you pursue this crazy, exhausting, beautiful, awesome life of creativity.

LET’S TALK!

What do you think, guys? Have you tried any of these methods? Who here is obsessed with lists? *waves hand wildly in the air* What’s YOUR number one way to help stay productive (without losing your mind)? I am forever on the hunt for tips and tricks, so share away!