i personally still have most of my social media on my phone, i just have a specific app that blocks how many times i can open the app, and for how long i can use the app for that open. i've been finding that it works pretty well for me at least, the app is called ScreenZen, it's at least on ios.
also, consider that you don't have to be productive all of the time! obviously, if you're not doing your commitments that's one problem, but if you're meeting everything on time then you're fine, productivity-wise. also, don't consider your hobbies to be productive - one way street to not liking what you're doing + doing things that are not productive is perfectly okay!
i (and others who limit time on social media) find it's less about a total decrease in tech, and more how you're spending your time with it, and how you feel about your time on and off it.
also - if you want to do something, but don't seem to have the motivation to do it, try making yourself do it for a short period of time - maybe 5 minutes on a game, or a chapter of a book. i find that helps at least get the ball rolling, that starting is sometimes the hardest part.
this was really long omg, i hope it helps!!
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Cut down on the screen time significantly, mostly social media. Use social media mindfully, no brainrot no aimlessly. Put a screen time limit on your time-suck apps and respect the limit.
have a notebook/daily planner and use it. (no note or productivity apps) plan something every day no matter how big or smalls.
Your space is a reflection of your mind. Declutter your physical spaces.
Do things youβve been meaning to do.
Apr 13, 2025
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I put my phone in another room. I agree with aidanaguirre about using the Pomodoro technique; that was instrumental to me in developing my sense of work ethic and discipline. A major part of productivity is just removing temptations and distractions so that it's not even an option to do anything but work.
I use kanban style project management software to plan out projects. You could obviously just use calendars or a planner but for longer term projects i find this to be really helpful. in the past i would break these projects up into small chunks of progress and reward myself throughout the day with a little treat every time I completed a chunk... so I would say the carrot stick method of conditioning yourself to associate progress with a reward helps.
If your work is more task based I would recommend making to-do lists; sometimes Iβve also created schedules for the completion of to-do lists and rigidly adhered to them. Setting goals helps too!
At my most productive times I would diffuse a scent that I would only use while working and play ASMR ambience or field recordings associated with that scent (forest essential oil blend and forest sounds for example) to create kind of a relaxing sensory experience where the connection to productivity would grow stronger every time I was successful with it⦠advanced productivity hack.
Controversial but intermittent fasting helps my mind stay clear and focused in my sedentary workβ¦
Going into nature on a regular basis helps me, spending time with my pets, eating good food, and also making sure to fully decompress at the end of the day with yin yoga and a hot bath.
May 23, 2024
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oh lord this is going to be so dorky. there's a lot of productivity tools and techniques out there and believe me when i say that i have read a bazillion articles and tried at least 50 apps and methods, but these are the ones that have truly helped me:
TOOLS
1. Apple Reminders & Calendar β ngl i used ot underestimate these two apps, but they work really great because they have an acceptable natural language input, comprehensive and simple user interface, seamlessly syncs across multiple devices(if you're an apple user), and they work with siri. the only problem is that these two lack integration features. so to solve that...
2. Fantastical Calendar β i use another calendar app is to see all my tasks on apple reminders and events on my calendar app in a single calendar and to-do list, and yes, this app does that! it's great because it also has natural language input, enables me to view all my tasks and events in different ways like a calendar or list, and it has many functional widgets.
3. Obsidian β oof, i am found guilty. i built a second brain with obsidian which is basically like a system of knowledge and data mainly in the form of markdown files (a text document that has formatting) with internal links. i write down as much as i could β recipes, minutes of meeting, takeaways from articles, ideas for projects, trivia, literally anything! i also have a daily journal to reflect on the stuff i do, write down random thoughts and ideas blah blah you get the point. the purpose of all this is to have a centralized and organized system of information with links to each other and make it easy to retrieve information you may need for later.
TECHNIQUES
1. Prioritizing my tasks β when there's too much that needs to be done and i feel overwhelmed, i set priorities with the built-in feature of apple reminders. if im having difficulty setting priorities and want to get a clearer vision, i organize them by using the kanban plugin for obsidian.
2. Timers for when i feel lazy β basically the pomodoro technique but more flexible. i can set the timer for 20 mins or 2 hours or don't use a timer at all depending on how lazy i feel that day or how forced i feel on the task. the more i hate the task, the shorter the timer is, cause get thisβi dont want to disrupt my flow state when im doing something i really want to do. why would i work on someth for 20 min and take a break when i love doing it so much i could go on for hours. also an important note...do REALLY boring things during breaks to make the task more interesting or enjoyable β avoid triggering dopamine as much as possible.
3. Establishing scheudled habits β this helps me build consistency with the things i want to do more of. for example, i have a daily wake-up and wind down routine which consists of really simple things like washing my face and brushing my teeth, stretching for 2 minutes, drinking water, journaling. i also set a goal for myself to read a book and learn french every day. think of anything you want to do more of and set a schedule for yourself when you should be doing it and stay consistent with that schedule so your body and mind would get used to it.
4. Setting up a distraction-free environment β this is pretty self-explanatory. throw your phone away, paint the walls white, and get sound insulation for your room.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING
SELF-CONTROL β without it, nothing is really going to work smh
May 27, 2024
Top Recs from @ittybittykittycommittee
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seriously, if you haven't gone to your local library yet, you're missing out! i try to go every couple of weeks to return books and get more. while i love owning my own books as well, borrowing them from the library is great as well! not to mention what they do for ur local community, the resources they have, etc. all of this to say: go visit your local library!!!
May 29, 2025
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theyre fun to write :D or emails, if you want something more instant, since you can access your email on a laptop or desktop.
6d ago
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truly is heaven on earth
2d ago