How I Had My Most Productive Day

Before we begin…

I do not want to glorify productivity. I think we should aim to be productive, so that we have more time for self-care and for things that bring us joy—not because I think our value depends on productivity.

For example, being productive allows me to spend more guilt-free and focused time with my family, creating content, exercising, meal-prepping, etc.

Now, before I tell you how I had my most productive day yet, let me tell you the tasks I completed…

Tasks I Completed

• Got all three of my kids (8 and under) ready for school and made their vegan lunches.

• Reviewed an academic journal article (essentially reading another researcher’s paper and giving feedback on the study/research; I wrote about 2 pages of comments).

• Submitted one of my own papers for peer review (read over it, made minor revisions, prepared multiple drafts because I kept finding stuff I needed to change lol). I submitted the paper 6 days earlier than I planned!
• Graded 24 written assignments from my undergraduate students.
• Submitted a transcript for a video abstract I recorded for one of my recent publications.
• Got the kids off the bus and cooked dinner.
• Scheduled a meeting with one of my advisees + sent the calendar invitation.
• Sent a bunch of emails.

How I Did It

1. Used and stuck to systems. I think creating systems is one of the most underrated ways we can save time! I used systems to complete many of the tasks listed above.

For example, I keep a note on my phone with “canned responses” (common pieces of feedback) that I give students on assignments. So, when I’m grading, I can just copy and paste the comments that apply to the specific assignment I’m grading. I even systematize parts of our morning routine with the kids (e.g., making lunches).

2. I used AI. I use artificial intelligence to help me complete tasks faster–not as a substitute for my own thinking and creativity. For example, I recently published an article in an academic journal, and I recorded a video abstract that will be used to promote the article.

The journal requested a transcript of the video I recorded. To save time and energy, I uploaded my video abstract to otter.ai and had artificial intelligence transcribe it. Of course, I had to go in and edit the output and make corrections. But, this took about 10 minutes as opposed to the 1 hour or more it would have transcribed the video by hand.

3. I used timers and set time limits for each task. Using a timer is one simple thing I do to (give myself a false sense of 😂) control how I spend my time. For example, I knew I needed to review the article, but I only had about 2 hours to dedicate to this. So, I worked in 15 minutes increments until I was finished. This helped me ensure that I didn’t lose track of time.

With submitting my own paper for peer-review, I could have went full perfectionist on this task. But those timers kept reminding me that, “Girl! You have a million other things to do. Submit this paper NOW!”

4. Flowed my negative feelings into productivity. The last and probably most important piece of all this is that I flowed my negative feelings into productivity.

I’m usually managing A LOT of anxiety on a daily basis. This particular day, I just felt especially terrible. I figured that I might as well feel anxious, sad, and down while I got some stuff done. So, that’s what I did. I felt those terrible feelings and moved toward my tasks—not away from them. By the end of the day, those terrible feelings were (mostly) replaced by a sense of accomplishment.

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