As a PhD student, most of my time is dedicated to self-education. Apart from taking a teaching a certain amount of classes, on the majority of days I do not have to be anywhere at any time for any purpose.
While some people may see this as freeing, I live way too deeply in my own mind to see anything but the pressure and limitations this 'free' way of working brings. Unlike someone in a 9-5 job, I not only have to figure out what I'm doing in a day, but then I have to figure out the parameters for actually doing what I need to do!
I reckon people who freelance also feel this type of pressure, and spend a lot of their time organising their work, and finding methods to help them concentrate on it.
I'm an organisational nutcase, so I've got the planning side of things down. But I still find that it takes me a long time to get settled into my work, and focus on it for any period of time. So I want to ask you guys:
What do you do to help you focus?
Some of the things I currently do include:
- Lighting a candle/turning on my scent diffuser to set a nice atmosphere
- Putting on a 'chillhop' stream playlist from Youtube to block out distracting noises/silences
Let me know down below if you have any proven methods that help you focus on whatever you need to do for long periods of time!
What I find helps me the most is regimentation of my schedule. I've been most productive when I construct my day so that I always know what I'm supposed to be doing in order, if not a specific time.
For example, my daily schedule is:
You get the idea...
When I have every day set up this way, I find the process to be the catalyst for concentration and execution. Its a groove or a rhythm, I guess...
I am far more productive this way, and I ensure that no one activity hijacks my day at the expense of other things I want, or need, to do...
That's a good technique! I do plan out what I have to do but I'm not so regimented with it. Maybe putting things that have to be done that day in a priority list will help!