Hello, Sunshine.

This has been a huge topic for me to ponder this week, as I attempt to keep my life organized and get stellar grades in school. Since I feel like I often study an extraordinary amount, yet seem to always have a lot more to do, I started a study log.

I saw that some days I do in fact study for many hours. Then I saw that others… such as this Thursday…I logged one hour and 40 minutes. While that certainly is more than other students, it is probably not enough to maintain the level of grades that I want. So I figure if I’m in class for three hours, where the hell do the rest of my 13.5 waking hours go? (I’m figuring I sleep about 7.5 hours on average)

Yes, there is eating and preparing food (huge time leachers!), walking to class, running a few random errands… but that’s a lot of unaccounted for time.

I think I need to start logging what I really do with my time for a few days. Perhaps it’ll solve this mystery?

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I tend to be an all or nothing girl so it’s frustrating when I don’t maintain the ten steps I took forward, whether it be around diet, exercise, positive thinking, career, body image, orgaization, etc. A friend reminded me though that no matter how far I think I have fallen back, I have still taken one step forward. Even if it’s one half, or .0001th of a step forward, that is still a positive thing.

I’m in a period right now where I feel like I’ve taken several steps back in terms of health and happiness. I’m not where I thought I would be at this age (which is young, but I had expectations none the less), and that can be upsetting. BUT when I look at the bigger picture, when I look at where I am today in comparison to three years ago, I AM in a higher place. It doesn’t look how I might want it to, but for whatever reason it’s working out just fine.

So today I am reminding myself I am taking steps forward, no matter how it may seem.

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I’ll be the first to admit that I am definitely not a master of all things productivity related. Accomplishing tasks, phone calls, school work, organization, house cleaning, etc have always been, err, daunting to say the least. I’ve tried many things to really get a hold of things in my life, and the one strategy that has created real results is using baby steps. The idea is simply that to attempt to complete a huge project all at once is daunting and often inconvenient, while starting small with one action contributing to the project daily is feasible.

For example with the messiest of rooms, I will often decide to put away 20 items and then walk away. Or set a timer for 15 minutes, organize as much as I can in my set space, and then move on. Or choosing one healthy thing that I can add to my diet every day, instead of embarking on a forced “diet” makes healthy eating so enjoyable. Committing to baby steps daily can accomplish large amounts of work in short amounts of time. I find often that once I get started with a small task it’s so easy and fun that I’ll complete the entire project right then.

The idea ties into the notion of reinforcing positive habits through positive thinking. Instead of focusing on an “impossible” project, the focus is on the delight in how much you accomplished in your baby step today. The focus is on the positive action, empowering you to take more positive actions.

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Journal Excerpt: June 28th 2006 — I just got off the phone with Ryan and we were talking about how we start our days. I realized that I have been completely unconscious with how I am conducting my time, and of course I feel bored and inefficient because I am not structuring myself one bit. So I decided to do what he does and make a few goals for the day. Maybe even the night before. But it struck me—what the hell do I want to do with my day? What do I actually want to accomplish? Here I am just sitting around in my underwear reading message boards, daydreaming, and eating mangoes. No wonder my wildest dreams aren’t being fulfilled.

I wrote that entry over a year ago at a point where I had literally nothing to do, and I had the freedom to really do whatever. (Trust me, this can be unbelievably uncomfortable) I am now in at a place where I have quite a few things to do, in fact multiple cross-referenced lists encompassing short-term, long-term, side projects, life goals, and immediate things that I need to do. Yet somehow, it’s very easy to forget about these lists and to become distracted with myspace, facebook, e-mail, phone calls, family, on and on. Or a video of a self-taught choreographer teaching Britney routines on Youtube, and to attempt them standing over your laptop in your kitchen at one in the morning. Whatever the reason, it is easy for the day to slip away.

It is so easy to splatter our attention, to get bombarded with “things” that devour our attention and time, and how do we become truly efficient effective human beings in spite of the distractions that will always exist. If I had the solution to that, I would absolutely fill you in (or write a book and make millions, because I know many who would like to know this). For now it’s an area I am consciously striving to become better than ever in (and I have a long way to go). I often have thoughts that it seems “hard” to be productive, but I believe practice makes perfect, action breeds positive reactions, and I just need to figure out what works for me.

What I have learned that works, as I was inspired to try after the noted conversation above with my friend Ryan, is to write down my goals for the day the night before or first thing in the morning. If we go into the day, a situation, or even an activity with a set intention of how it’s going to go, I guarantee there will be a far more structured outcome than if entered blindly. Writing it down can be simple. It might be just one thing you must absolutely have happen. Or perhaps there are 75. I include many categories, including exercise, making juice, and journaling — all on my to-do list for the next day and just as important as remembering appointments and completing assignments. I also include goals and intentions for how I will feel, how certain situations will turn out, and what I will achieve. It’s effective, and very empowering as it puts you back in the drivers seat for your day.

So if you feel inclined, start small…

• Write down your goals and intentions for tomorrow.

More thoughts on productivity to follow.

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