Hi Reader

As of late, I've been thinking more and more about productivity. Not in an "I need to work for the sake of working" way, but more so to do the things I'd like to. During my time in thought, I've come to the conclusion that my current setup and methodology are actively harmful to my productivity. By accepting this fact, I was able to identify areas in which I could make changes, goals I could set, and also limits I needed to put on myself. In this blog entry, I will dive into all of these discoveries, and outline a concrete plan and measurable goals for the future.

The biggest limitation I found was my fixed mindset. Not a fixed mindset as in "I can't do this currently so I'll never be able to do it" but more "I've been doing this thing this way for so long, I can't do it any other way". An example of this is taking notes. Imagine you've been taking notes during a lecture using paper, and find it troublesome to keep everything organized. You keep losing papers, and sometimes even struggle to understand your own handwriting. I will note that this is not something I've ever dealt with, it's just an example. You consider using Google Docs to write your notes instead. Here, you could have everything in one doc file, put the entries in order, and choose the most readable font for your text. Sounds like it could be the solution to all your problems, right? Despite weighing the two options and discovering that digital notes might be a better fit, you decide to stick with paper. Why do you do this? Well, you've already written half the course notes on paper, wouldn't that require a pretty big switch? You'd have to get used to typing instead of writing, and think about all the paper you've wasted. You even ignore all the software that could transcribe your writing into text for convenience. There's another argument against making a change: think about all the hours you'd need to retype all your notes. You weigh the cons of switching and the cons of not, and the sunk cost weighs more heavily than you could've ever thought. Giving in to sunk cost, you keep a system you should've abandoned. Even though this is just an example, I'm sure most people could relate it to something in their lives. Maybe it was using a piece of technology that just didn't work anymore. I had this very issue with my old AirPods, which died every 15 seconds. I figured I had used them for so long, and really only used them while working out, so what was the big issue with having to switch AirPods every 15 seconds? I could easily do it when I needed to do another set. That was ignoring the fact that most of the time they didn't work at all, and I needed to do my set without music. All of this reasoning seemed pretty valid to me then, but now that I have a new pair of AirPods, I realize how much the sunk cost truly weighed. I can finally do my sets with music and without the need to switch pods, and I can also listen to music, or videos, without annoyance. The one benefit of using the broken AirPods was that I realized how much I value a good pair of earbuds, and to not take that for granted. You might think AirPods aren't so important, and you aren't in school anymore so why do notes matter? But you can relate this to more important things such as your job search, or even fun things like how you work on your personal projects. Another limitation I discovered was an unwillingness to change my environment. I'm used to spending all day in my room, but I also end up spending all my time on my phone instead of being productive. At first, I just thought I was too addicted to my phone. Then I realized that I never used my phone in classes, in high school or university, and never used it outside of them when I was at those locations either. I did, however, heavily use my phone in my old house's bedroom, and my current bedroom as well. I realized how much I've tied the space I spend most of my time in to my phone. In order to not use my phone, I've decided to go to the library instead. Last time I was there, I was able to be productive and felt zero need to look at my phone. In fact, I felt a strong urge to not use it at all. I instead enjoyed how productive I was. Realizing limitations is good, but that's just the first step. Setting concrete goals and steps to reach them is just as important, which is what I will write about now.

One thing I'd like to do is finally finish my Block Lock project and get it released on the Chrome Web Store. It's strange that I'm struggling with productivity to release an application that is supposed to help with productivity. The thing is, I also have a bigger goal in terms of projects after this one. I want to create software that can actually generate revenue for me. It's a pretty bold goal, given that I not only need to create an app good enough to attract users, but also get those users to spend their hard-earned cash on it. The thing is, the idea for the app is still in formulation, and I think it's best to think about what's in front of me right now. I've realized that the only way to finish my project is to dedicate to it the time it needs, and time is a measurable metric. However, there are multiple ways to measure time. In my capstone, we used Clockify to track the time we spent working, with the expectation that we'd each work at least 20 hours a week, and we definitely spent much more. I know a lot of workplaces have punch clocks, where you punch in at the start of the day and punch out at the end, ensuring you get paid for the hours you worked. All of these are great ways to measure time, but I think there's another way to do things. Since we are dealing with code, and I have my projects on GitHub, I can use the code I push to measure my progress. I want my contributions chart looking green, so the goal I'm setting is to push code every single day. Even if I'm doing a little bit of work every day, I'll still be making progress. And the thing about progress is that it adds up over time. Doing a bit every day adds up to more than doing a lot one day and then doing nothing at all. Another goal of mine is to bulk up, which is much easier to set a goal for. I want to add 4 pounds a month, so if I'm not gaining that, I'll need to increase my calories.

Now that I've discovered my limitations, set goals, and figured out the steps to reach them, I need to get to work. Right now, I'm going to make a bulking shake so I can work towards my weight gain goal, so for now, goodbye.