The achievement-timebox scheduling paradigm

There are two common methods of scheduling your day that I've noticed. 

The first one is to-do lists. Just make a checklist and get all the things in it done. My dad does this and is somehow really productive with it. If I do this, I either derail into an entire train wreck or end up engaging in "revenge bedtime procrastination" and stay up SUPER late trying to finish everything -- and then the next day is shot. 

The other one is timeboxing. I carefully designed a timeboxed schedule to work on my pursuits in the summer of 2019, while I was interning at Sling. I spent most of those timeboxes watching YouTube and mindlessly browsing Facebook memes. Then suddenly time would be up and WHOOPS, time for bed. 

So, timebox with goals. Hour X is when I will work on my Python review, hour Y is for math, hour Z is for art, then I will do writing for 30 minutes directly after dinner, etc. But for my Python review I want to get through lesson X, for my math review I want to finish my current unit, for art I want to finish a certain tutorial or painting. 

And so forth. 

The idea is, do everything within your power to achieve that goal within your allotted time. Don't just work aimlessly. But the moment your timebox is up, you HAVE to stop working. NO OVERFLOW ALLOWED!

You'll probably never follow this perfectly but at least for me it has been helping a LOT, and my punctuality, while still bad, is going from like showing up at 9:35 to showing up at 9:15, which does make a difference. 

And easy days are OK too. I was having a difficult mental health morning so I went easy on myself today. And that's totally fine. 

I still put off all sorts of important things, like cleaning and washing my car, but those aren't related to my passion projects, which is why I put them off. I'm more concerned with being productive as it relates to my most important pursuits, and I'm OK blowing other stuff off a little -- but not too much. I've had times in my life where I ALWAYS prioritized the boring stuff over everything else, and what do you know? There's always more boring stuff to do, always more cleaning and groceries and such, so my creative progress stagnated. Like, do I REALLY need to go to Target before my weekly trip on Friday just to get some Wheat Thins? Or can I just spend a little bit more and get some Sun Chips from the mini-mart at work? It's the same reason I automate all my bills. If it's not important to your long-term goals, blow it off. Short-term stuff is cheap. I never feel productive while doing it. It does feel nice to have a clean apartment and a stocked fridge, but the process of getting there is gross. 

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