Ah, for the care free days of youth, right? When your every class was planned ahead of time, you coordinated every after school activity, and everything you did had a due date. Wait, that sounds super organised. Maybe adults should try that.
Photo by Bob Bohmer.
It’s common to feel like you were more productive when you were younger because you just had more energy. As productivity blog Impossible HQ points out, however, being in high school or university came with a lot of built-in schedules and task management that adults can quickly forget. If you’re trying to figure out how to get more done, try scheduling like your teacher is going to hold you to it.
Often, I find myself saying (to no-one in particular) that “there’s not enough time.” Sometimes that works as an excuse for me — but I know that I certainly have no more time than I did last week, last year, or than I did back in high school. If anything, I have way more time now than I ever have had before.
But as I look back on my 16-year-old self, I realised the quantity of time wasn’t the issue, but rather the quality of it. It’s more about how I used that time, than the sheer quantity of the time, that ultimately determines what gets done.
Of course, that worked in high school because you had tons of accountability and much less autonomy. As an adult you get to decide how you spend your time, so if you want to work late, stay up all night, and drink your weekends away, no parent or teacher is going to stop you. However, if you want to get stuff done, you might take a page out of your younger self’s notebook.
Productivity Advice From My 16 Year Old Self [Impossible HQ via 99u]
Comments