I’ve realised again, that when I have several things to do the same day, they all tend to flow better, whereas when I have one thing to focus on, I tend to procrastinate more and become more exhausted. Perhaps it’s a matter of not having to concentrate so much on one thing, or the variation of doing different things, makes it more stimulating and inspiring.

When we can decide over our own time, we can choose what to do and when, as well as be flexible about which day, we can do what. This isn’t as possible with commitments to others of course, unless we take charge of when, in those instances too. Taking deliberate breaks and doing something else helps, where scrolling on social media can be a break if it’s time constrained and not too engaging. We all need down-time and that isn’t possible when others crave our attention all the time, whether online or in life. Watching TV instead for an hour and a half, suddenly feels like the best luxury. Imagine that, when it used to be what we “doom-scrolled” on.

Another way to create portions of each project, is to set a limit for how much we’re doing every day. When I wrote on my thesis, for example, I made sure to not write more than a part of a chapter, or one chapter, my planned days to work on it, to ensure my quality wouldn’t become lower with the pure extent of it all. Likewise, I made sure to finish what I intended, regardless of at which time of day I did it. Dealing with constant interferences made it tougher, but nonetheless with perseverance, I pulled it through. And because of these outer interferences, I haven’t been able to stick to a pre-set schedule for many years, so to me, it’s been a matter of waiting for a time with less, to do more then. Often, our stress becomes less, when we do what we set out to do, and have our own little rituals before the end of the day, even if this takes a little longer. Eliminating stress before bedtime, obviously makes it easier and faster to fall asleep too.

Deciding to divide our activities into portions, enable us to economise our energy, which makes it more fun and rewarding when we continue our undertakings. How does your days or weeks look like?