1. Manager day where you do all your admin tasks for only 1 day of the week 2. Note down every intrusive task and do it later. Externalising this will unburden your mind 3. Overcome procrastination by writing down how you feel about the task you've been avoiding, why you don't want to do it, what you're trying to avoid and what you think you need to do it. Break it into steps and tackle it head on 4. Define each task clearly and in a detailed manner 5. Make a separate list on things you'd like work on that are not urgent (stuff for fun)
1. Do admin tasks only for once a week.. so it doesn't interrupt your flow. (Sat).. or do it at the end of your projects 2. If you have a task you have been procrastinating on, take a paper and write on it what do you feel about it, why are you avoiding it and how can you tackle it. This creates instant motivation
This may have been the best 13 minutes-worth of content on procrastination I have found. And I’ve been in a life-and-death struggle with it for 40 years. Thank you.
Too bad those videos are not targeted directly towards neurodivergent people, because clearly they are created by neurodivergent person and made for neurodivergent people. Why don't say that?
@@avtoportret I disagree. People with ADHD need different methods of avoiding/decreasing procrastination because our brains work best when they’re stimulated by switching now and then to a new exciting tactic. Since we get bored easily and need constant stimulation (it’s why many ADHD people switch jobs more frequently than neurotypical people), that goes for study and life ‘hacks’ as well. The whole thing is that holding ourselves to one set system for productivity will be nearly impossible since we can easily become unmotivated after a while when having to follow a repetitive system or schedule to keep our productivity up. I am really grateful for this channel because I feel like she’s constantly searching for evidence based methods and laying down varying tactics to try out. It keeps things interesting for my brain so that when I get tired of keeping myself to one method, it often helps me to get a burst of motivation when I change to a new planner, implement a ‘hack’ or change my time schedule. I still get that burn out feeling once in a while but honestly I was a lot worse before I started following her advice
Thank you so much for posting this. I really think this will help me. I have a recent diagnosis of ADHD at age 30. I was a fellow 'quiet achiever' but I always felt I had to tirelessly work so hard to reach middle-ground. Now I feel like my life makes sense, and I have found your videos so relatable. I would like to share this, in case there is anyone else in this comment section who is like me: On top of this life-validating diagnosis, I am currently working to reconnect my psyche and soma due to childhood C-PTSD, to become a better human for myself and others. However, I am finding that this has become a blockade to having predictable days and, therefore, the ability to stick to a schedule remains difficult. Sometimes my body will choose to process something on a day that my mind is 'booked in' to function and it will throw a whole schedule out of whack. I struggle to compartmentalise these things because I am still in the early stages of processing past traumas and so it feels like these reactions are entirely involuntary. I have found that using 'focus mode' on my phone and periodically (unapologetically) deactivating social media accounts has helped immensely. I tell people right off the bat that I do this and my reasons why. I have learnt to accept that I struggle to regulate my empathy and will work with that wonderful part of my personality instead of allowing it to work against me. The anxiety, a.k.a. FOMO, in the beginning was tough but I am leaning further into accepting my basal introversion of my self-proclaimed extroverted-introvert personality. No one around me seems to have a problem with it, and those who do aren't worth my personal time. I believe I am therefore scheduling these currently complex life-admin/unpredictable communication moments for AFTER major tasks are completed per day, enabling me to push through and thrive in my studies and personal goals, whilst also maintaining my social circles and never-ending life to-do list. I guess this aligns with the advice in this video. Life seems so much less overwhelming and I have more self-worth because I have been able to achieve in the way I would like to in life. Oh, and dexamphetamine has also helped keep me on track haha. If anyone else is stumbling through this, I am here with you. It will take time but life will get better. I trust that it will because, if anything, our past has shown that we actively seek and implement changes for the better, time and time again.
Love this, Elizabeth! I've been in an emotional rut the past months over 2 huge projects which bring me anxiety. You are like my good conscience who gave me a pep talk with steps to help me put things into action. 🎉
I love this. The system you mentioned has been working for me but never thought about having a single admin day. Definitely giving more thought to that. Btw, noticed that you were more slow-paced in this video and just want to say thanks. Really appreciate you adjusting your pace.
Yay! A new EF video!!! I’m so grateful to you and all of your brilliant advice during Ali’s PTYA course. I really miss you there and wish you were still part of the program, but I know you’re busy with medical school and with this brilliant channel so I wish you the best and hope you’re well.❤❤
That's actually a really good way to go about it. I really want to do that, I'm just not sure it will be possible, because 1. sometimes people you make appointments with don't have a very flexible schedule themselves and when I make this plan and then it goes off the rails this makes it much worse for me and 2. I really struggle with the pressure of doing something right now this exact way and I can be very tired and overwhelmed after appointments so doing them all in one day seems a bit like a disaster to come.
This is amazing. There are so many useful, actionable, applicable suggestions here. I'm supposed to be working on a take-home midterm that's due in a few days, and you probably genuinely saved me in that regard. This is so helpful; thank you! I'm going to check out the book, Indestractable as well. I also want to add that I've seen skillshare sponsorships in videos dozens and dozens of times, and I've always been a bit intrigued (but I tend to fall into the trap of signing up for something cool and then forgetting/procrastinating using it, which the main thesis of this video might help with!) but I was still never fully sold on skillshare until I heard your pitch on it this time.
Elizabeth : this is a fantastic video : I REALLY like the division of Manager and Maker idea (days) I really struggle (hopefully better now🤞🤞🤞🤞) to do both Maker (i'm studying online/by myself) and getting other things done. So I end up doing less of both : things begin building up(anxiety) and not making progress on main task (completing course)...frustration. I value how you cite studies and distill them : great. Really information rich and no 'gaps' in your explanations.. Tyrone from South Africa
I LOVED the manager and maker reference with Michael and Dwight !! As always you keep giving us the best production value as well as content value. Keep going girl you got this 💕🎉
Some good stuff but I think it's missing a few key "brain hacks". 1. Writing down how you feel without art is ... well it's good for solving procrastination B tasks, not so much for Procrastination A or Procrastination C tasks. (see old Paul Graham article on this). You need to use some form of mindmap or tally tracker with colored pens. What I mean by this (to borrow Eliyahu Goldatt's words) is that if you have a bottleneck task versus a project task then you need to know where your red flag is. So if you color or draw or create a cue of red on an activity - you're actually sending the thought of danger to that written feeling where as if you use green it could mean momentum which could up the urgency of pursuing that task over something else. It's not perfect but there's two kinds of procrastination and two kinds of task. One task that you're procrastinating on will save the world which means it's too large, it's too scary but it's the right thing but it may not have an end point. The other task will get you money, fame, etc. Which means it's a series of steps that will get you there but it has too many steps and you need to just grind your teeth on it and rely on milestones. Both of these require different emotions but take up much procrastination time because they are wicked problems. (To borrow an Issue Based Information Systems term). Each iteration of said tasks can have other things popping out in between and it becomes the question of pursuing the road less travelled versus the road that everyone travels in. 2. Vague stuff being harder to do than specific tasks. This is good if you have the momentum of being productive i.e. you are at a point in your life where you have the fundamentals down and know the right habits and the right networks. If Sam is not a finicky actor in your mission (for example he's not an actor in your movie with a god complex) then yes, call to Sam works but if you are dealing with wicked problems, vague is actually really good. But you still have to rewrite it. I'm not a master productive person so keep in mind, I haven't figure out the answer but a clue I found was in two concepts. 1. The North Star concept and 2. Using a Fail Log and Victory Vault tracker instead of a specific task. It's kind of like a reverse to-do list tracker. By going backwards you are actually learning who you want to be because you are keeping track of who you are heading towards as versus just doing specific tasks. Keep in mind you can do this for specific tasks too but you're going to end up prioritizing mid-term tasks for long term tasks (as opposed to long term goals or KPIs). It's the proverbial Bible quote about being not a man of this time. Doing mid-term tasks can (maybe) lead you to inventing Google but then you might find yourself erasing your do no evil mantra along the way where as long term tasks - because they are tasks and not goals can lead you down to projects you wouldn't expect to do but might be the key to doing things. For example, let's say you are completely ignorant of the internet. You know your youtube or reddit or e-mail but no one's taught you SEO. Unless you have the right mentor, you'll never find the concept of blue oceans. You'll see stuff like SEO, How to make youtube videos, how to make blogs, etc. In that particular case you actually need a vague and complex task because that is what fuels your dreams. Keep in mind I said tasks not goals because a blue ocean concept is not a goal. It's not marketing, it's not business, it's the equivalent of making the simple task of go to Google Trends find what's trending and turning it into a more complicated task which is finding your blue ocean but that vagueness does lead somewhere and it's a key of procrastination Cs. You find new terms, you get synchronicity and you end up doing stuff other than that vague stuff but it cures you of procrastination either way. (Another way of phrasing this is you won't find your blue ocean by trying to find your blue ocean, you won't gain enlightenment by trying to seek enlightenment. You will only find them by simply being out there and letting them find you.) 3. Regarding Zeigarnik and using another to-do list with goals - It's just another reframing of David Allen's Someday/Maybe list and while it can be liberating it's also ...how do I phrase this...takes your skin in the game, "out" of your game. I use more than one to-do list myself but I mention this because others can't have more than one to-do list. (Or they can have more than one but they have to use it in one app or one place.) Ironic as that may be and that's because the Zeigarnik effect or open loops thinking is a biological necessity many times. Imagine a competitive setting like a championship UFC fight where you have to have a particular game plan to beat your opponent but you don't have the skill set. You can't just do the same old techniques and training nor can you ignore those training because it's a fight. You can't just not train. It's a paradox that has plagued many fighters especially in championship fights. Do I throw a spinning wheel kick that I have never tried before, do I set up a spinning fist because I have out-struck my opponent in a previous fight and I only lost because he put a triangle on me on the very last minute of the very last round? Yes, just like a puzzle, this will overwhelm you so you can't just do nothing about these open loops especially if you have too many tasks and are overwhelmed already but you need this nagging feeling to solve the puzzle which isn't always symmetric to your goals. In order to find an assymetric solution, you need to be overwhelmed. You need to brainstorm while also not being too creative. You need a set of cues, a set of clues, a set of videos and the right simulations so that your instinct does the right thing in the right crowd setting with all the weight of the world on your shoulders. This can be mitigated by a team and a coach and a trainer but what if you don't have access to that or you have the wrong trainer? The harsh answer is, you need someone to tell you (internally) what each of these tasks are and what each of these needs to not be done and still not get stuck with paralysis analysis. It's the universal equivalent of needing a black hole to form a universe. You need mindfulness under extreme pressure and you need to deal with being overwhelmed. It's not rocket science - project managers, researchers, coaches, even you do this. It's not the doing (paradoxical I know in a subject about a to-"do" list), it's the choice over the consequence with no load/save thinking. At some point, you have to move forward. You have to take all these to-do lists, find yourself in war and have all these to-do lists broken and you have to have the contingency instinct to actually engage the open loops and beat them rather than avoiding them without actually blocking them out. Tough system but that's the reality of open loops, they are always there and you can end up with multiple to-do lists that get bigger and bigger until you have multiple atomic to-do lists that are so big that you're wagging the dog's tail until it becomes a never ending chase for that productive goal which might get you unstuck but won't get you closer to the path you wanted when you started your to-do list.
In this avoiding scenario, I often write things down in an abstract manner. I do recommand to reframe it with specific words and even more, I set myself the task of formulating a verb for each task and this one best aptly or specifically. This is not only a fun task, because I am verbally challenged and in case of doubt I have beautiful (and understandable!) I can think up verbs, but I feel that my memory starts to associate and I'm already in my hands. Just like you meant 'TH-cam stuff' it would then become 'write a script' / 'get information' / ' imagine a process ' This helps me a lot to move from thinking to acting. Thanks for your thoughts and tips about this.
Thanku Lizzy!! I get really excited whenever I see you have uploaded a new video!😁 I loved most the maker and manager to do list concept, and the background to do list for projects. But I feel overcoming procrastination through writing is going to be the most useful part for me. It really simpliefied my life a lot. You also don't believe everything you think😊 👋👋
Amazing vid Eli ! thanks and very grateful for our contribution. I love your style of explaining and teaching with all the visuals and examples....and of course you are very easy on the eyes, thanks and keep up the awesome work ! will check out your notion tools as well.
I just want to thank you so much for this video, it has immensely worked for me and for once i am able to stick to a routine The concept of admin and manager tasks especially, i have been doing my admins tasks at the end of the day and it has been a game changer to my productivity Thank you!!
Been following you since 75k subs and when I was in high school. It now gives me immense joy seeing the growth you had, now I’m in uni pursuing project management and I can’t tell you how helpful your videos are! Thank you Elizabeth :)
I do something similar to the 'to do' list when I'm working on coursework. It it difficult to feel motivated to start earlier than days before the deadline. But in the days/weeks leading up to crunch time, I go through this weird procrastination stage, and the thing I'm avoiding is my first thought of the day and I just want to cement myself to the floor.. What I have started to do is take myself mentally through the task, and each thing that I know I'll need to do. And then once it's planned out that way, it kind of feels pointless not to do it
I find this too. Just committing to doing the prep for the task rather than the task itself is much more inviting. And once the prep is done there is some momentum built up that can flow into getting the whole task done.
Wow Liz this distinction between manager and maker changes how i view tasks thank you so much for the insight will be using this immediately to make my life productive and fruitful. I'm truly grateful thank you for your video 🙏🙏🙏
A great video. Many of us are facing the same issues in today's world. I must say, you managed the timing astoundingly well. So much value in ~13 mins 👍 Looking forward to the next one
This video is incredible. Really, this is proper amazing. How you've broken down the way we (people) process information, deal with tasks that have to be completed, and convince ourselves to ultimately do them. I've watched a lot of productivity TH-cam and I don't think a more thoroughly researched (with journal articles!) analysis of how our brain approaches tasks exists. Thank you for making this, it's exactly what I needed.
Love love love! 1. Making things super specific is a game changer! It makes it seem so fun & easy 2. I call admin my monkey tasks and push them off til the end of the day…. 3. I love the ideas of a dream list! I do this as a stream of conscious thing in the notes app 4. Video editing!! How cool 😄 always have loved TH-cam and thought it was so playful maybe I’ll learn….
As someone who's going into med school with the aim of getting into neurosurgery, it's incredibly uplifting to see a woman in this field. Ever since I mentioned that i want to go into neuro, I've heard things like "It's a male-dominated field" and "you won't get work anywhere if you're a woman" and "okay but how will you balance your married life?" (I'm not married but i do live in a desi family and it could happen any time). It's like a breath of fresh air seeing women in this field ❤
Although I'm not quite as intelligent as Elizabeth, every once in a while we coincide with our patterns or actions. That elevates me to a higher self-assesment that I know is not deserved....
I never usually post comments on social media or youtube videos, but I must say that finding your channel has been Godsent. Your videos help me understand myself and give me ways to cope with the challenges that come with life, being a second year medical student and having to deal with things I never thought could ever happen. Having to keep going and learn medicine while finding ways to deal with the personal traumas is something to say the least. I had tried most of the strategies out there but my brain is wired differently than 90% of the population it seems and nothing worked until I started listening to your videos not really expecting much but I found myself coming back ever so often because your content resonate with me in ways that others don't. So I just wanna say thanks and let you know that your work is meaningful in more ways than one.
The to do list, where every distracting thought can be listed or expressed, is an excellent development, many intellectuals utilise the method, to assist conservation of energy & focus upon work flow, to clarify
Interesting Idea! I always enjoy "walking around" in your thoughts..... A little "dust" and " clutter" here and there. But, all in all, a very nice place to do a walk-through. Steve ....retired government lawyer in rural Mississippi, USA
Great video Elizabeth. It’s pretty helpful. In my case, many tasks are coming up and in many cases it’s crazy to manage my to do list. I’ll put in practice your recommendations. Keep going Elizabeth… Greetings from the South of Spain
I study cognitive science bachelors and we had this in my first semester of university. 4:51 This is essentially wrong because she doesnt say that it may only leaves or short term memory more easily. Also making a photo or note of things may free up space because its more likely to get into long term memory just because you did more than just preceive & process it. The more associations you can combine with an information the more likely you remember something of it. This is why you learn words best if you create associations between them.[Collins and Quillan, 1969] [Collins and Loftus, 1975], [Mäntylä, 1986] [Roediger 111 and McDermott, 1995] 11:02 now she is saying the opposite or she also doesnt mention the difference between longterm and shortterm memory effect of this writing down phenomenon ----------{THE 4 SOURCES ABOVE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ARTICLES IF YOU WANT TO IMPROVE MEMORIZING THINGS THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW PERFECTLY FOR TESTS, make 2 kinds of mindmaps: one for grouping similar words together and create an title, one for each word and write multiple assotioations beside (LATCH= Location, Alphabet, Time, Category, Hierarchy; color, smell, temparature, surface feeling, shape; any sensory input; semantical [facts], episodic [events], habituation or sensation, conditioning [classical or operant], skills [motor and perceptual]} This works best for language learning and similar school tasks. Also mentalisation with rooms & objects can work well. For example if somebody sings a song to you and you dont know it but remember the full sentence you already got more than 7 "items". The keyword is chunking. The brain creates chunks of information to resolve this issue. But also your brain does process sounds, language, tasks and letters/numbers differently so you could say that there is some kind of separate specialized working memory for a all these tasks. Another example would be: you cant memorize chinese letters and tell the difference between some similar looking if you dont know their pictogram alphabet but you can memorize pretty good what they say and speak small parts of it and distinguish between similar things (mandarin uses 4 to 5 different tonations for each consonant if i remember correctly i dont include them here because this is much more difficult) 4:58 The information that you can only hold 7+-2 items inside your working memory is reserved for numbers and letters only so this is only a small part of the story. So in this context this information is not relevant at all. However the solution may work regardless. Primacy vs recency effect [Glanzer and Cunitz, 1966] Acoustic memory vs. semantic memory [Baddeley, 1966a, Baddeley, 19661)] Kinds of Memory 1. Short-term memory a) Sensory - iconic - echoic b) Working memory - Articulatory loop (repeat telephone number) - Visuo-spatial sketchpad 2. Long-term memory a) Explicit (declarative, conscious) - Semantic (facts) - Episodic (events) b) Implicit (non-declarative, unconscious) - Habituation and sensitization - Conditioning (classical and operant) - Skills (motor and perceptual) For to-do lists Its probably best if you make only 2: important & not important, important also includes urgent because if you have 3 to-do lists you have to use time to decide what belongs where and things that are really urgent are also most likely to be important such as paying bills, bring the kids to school, buy food & cook for event If you read till the end i have to say that im also struggling i have ADHD so youre not alone. However i think it gets better with practice. And yes this is part of my study procrastination :)
@@Curtis-pj1wq if you read my comment carefully i stated that she EITHER: made a mistake by not specifically stating what she means OR she said something which isnt quite true. Non the less she contradicted herself at one point by not specifying a certain thing she said.
I read your comment more carefully and found mistakes, but I didn't find the word "mistake" written anywhere. "This is bad because we are more likely to forget things" - Elizabeth "This is essentially wrong[*] because she doesn[']t say that it may only [leave our] [short-term] memory more easily."- Phillip "Dear Landland, I didn't forget to pay my rent it just left my short-term memory."- Me Smile.
I would like to say, you are extraordinary. That is, unlike many people who do not have the executive faculties like you do to know what to do to maximize our learning and working abilities. Listening to your cast, enlightens me to how others brains that aren’t mine work. I have no working memory, even if I did, I would find myself better off with out. Working memory should be busy with remembering to put on shoes before you leave the house and remembering where your car is parked. Thank you! Please keep making these videos, they help me realize the capability of my brain.
these insights and tips are really good and helpful! some of this stuff I figured out myself but didn't know why it was helpful. so this is hugely helpful!
Thank you so much for this. I had a task I have been putting off for a few weeks but I used the idea you said about breaking it up and write why it is so hard to do and how I feel about that it worked so well and I finished it today so thank you again 😊
oh my god i always have a problem with prioritizing my tasks and god knows how many books i have picked up just to tackle this problem (nir eyal was one of them), your tips so far are the most actionable ones i can even see what i did wrong already. thank you sosososoososo much!!!
This is AWESOME! I sort of do some of these things already but have been fighting against it thinking I SHOULD be doing it a different way, particularly the admin once a week. I feel the overwhelm easing off already. I'm implementing this stuff immediately. T H A N K Y O U so much for this 😊🙏🏽
I USED to be very much a list-er and after a terrible exp. With a hacker incident my body and mind are rejecting regiment emphatically. It is very upsetting. I really enjoy follow through and tasking. Thanks for this video.
I estimated and then timed my 'management' tasks just to see how long they were actually taking and was surprised to find I overestimated for most manager tasks by about 2 to 5 times, which was making me less likely to do them. Also the act of timing them acted as a trigger for me to start which helps with inertia. 1.5 minutes to import and confirm that weeks transactions on my company account or 15 mins to watch a video, easy choice when you have the data.
Amazing video, Elizabeth! I too struggle with intrusive thoughts and didn't realize the scientific effect of them!! Im going to start implementing them straight away. Also, I'd love to use Final Cut pro for my videos, but I'm using iMovie for now. Is it similar to learn?
I‘d even say it‘s the best beginner software that I know. Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro etc are more advanced, so by the time you commit and get yourself a bigger paid software you‘re not as overwhelmed because you then already know the basics and only have to learn to navigate the options. I also started out on iMovie
@@blue-uv4mhAgreed. iMovie is a lot less overwhelming personally. Learning the paid software is a bigger project for sure. Not impossible! But probably not the best place for those of us prone to overwhelm. Learning on something more basic will teach you skills you can you within the more complex programs anyways.
Great video. Thank you for sharing this with us ❤. I have been constantly struggling with procrastination and scheduling, and this video cleared up a lot of things for me. I will be trying all the things you've mentioned.
I've never heard of the maker vs. manager day before but it might just be the piece of the puzzle of scheduling I've been missing and may help my ADHD brain a lot. Thank you!
I find this video very interesting. This is the second time I’m hearing that writing something down increases our chances of forgetting it but for me it doubles my chance of remembering it. If I write something down I seldom need to consult my notes of it
To kinda get at the “everything takes longer than you think it will” thing, I started adding an extra 50%-100% to the amount of time I think something will take when scheduling my calendar for the week. Of course it depends on the task, but when i finish “early” in that extra time, I kinda tricked myself to thinking I’m ahead on the day’s tasks. For me, once I get behind, the whole day kinda goes off the rails and it can be frustrating. Plus, I’ve found it makes it easier to say “no” (when appropriate) if people ask for something
good to see you Liz. I need to revisit this one it resonates with me am too curious at times and usually end up in very different direction to my destination ,sound like I get lost often
And...she's back! 😊 Loved the video. For me, putting something on a to do list makes it less likely I will do it LOL (both big tasks and small) but always looking for new ways to approach/look at this issue - thank you for the insights you shared!
Thanks for this! this could help lessen my tendency to procrastinate 😄 for to-do lists I use separate apps for different things: for daily tasks DGT GTD (Android); more serious tasks on TickTick (Droid & iOS); stuff and notes for later on Google Keep / Docs; some of the apps (except GTD) could be accessed from mobile device and desktop.
4:39 I think this is where neurodivergence kicks in and bucks this trend. Whenever I write something down or take a picture, I personally am connecting it with more and more emotional charge. If it's something important or captivating, either the adrenaline or cortisol spikes reinforce the "this is important and don't forget these" queues. If there are stronger emotions of anxiety, anger, grief, joy, love, etc. attached to the thing being backed up in external memory, it occupies more space in both my working and long-term memory. It's as if giving it more focus reinforces the "must remember this at all costs" subconscious routines. Only when I deem something as not important does it gather dust and get forgotten. Different rules apply when I am so stressed due to issues affecting my breathing and/or sleep.
I have ADHD and found minimalist bujo to be really helpful for this. Fancy layouts are great and all, but a lot of times they distract from the purpose of it which is to be a mindfulness practice disguised as a productivity system. Jessica over at How to ADHD has a few videos on it and I also love Ryder Carroll's (bujo creator) super simple explanation on his channel. If you find yourself constantly migrating tasks that didn't get done for whatever reason, take a look at those tasks and determine if they actually *need* to be done or if your brain just thinks they do. If it's not something that legitimately needs to be done then just cross it off the list and move on with your life. I used that along with only starting out with 3 things on my daily to-do list to automate basic cleaning tasks.
I have been procrastinating myself, but mainly by trying to find out where you mentioned the engraved dice before. Specifically because I thought I had absorbed your video about intermittent reward systems along with an ADHD channel on types of rest and turned them into my own die…and now I’m wondering if what I thought was creativity was instead plagiar-er, let’s go with imitation? Modeling! That’s it. Modeling my behavior after yours. Can you tell me where you first talk about those dice? And how you selected your faces? The maker in me is also interested in the production process (mine are hand-made wood cubes laser-etched with icons I draw). In general, as others who have been late-diagnosed with ADHD have said, thank you so much for your work. It’s incredibly helpful, and even though I will miss your frequency of posting videos I am cheering you on as you focus on the medical stuff and think you are a great example of practicing what you preach.
My needs shift too much for this, personally. Sometimes ticking off a few to-do's is exactly what I need to get motivated for the bigger stuff. But there's definitely an element of finding the right time for the to-do list to that as well so your point there stands. There's no way I could have just one day for to-do's without adding overwhelm and any 7 day schedule would burn me out fast. I need days to just be. Perhaps that's me recognizing my need to prioritize that.
I absolutely love your editing! 👏 I just signed up for a month of SkillShare, if I can learn to be half as good i'll be really happy. You should make your own editing course!
I like the idea of writing out the process. We seem to assume that our thoughts are a completely assessment of whatever that thought is, but really we just have cognitive flashes of whatever it is we are thinking about.
Great video, Elizabeth! The idea of like, micro-journalling to break through procrastination seems SO promising to me. I'm going back to school after six years away in September and squirreling away all the tips and tricks I can get my hands on - a lot of them come from you! I do also want to say though, with absolutely no judgement for trying, that I found the AI thumbnail/ graphics at the beginning to be very off-putting. It took days for me to click on the video, which it wouldn't usually, because I just shied away from the uncanny-valley effect of the AI you. I don't know if it's more or less work than your usual stock-footage intros, but I much preferred those. I hope all is well and you're having a great week!
My attention kept slipping as I listened, and beyond the five-minute mark, the info I was absorbing was increasingly patchy. However, it looks like you have some gems here, Elizabeth. I'll have to rewatch sections with the last three tips for sure. Designating full days for making vs. managing (and making the maker:manager ratio 6:1) could potentially allow me to reap the benefits of hyper-focus while mitigating the risks. I'll give it a shot.
Mastering the art of scheduling with neuroscience - tricking your brain to work. Your insights are a strategic approach to optimal productivity. Time to implement these scheduling tricks and maximize efficiency.
1. Manager day where you do all your admin tasks for only 1 day of the week
2. Note down every intrusive task and do it later. Externalising this will unburden your mind
3. Overcome procrastination by writing down how you feel about the task you've been avoiding, why you don't want to do it, what you're trying to avoid and what you think you need to do it. Break it into steps and tackle it head on
4. Define each task clearly and in a detailed manner
5. Make a separate list on things you'd like work on that are not urgent (stuff for fun)
Tnx
Thanks
Thx for sharing
Thank you ☺️
I can't take a day off work for admin :(
Great video. Lack of productivity often comes from poor prioritization and doing “things” rather than the one thing that makes the biggest difference.
Yes, very true.
That one thing is usually the most difficult and my poor brain is is doing the things that will give me cheap dopamine hits 😢😅
1. Do admin tasks only for once a week.. so it doesn't interrupt your flow. (Sat).. or do it at the end of your projects
2. If you have a task you have been procrastinating on, take a paper and write on it what do you feel about it, why are you avoiding it and how can you tackle it. This creates instant motivation
This may have been the best 13 minutes-worth of content on procrastination I have found. And I’ve been in a life-and-death struggle with it for 40 years. Thank you.
OMG 😱 YOU EDIT YOUR OWN VIDEOS? They are INSANE, I thought you had a whole editing team 😅 so impressed and mind blown right now 👏👏👏
I'm recently diagnosed ADHD. Your videos have been enormously helpful and inspirational. Thank you so much!
Too bad those videos are not targeted directly towards neurodivergent people, because clearly they are created by neurodivergent person and made for neurodivergent people. Why don't say that?
@@avtoportret I disagree. People with ADHD need different methods of avoiding/decreasing procrastination because our brains work best when they’re stimulated by switching now and then to a new exciting tactic. Since we get bored easily and need constant stimulation (it’s why many ADHD people switch jobs more frequently than neurotypical people), that goes for study and life ‘hacks’ as well.
The whole thing is that holding ourselves to one set system for productivity will be nearly impossible since we can easily become unmotivated after a while when having to follow a repetitive system or schedule to keep our productivity up.
I am really grateful for this channel because I feel like she’s constantly searching for evidence based methods and laying down varying tactics to try out. It keeps things interesting for my brain so that when I get tired of keeping myself to one method, it often helps me to get a burst of motivation when I change to a new planner, implement a ‘hack’ or change my time schedule. I still get that burn out feeling once in a while but honestly I was a lot worse before I started following her advice
@@avtoportret maybe she just doesnt feel comfortable with that, either way we're all in the know and it's not actively hurting anyone :)
Thank you so much for posting this. I really think this will help me.
I have a recent diagnosis of ADHD at age 30. I was a fellow 'quiet achiever' but I always felt I had to tirelessly work so hard to reach middle-ground. Now I feel like my life makes sense, and I have found your videos so relatable.
I would like to share this, in case there is anyone else in this comment section who is like me:
On top of this life-validating diagnosis, I am currently working to reconnect my psyche and soma due to childhood C-PTSD, to become a better human for myself and others. However, I am finding that this has become a blockade to having predictable days and, therefore, the ability to stick to a schedule remains difficult. Sometimes my body will choose to process something on a day that my mind is 'booked in' to function and it will throw a whole schedule out of whack. I struggle to compartmentalise these things because I am still in the early stages of processing past traumas and so it feels like these reactions are entirely involuntary.
I have found that using 'focus mode' on my phone and periodically (unapologetically) deactivating social media accounts has helped immensely. I tell people right off the bat that I do this and my reasons why. I have learnt to accept that I struggle to regulate my empathy and will work with that wonderful part of my personality instead of allowing it to work against me. The anxiety, a.k.a. FOMO, in the beginning was tough but I am leaning further into accepting my basal introversion of my self-proclaimed extroverted-introvert personality. No one around me seems to have a problem with it, and those who do aren't worth my personal time.
I believe I am therefore scheduling these currently complex life-admin/unpredictable communication moments for AFTER major tasks are completed per day, enabling me to push through and thrive in my studies and personal goals, whilst also maintaining my social circles and never-ending life to-do list. I guess this aligns with the advice in this video. Life seems so much less overwhelming and I have more self-worth because I have been able to achieve in the way I would like to in life.
Oh, and dexamphetamine has also helped keep me on track haha.
If anyone else is stumbling through this, I am here with you. It will take time but life will get better. I trust that it will because, if anything, our past has shown that we actively seek and implement changes for the better, time and time again.
I love how this todo list structuring simplifies the process. It's helpful because it doesn't feel like another chore that I will procrastinate on.
The way you describe how the mind works makes it so simple to understand I love how the pace of the video isn’t too fast and slow
Love this, Elizabeth! I've been in an emotional rut the past months over 2 huge projects which bring me anxiety. You are like my good conscience who gave me a pep talk with steps to help me put things into action. 🎉
I love this. The system you mentioned has been working for me but never thought about having a single admin day. Definitely giving more thought to that. Btw, noticed that you were more slow-paced in this video and just want to say thanks. Really appreciate you adjusting your pace.
Yay! A new EF video!!! I’m so grateful to you and all of your brilliant advice during Ali’s PTYA course. I really miss you there and wish you were still part of the program, but I know you’re busy with medical school and with this brilliant channel so I wish you the best and hope you’re well.❤❤
That's actually a really good way to go about it. I really want to do that, I'm just not sure it will be possible, because 1. sometimes people you make appointments with don't have a very flexible schedule themselves and when I make this plan and then it goes off the rails this makes it much worse for me and 2. I really struggle with the pressure of doing something right now this exact way and I can be very tired and overwhelmed after appointments so doing them all in one day seems a bit like a disaster to come.
Thanks for sharing these productivity tips Elizabeth!
This is amazing. There are so many useful, actionable, applicable suggestions here. I'm supposed to be working on a take-home midterm that's due in a few days, and you probably genuinely saved me in that regard. This is so helpful; thank you! I'm going to check out the book, Indestractable as well.
I also want to add that I've seen skillshare sponsorships in videos dozens and dozens of times, and I've always been a bit intrigued (but I tend to fall into the trap of signing up for something cool and then forgetting/procrastinating using it, which the main thesis of this video might help with!) but I was still never fully sold on skillshare until I heard your pitch on it this time.
Elizabeth : this is a fantastic video : I REALLY like the division of Manager and Maker idea (days) I really struggle (hopefully better now🤞🤞🤞🤞) to do both Maker (i'm studying online/by myself) and getting other things done. So I end up doing less of both : things begin building up(anxiety) and not making progress on main task (completing course)...frustration.
I value how you cite studies and distill them : great. Really information rich and no 'gaps' in your explanations..
Tyrone from South Africa
The best use of music in a youtube video I have ever ever seen, I mean heard. Perfectly subtle, I love it
I LOVED the manager and maker reference with Michael and Dwight !! As always you keep giving us the best production value as well as content value. Keep going girl you got this 💕🎉
Some good stuff but I think it's missing a few key "brain hacks".
1. Writing down how you feel without art is ... well it's good for solving procrastination B tasks, not so much for Procrastination A or Procrastination C tasks. (see old Paul Graham article on this). You need to use some form of mindmap or tally tracker with colored pens. What I mean by this (to borrow Eliyahu Goldatt's words) is that if you have a bottleneck task versus a project task then you need to know where your red flag is. So if you color or draw or create a cue of red on an activity - you're actually sending the thought of danger to that written feeling where as if you use green it could mean momentum which could up the urgency of pursuing that task over something else. It's not perfect but there's two kinds of procrastination and two kinds of task. One task that you're procrastinating on will save the world which means it's too large, it's too scary but it's the right thing but it may not have an end point. The other task will get you money, fame, etc. Which means it's a series of steps that will get you there but it has too many steps and you need to just grind your teeth on it and rely on milestones. Both of these require different emotions but take up much procrastination time because they are wicked problems. (To borrow an Issue Based Information Systems term). Each iteration of said tasks can have other things popping out in between and it becomes the question of pursuing the road less travelled versus the road that everyone travels in.
2. Vague stuff being harder to do than specific tasks. This is good if you have the momentum of being productive i.e. you are at a point in your life where you have the fundamentals down and know the right habits and the right networks. If Sam is not a finicky actor in your mission (for example he's not an actor in your movie with a god complex) then yes, call to Sam works but if you are dealing with wicked problems, vague is actually really good. But you still have to rewrite it. I'm not a master productive person so keep in mind, I haven't figure out the answer but a clue I found was in two concepts. 1. The North Star concept and 2. Using a Fail Log and Victory Vault tracker instead of a specific task. It's kind of like a reverse to-do list tracker. By going backwards you are actually learning who you want to be because you are keeping track of who you are heading towards as versus just doing specific tasks.
Keep in mind you can do this for specific tasks too but you're going to end up prioritizing mid-term tasks for long term tasks (as opposed to long term goals or KPIs). It's the proverbial Bible quote about being not a man of this time. Doing mid-term tasks can (maybe) lead you to inventing Google but then you might find yourself erasing your do no evil mantra along the way where as long term tasks - because they are tasks and not goals can lead you down to projects you wouldn't expect to do but might be the key to doing things.
For example, let's say you are completely ignorant of the internet. You know your youtube or reddit or e-mail but no one's taught you SEO. Unless you have the right mentor, you'll never find the concept of blue oceans. You'll see stuff like SEO, How to make youtube videos, how to make blogs, etc. In that particular case you actually need a vague and complex task because that is what fuels your dreams. Keep in mind I said tasks not goals because a blue ocean concept is not a goal. It's not marketing, it's not business, it's the equivalent of making the simple task of go to Google Trends find what's trending and turning it into a more complicated task which is finding your blue ocean but that vagueness does lead somewhere and it's a key of procrastination Cs. You find new terms, you get synchronicity and you end up doing stuff other than that vague stuff but it cures you of procrastination either way. (Another way of phrasing this is you won't find your blue ocean by trying to find your blue ocean, you won't gain enlightenment by trying to seek enlightenment. You will only find them by simply being out there and letting them find you.)
3. Regarding Zeigarnik and using another to-do list with goals - It's just another reframing of David Allen's Someday/Maybe list and while it can be liberating it's also ...how do I phrase this...takes your skin in the game, "out" of your game.
I use more than one to-do list myself but I mention this because others can't have more than one to-do list. (Or they can have more than one but they have to use it in one app or one place.) Ironic as that may be and that's because the Zeigarnik effect or open loops thinking is a biological necessity many times. Imagine a competitive setting like a championship UFC fight where you have to have a particular game plan to beat your opponent but you don't have the skill set. You can't just do the same old techniques and training nor can you ignore those training because it's a fight. You can't just not train. It's a paradox that has plagued many fighters especially in championship fights. Do I throw a spinning wheel kick that I have never tried before, do I set up a spinning fist because I have out-struck my opponent in a previous fight and I only lost because he put a triangle on me on the very last minute of the very last round?
Yes, just like a puzzle, this will overwhelm you so you can't just do nothing about these open loops especially if you have too many tasks and are overwhelmed already but you need this nagging feeling to solve the puzzle which isn't always symmetric to your goals. In order to find an assymetric solution, you need to be overwhelmed. You need to brainstorm while also not being too creative. You need a set of cues, a set of clues, a set of videos and the right simulations so that your instinct does the right thing in the right crowd setting with all the weight of the world on your shoulders. This can be mitigated by a team and a coach and a trainer but what if you don't have access to that or you have the wrong trainer?
The harsh answer is, you need someone to tell you (internally) what each of these tasks are and what each of these needs to not be done and still not get stuck with paralysis analysis. It's the universal equivalent of needing a black hole to form a universe. You need mindfulness under extreme pressure and you need to deal with being overwhelmed. It's not rocket science - project managers, researchers, coaches, even you do this. It's not the doing (paradoxical I know in a subject about a to-"do" list), it's the choice over the consequence with no load/save thinking. At some point, you have to move forward. You have to take all these to-do lists, find yourself in war and have all these to-do lists broken and you have to have the contingency instinct to actually engage the open loops and beat them rather than avoiding them without actually blocking them out. Tough system but that's the reality of open loops, they are always there and you can end up with multiple to-do lists that get bigger and bigger until you have multiple atomic to-do lists that are so big that you're wagging the dog's tail until it becomes a never ending chase for that productive goal which might get you unstuck but won't get you closer to the path you wanted when you started your to-do list.
In this avoiding scenario, I often write things down in an abstract manner.
I do recommand to reframe it with specific words and even more, I set myself the task of formulating a verb for each task and this one best aptly or specifically. This is not only a fun task, because I am verbally challenged and in case of doubt I have beautiful (and understandable!) I can think up verbs, but I feel that my memory starts to associate and I'm already in my hands. Just like you meant 'TH-cam stuff' it would then become 'write a script' / 'get information' / ' imagine a process '
This helps me a lot to move from thinking to acting.
Thanks for your thoughts and tips about this.
Amazing insight Elizabeth! Thank you for sharing everything!
Your editing keeps getting better and better🥺💪🏼
How does she edit the videos?
Thanku Lizzy!!
I get really excited whenever I see you have uploaded a new video!😁
I loved most the maker and manager to do list concept, and the background to do list for projects. But I feel overcoming procrastination through writing is going to be the most useful part for me.
It really simpliefied my life a lot.
You also don't believe everything you think😊
👋👋
Amazing vid Eli ! thanks and very grateful for our contribution. I love your style of explaining and teaching with all the visuals and examples....and of course you are very easy on the eyes, thanks and keep up the awesome work ! will check out your notion tools as well.
I just want to thank you so much for this video, it has immensely worked for me and for once i am able to stick to a routine
The concept of admin and manager tasks especially, i have been doing my admins tasks at the end of the day and it has been a game changer to my productivity
Thank you!!
Been following you since 75k subs and when I was in high school. It now gives me immense joy seeing the growth you had, now I’m in uni pursuing project management and I can’t tell you how helpful your videos are!
Thank you Elizabeth :)
I do something similar to the 'to do' list when I'm working on coursework. It it difficult to feel motivated to start earlier than days before the deadline. But in the days/weeks leading up to crunch time, I go through this weird procrastination stage, and the thing I'm avoiding is my first thought of the day and I just want to cement myself to the floor.. What I have started to do is take myself mentally through the task, and each thing that I know I'll need to do. And then once it's planned out that way, it kind of feels pointless not to do it
I find this too. Just committing to doing the prep for the task rather than the task itself is much more inviting. And once the prep is done there is some momentum built up that can flow into getting the whole task done.
Elizabeth is an absolute queen
Wow Liz this distinction between manager and maker changes how i view tasks thank you so much for the insight will be using this immediately to make my life productive and fruitful. I'm truly grateful thank you for your video 🙏🙏🙏
Never got such a concise explanation and I’ve been watching videos on this topic for years (instead of getting work done, ironically). Well done.
Thank you so much Elizabeth! AMazing infos here!! especially on unblocking blocks and formulating tasks (vague = less likely to do it). THANK YOU!!
Your video's are truly full of knowledge that rejuvenate me ! Lot's Of Love from India ♥️
The notion template was superrrr helpful! Thanks lizzi
A great video. Many of us are facing the same issues in today's world. I must say, you managed the timing astoundingly well. So much value in ~13 mins 👍
Looking forward to the next one
This video is incredible. Really, this is proper amazing. How you've broken down the way we (people) process information, deal with tasks that have to be completed, and convince ourselves to ultimately do them. I've watched a lot of productivity TH-cam and I don't think a more thoroughly researched (with journal articles!) analysis of how our brain approaches tasks exists. Thank you for making this, it's exactly what I needed.
Love love love!
1. Making things super specific is a game changer! It makes it seem so fun & easy
2. I call admin my monkey tasks and push them off til the end of the day….
3. I love the ideas of a dream list! I do this as a stream of conscious thing in the notes app
4. Video editing!! How cool 😄 always have loved TH-cam and thought it was so playful maybe I’ll learn….
As someone who's going into med school with the aim of getting into neurosurgery, it's incredibly uplifting to see a woman in this field. Ever since I mentioned that i want to go into neuro, I've heard things like "It's a male-dominated field" and "you won't get work anywhere if you're a woman" and "okay but how will you balance your married life?" (I'm not married but i do live in a desi family and it could happen any time). It's like a breath of fresh air seeing women in this field ❤
i love your brain elizabeth. you have helped me SO much. I love working on new life projects like this!!
Elizabeth, you are making so much sense, I feel a very strange feeling.
Although I'm not quite as intelligent as Elizabeth, every once in a while we coincide with our patterns or actions. That elevates me to a higher self-assesment that I know is not deserved....
I never usually post comments on social media or youtube videos, but I must say that finding your channel has been Godsent. Your videos help me understand myself and give me ways to cope with the challenges that come with life, being a second year medical student and having to deal with things I never thought could ever happen. Having to keep going and learn medicine while finding ways to deal with the personal traumas is something to say the least. I had tried most of the strategies out there but my brain is wired differently than 90% of the population it seems and nothing worked until I started listening to your videos not really expecting much but I found myself coming back ever so often because your content resonate with me in ways that others don't. So I just wanna say thanks and let you know that your work is meaningful in more ways than one.
seethe
The to do list, where every distracting thought can be listed or expressed, is an excellent development, many intellectuals utilise the method, to assist conservation of energy & focus upon work flow, to clarify
Interesting Idea!
I always enjoy "walking around" in your thoughts.....
A little "dust" and " clutter" here and there. But, all in all, a very nice place to do a walk-through.
Steve ....retired government lawyer in rural Mississippi, USA
Great video Elizabeth. It’s pretty helpful. In my case, many tasks are coming up and in many cases it’s crazy to manage my to do list. I’ll put in practice your recommendations.
Keep going Elizabeth…
Greetings from the South of Spain
I study cognitive science bachelors and we had this in my first semester of university.
4:51 This is essentially wrong because she doesnt say that it may only leaves or short term memory more easily.
Also making a photo or note of things may free up space because its more likely to get into long term memory just because you did more than just preceive & process it. The more associations you can combine with an information the more likely you remember something of it. This is why you learn words best if you create associations between them.[Collins and Quillan, 1969] [Collins and Loftus, 1975], [Mäntylä, 1986] [Roediger 111 and McDermott, 1995]
11:02 now she is saying the opposite or she also doesnt mention the difference between longterm and shortterm memory effect of this writing down phenomenon
----------{THE 4 SOURCES ABOVE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ARTICLES IF YOU WANT TO IMPROVE MEMORIZING THINGS THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW PERFECTLY FOR TESTS, make 2 kinds of mindmaps: one for grouping similar words together and create an title, one for each word and write multiple assotioations beside (LATCH= Location, Alphabet, Time, Category, Hierarchy; color, smell, temparature, surface feeling, shape; any sensory input; semantical [facts], episodic [events], habituation or sensation, conditioning [classical or operant], skills [motor and perceptual]}
This works best for language learning and similar school tasks. Also mentalisation with rooms & objects can work well.
For example if somebody sings a song to you and you dont know it but remember the full sentence you already got more than 7 "items". The keyword is chunking. The brain creates chunks of information to resolve this issue. But also your brain does process sounds, language, tasks and letters/numbers differently so you could say that there is some kind of separate specialized working memory for a all these tasks.
Another example would be: you cant memorize chinese letters and tell the difference between some similar looking if you dont know their pictogram alphabet but you can memorize pretty good what they say and speak small parts of it and distinguish between similar things (mandarin uses 4 to 5 different tonations for each consonant if i remember correctly i dont include them here because this is much more difficult)
4:58 The information that you can only hold 7+-2 items inside your working memory is reserved for numbers and letters only so this is only a small part of the story.
So in this context this information is not relevant at all. However the solution may work regardless.
Primacy vs recency effect [Glanzer and Cunitz, 1966]
Acoustic memory vs. semantic memory [Baddeley, 1966a, Baddeley, 19661)]
Kinds of Memory
1. Short-term memory
a) Sensory
- iconic
- echoic
b) Working memory
- Articulatory loop (repeat telephone number)
- Visuo-spatial sketchpad
2. Long-term memory
a) Explicit (declarative, conscious)
- Semantic (facts)
- Episodic (events)
b) Implicit (non-declarative, unconscious)
- Habituation and sensitization
- Conditioning (classical and operant)
- Skills (motor and perceptual)
For to-do lists
Its probably best if you make only 2: important & not important, important also includes urgent because if you have 3 to-do lists you have to use time to decide what belongs where and things that are really urgent are also most likely to be important such as paying bills, bring the kids to school, buy food & cook for event
If you read till the end i have to say that im also struggling i have ADHD so youre not alone. However i think it gets better with practice. And yes this is part of my study procrastination :)
She doesn't want it in her short-term memory.
That wasn't a contradiction. She was talking about two different things.
@@Curtis-pj1wq if you read my comment carefully i stated that she EITHER: made a mistake by not specifically stating what she means OR she said something which isnt quite true.
Non the less she contradicted herself at one point by not specifying a certain thing she said.
I read your comment more carefully and found mistakes, but I didn't find the word "mistake" written anywhere.
"This is bad because we are more likely to forget things" - Elizabeth
"This is essentially wrong[*] because she doesn[']t say that it may only [leave our] [short-term] memory more easily."- Phillip
"Dear Landland, I didn't forget to pay my rent it just left my short-term memory."- Me
Smile.
I would like to say, you are extraordinary. That is, unlike many people who do not have the executive faculties like you do to know what to do to maximize our learning and working abilities. Listening to your cast, enlightens me to how others brains that aren’t mine work. I have no working memory, even if I did, I would find myself better off with out. Working memory should be busy with remembering to put on shoes before you leave the house and remembering where your car is parked. Thank you! Please keep making these videos, they help me realize the capability of my brain.
I love exploring this topic!! Makes me feel like I’m a small change away from success ❤🎉 thank you
these insights and tips are really good and helpful! some of this stuff I figured out myself but didn't know why it was helpful. so this is hugely helpful!
Elizabeth!!! Your videos are so beautiful and so so helpful 🥰🥰 Thank you!!!!
Ok, this is a game-changer! This fits so well with my intuition about why I'm not as productive as I could be.
Thank you so much for this. I had a task I have been putting off for a few weeks but I used the idea you said about breaking it up and write why it is so hard to do and how I feel about that it worked so well and I finished it today so thank you again 😊
oh my god i always have a problem with prioritizing my tasks and god knows how many books i have picked up just to tackle this problem (nir eyal was one of them), your tips so far are the most actionable ones i can even see what i did wrong already. thank you sosososoososo much!!!
This is AWESOME! I sort of do some of these things already but have been fighting against it thinking I SHOULD be doing it a different way, particularly the admin once a week. I feel the overwhelm easing off already. I'm implementing this stuff immediately.
T H A N K
Y O U
so much for this 😊🙏🏽
I USED to be very much a list-er and after a terrible exp. With a hacker incident my body and mind are rejecting regiment emphatically. It is very upsetting. I really enjoy follow through and tasking. Thanks for this video.
I estimated and then timed my 'management' tasks just to see how long they were actually taking and was surprised to find I overestimated for most manager tasks by about 2 to 5 times, which was making me less likely to do them. Also the act of timing them acted as a trigger for me to start which helps with inertia. 1.5 minutes to import and confirm that weeks transactions on my company account or 15 mins to watch a video, easy choice when you have the data.
Amazing video, Elizabeth! I too struggle with intrusive thoughts and didn't realize the scientific effect of them!! Im going to start implementing them straight away. Also, I'd love to use Final Cut pro for my videos, but I'm using iMovie for now. Is it similar to learn?
I‘m not totally sure if they are similar, but even if they aren’t, iMovie is very simple and easy to learn :)
I‘d even say it‘s the best beginner software that I know. Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro etc are more advanced, so by the time you commit and get yourself a bigger paid software you‘re not as overwhelmed because you then already know the basics and only have to learn to navigate the options. I also started out on iMovie
@@blue-uv4mhAgreed.
iMovie is a lot less overwhelming personally. Learning the paid software is a bigger project for sure. Not impossible! But probably not the best place for those of us prone to overwhelm. Learning on something more basic will teach you skills you can you within the more complex programs anyways.
I didn`t saw whole video yet. But this intro is slaaaaaying! 💖
Omg your videos are treasures!! This makes so much sense and these tips are great. I'll implement those right away.
Great video. Thank you for sharing this with us ❤. I have been constantly struggling with procrastination and scheduling, and this video cleared up a lot of things for me. I will be trying all the things you've mentioned.
I think this is the best video I've ever watched 😅. I love it, how in depth you went into the topic! x
You are my favourite educaional youtuber!
I've never heard of the maker vs. manager day before but it might just be the piece of the puzzle of scheduling I've been missing and may help my ADHD brain a lot. Thank you!
I find this video very interesting. This is the second time I’m hearing that writing something down increases our chances of forgetting it but for me it doubles my chance of remembering it. If I write something down I seldom need to consult my notes of it
To kinda get at the “everything takes longer than you think it will” thing, I started adding an extra 50%-100% to the amount of time I think something will take when scheduling my calendar for the week. Of course it depends on the task, but when i finish “early” in that extra time, I kinda tricked myself to thinking I’m ahead on the day’s tasks. For me, once I get behind, the whole day kinda goes off the rails and it can be frustrating. Plus, I’ve found it makes it easier to say “no” (when appropriate) if people ask for something
STUDENTS NEED YOU ELIZABETH UPLOAD MORE VIDEOS
good to see you Liz. I need to revisit this one it resonates with me am too curious at times and usually end up in very different direction to my destination ,sound like I get lost often
I can't imagine how great it would be to have a doctor with this ability to relay topics.
Your video editing is art😮
And...she's back! 😊 Loved the video. For me, putting something on a to do list makes it less likely I will do it LOL (both big tasks and small) but always looking for new ways to approach/look at this issue - thank you for the insights you shared!
had to watch the video twice..
once for the contents and once for the Office! Love it😂
the video production has hit a new level 👏🏻👏🏻
She is always on point. Thankyou for this Elizabeth! :)
Thanks for this! this could help lessen my tendency to procrastinate 😄 for to-do lists I use separate apps for different things: for daily tasks DGT GTD (Android); more serious tasks on TickTick (Droid & iOS); stuff and notes for later on Google Keep / Docs; some of the apps (except GTD) could be accessed from mobile device and desktop.
4:39 I think this is where neurodivergence kicks in and bucks this trend. Whenever I write something down or take a picture, I personally am connecting it with more and more emotional charge. If it's something important or captivating, either the adrenaline or cortisol spikes reinforce the "this is important and don't forget these" queues. If there are stronger emotions of anxiety, anger, grief, joy, love, etc. attached to the thing being backed up in external memory, it occupies more space in both my working and long-term memory. It's as if giving it more focus reinforces the "must remember this at all costs" subconscious routines. Only when I deem something as not important does it gather dust and get forgotten. Different rules apply when I am so stressed due to issues affecting my breathing and/or sleep.
I have ADHD and found minimalist bujo to be really helpful for this. Fancy layouts are great and all, but a lot of times they distract from the purpose of it which is to be a mindfulness practice disguised as a productivity system. Jessica over at How to ADHD has a few videos on it and I also love Ryder Carroll's (bujo creator) super simple explanation on his channel.
If you find yourself constantly migrating tasks that didn't get done for whatever reason, take a look at those tasks and determine if they actually *need* to be done or if your brain just thinks they do. If it's not something that legitimately needs to be done then just cross it off the list and move on with your life. I used that along with only starting out with 3 things on my daily to-do list to automate basic cleaning tasks.
This was great! Well organised thoughts, easy to follow and actually very practical tips. Thank you so much.
Thanks so much for the shout-out! Stay Indistractable!
This channel is so great.
I have been procrastinating myself, but mainly by trying to find out where you mentioned the engraved dice before. Specifically because I thought I had absorbed your video about intermittent reward systems along with an ADHD channel on types of rest and turned them into my own die…and now I’m wondering if what I thought was creativity was instead plagiar-er, let’s go with imitation? Modeling! That’s it. Modeling my behavior after yours.
Can you tell me where you first talk about those dice? And how you selected your faces? The maker in me is also interested in the production process (mine are hand-made wood cubes laser-etched with icons I draw).
In general, as others who have been late-diagnosed with ADHD have said, thank you so much for your work. It’s incredibly helpful, and even though I will miss your frequency of posting videos I am cheering you on as you focus on the medical stuff and think you are a great example of practicing what you preach.
love you elizabeth.
My needs shift too much for this, personally. Sometimes ticking off a few to-do's is exactly what I need to get motivated for the bigger stuff. But there's definitely an element of finding the right time for the to-do list to that as well so your point there stands.
There's no way I could have just one day for to-do's without adding overwhelm and any 7 day schedule would burn me out fast. I need days to just be. Perhaps that's me recognizing my need to prioritize that.
I am here to enjoy your art😍
Thank you for reminding me of this! I always realize this after the fact, but never incorporate it into my life
Thank you for this Elizabeth ❤ - i can relate to this video.
Do you edit these yourself Lizzy?? It's fricking brilliant!
I absolutely love your editing! 👏 I just signed up for a month of SkillShare, if I can learn to be half as good i'll be really happy. You should make your own editing course!
This is actually amazing
I really really missed your content. I just completed watching your video and sending you virtual hugs🤗
This is so true I've never seen anyone talk about this
Woo First comment! Hey I really like your videos. They are very helpful. Keep up the great content :)
I like the idea of writing out the process. We seem to assume that our thoughts are a completely assessment of whatever that thought is, but really we just have cognitive flashes of whatever it is we are thinking about.
elizabeth i love u ur a lifesaver always --is what i chant secretly in my head every time u upload a new video ((:
Good speech.
Thank you so much.
Have a great weekend 👍
We appreciate your insights. It helps us out a lot.
Great video, Elizabeth! The idea of like, micro-journalling to break through procrastination seems SO promising to me. I'm going back to school after six years away in September and squirreling away all the tips and tricks I can get my hands on - a lot of them come from you!
I do also want to say though, with absolutely no judgement for trying, that I found the AI thumbnail/ graphics at the beginning to be very off-putting. It took days for me to click on the video, which it wouldn't usually, because I just shied away from the uncanny-valley effect of the AI you. I don't know if it's more or less work than your usual stock-footage intros, but I much preferred those.
I hope all is well and you're having a great week!
I just love your videos .
This is incredibly helpful - thank you!
My attention kept slipping as I listened, and beyond the five-minute mark, the info I was absorbing was increasingly patchy. However, it looks like you have some gems here, Elizabeth. I'll have to rewatch sections with the last three tips for sure.
Designating full days for making vs. managing (and making the maker:manager ratio 6:1) could potentially allow me to reap the benefits of hyper-focus while mitigating the risks. I'll give it a shot.
Mastering the art of scheduling with neuroscience - tricking your brain to work. Your insights are a strategic approach to optimal productivity. Time to implement these scheduling tricks and maximize efficiency.
Amazing vid. Thank you!
I learnt, I’ll experiment with it
thanks Elizabeth, cheers