Dealing with the 3Ps: Procrastination, Productivity and PhD

Distraction and productivity during academic life

Hey NetPLACE readers!

Are you surprised that we published the Blog Post early this time?

Well, it’s because we had a great teacher last Thursday - of course!

The speaker Violeta Calleja Solanas, from IFISC (Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Physics and Complex Systems) in Spain, proposed a new way of boosting productivity and giving a clear run to procrastination.

In her talk (check the slides), Violeta defines the work produced as the product of the time spent on the task and the intensity of focus; being productive means maximising this function... That clearly is not all about working 24 hours per day! In fact, the intensity of focus is a non-trivial function of the time you spent on the task.

So, how to maximise the function? Violeta suggests taking breaks, sleeping well, eating healthy, working out, having quality interactions with colleagues and, most importantly, learning to prioritise. As a matter of fact, the biggest enemy of productivity is procrastination. How can we stop procrastinating on unpleasant tasks?

Here are some tips:

• Focus on the process, not the product

• Divide et Impera: subdivide the task into smaller ones

• Colourful mind mapping

• Always keep track of your progress

• Make lists (very smart and useful tip)

And if that wasn't enough… Violeta also shared with us a very useful spreadsheet with some resources that helped her in the daily struggle against procrastination. Do you know any other resources that can help all of us in this situation? Let us know!

As always, feel free to share your ideas on the slack channel!