Head Space

Calm productivity for academics

Tag: tasks

  • How to break down academic tasks: Stop setting yourself impossible goals

    If you’re struggling with productivity, the problem might not be your motivation—it could be that you don’t know how to break down academic tasks effectively. Most academics create to-do lists filled with projects disguised as tasks, then wonder why they feel paralysed when it’s time to start work.

  • Storing task information together is a simple fix for workflow friction

    Academic work becomes frustrating when tasks and their required information live in separate places. This post suggests storing task information together with your tasks to eliminate friction, reduce procrastination, and create more sustainable workflows. Learn practical strategies for information co-location that transform scattered work sessions into focused, productive academic activities.

  • Task-batching to reduce mental fatigue

    Task-batching helps academics overcome the mental fatigue of constant context-switching. Instead of multitasking between emails, meetings, and lesson planning, group similar tasks together and tackle them in dedicated time blocks. This simple approach creates the mental space needed for meaningful academic work.

  • Oliver Burkeman: Four thousand weeks

    In Four Thousand Weeks, Oliver Burkeman reframes time management, focusing on our 4,000-week lifespan to challenge the relentless pursuit of productivity. Burkeman’s insights encourage readers to embrace limits, focus on meaningful work, and find satisfaction in life’s finite nature, offering a refreshing perspective for today’s overwhelmed professionals.

  • Day-theming

    Day-theming is the practice of dedicating each day of the week to a specific area of focus or responsibility. When combined with task-batching, it enables you to move projects forward in small, incremental steps, even when you’re under pressure.

  • Schedule your writing time

    Start your day by scheduling your writing time so that you make progress on the important, high-value work that is cognitively demanding.

  • Prioritising tasks with the Eisenhower matrix

    The Eisenhower matrix helps with prioritising tasks by helping to make decision about which tasks are important and which are urgent.