Cessation of unproductive days

I have been reading a lot.

With the advent of this month, I have slowed down as if I have a lot of time to finish up my unfinished tasks. I am only reading, that too a lot of articles on medium, books for improving my lectures, and understanding and teaching!!

But my read right now is something off the beat. It is pure statistics, being a doctor, it is not my first priority. The early half of my working hours are spent with my students, the latter half reading. It includes blogs, research, books of biostatistics. This is a little break I have taken to compile my book’s chapters as I do not feel like it unless it does favors by building knowledge in this direction.

My brain says buck up but my instinct urges me to slow down. It could be the opposite, as not many can tell the difference. I have mixed feelings towards my work. The weather here is extremely hot and dry. All I crave for is a little cool of my chamber where I contemplate and plan but read something also.

The masterpiece is not fun if I do not learn and imbibe the concepts that I write. It requires deep work but I cannot muster up the courage as my family forces me against it. My mind’s part is mixed.

I am not yet in a fix. This is because I do not feel this for the first time. I have been battling unproductivity for quite sometime yet the good point is that I don’t feel stuck. Here’s what I do to make my days more productive without feeling unaccomplished with little work:

1. A daily routine of reading and assimilation of a difficult text for at least 15 minutes and writing reflections in 2–3 paragraphs from that text works wonders for my mixed brain power and creativity. This part is a challenge but fun. You open a text that is all Latin like genes affecting different cancers that can be altered by gut microbes, if detected early, or as a prophylaxis. 15 minutes of skimming through this information brings order to a chaotic brain that wants to do a lot of things. These 15 minutes are a bliss. I keep thinking about these 15 minutes. This takes my full concentration lately and not more than that after working hours. During my 9–5 I read only my subject or medium articles. This creates a productive momentum when I do not have to worry about long hours dedicated to difficult first times after work. What I know is consolidated with 15 minutes of novelty. A moving trend, that keeps me doing something not mechanically but instinctively and cognitively. I can stay with my books for hours. Still, it leads to poor productivity. Instead daily 15 minutes and their reflections calms me and makes me question about how to enhance my potential and improve in any aspect of life. Any or many aspects through a simple 2–3 paragraphs of writing routinely. At the end of the day I must feel accomplished, jokingly just by this. It feels good when you can understand the equations of population forecasting, for instance.
2. I do not edit my work often after writing the first draft. The creatives might laugh at me but the hack is to not change the first draft, editing it again and again is not my cup of tea. This does not make me unprofessional or someone with no patience. This is just to show up and not delay the publishing process. The idea is to create momentum, make it against all odds. It is because I am bound with time allocation. I am packed during my hours at home with a difficult schedule. Getting up at 4 am in the morning daily, going to the gym after a shower keeps me going. Then it is cleaning, cooking, arranging. Finally, I am at the workplace. So, I shall not discuss the usual work stuff here in this post, but I feel energized for any task that I take up from the mornings onward. Late evenings are very personal with family and after the things are discussed, I start reading or writing or editing my written work for my chapters in books. If I keep editing initially, it hampers my productivity.
3. Thirdly, I make it a point to overcome my shortcomings (vocabulary, mental jargon of ideas and more). It is not easy. There is so much at stake. I must keep my mind cool to stay productive. That required a moral support a little while ago. But now it is not what I still seek from people around, not even my family. Only coldly and coolly, work, and relaxation. A person who labors whole day, gets a good night’s sleep. Small achievements create enormous success in future. I follow this like a dictum. Small rain drops, conserved for more work and happiness in future.

Hopefully there will come a time when the hard work I put in at work and at home shall be appreciated by my family. Trying these three simple hacks before I make a breakthrough without feeling stuck with unproductivity is a positive way to look at the most grim circumstances. Yet, I endure.