Productivity for Academic Librarians and Researchers: Session 2 - Paying Attention

This session's task involved two parts: one instructed to keep a log of activities at work for two days, writing everything down and noting when you have the most (and the least) energy. The second stated to make a list at the beginning of each day for two days, ticking them off as they are completed.

The third task was to compare the four days. I certainly found myself to be more productive and focused when I wrote a list of goals at the beginning of the day. This didn't surprise me. I love lists and have them for absolutely everything: food shopping, presents to buy, places to go, errands to run... I do have a 'To Do' list on the computer at work but I think I need to make greater use of it - spend some time arranging and marking things off each day rather than having it in the background. When I don't have a list, I end up with all the things I need to do echoing around in my head distracting me, so getting everything down in list form certainly helps.

I found I was more productive in the morning, and again, this was no surprise; I always have a mid-afternoon slump at around 2pm, no matter what I eat, how much sleep I've had or what my sugar levels are. Luckily my job allows me to largely schedule my own workload so I tend to complete the most challenging, demanding tasks in the morning and leave the afternoon for more routine, repetitive procedures.

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