Journaling has been attracting a lot of attention. Its influence on personal growth and productivity has made it worthy of anyone’s attention. 

Keeping a journal can be a very effective way to keep track of your progress and thoughts. It can also allow you to find new ways to tackle certain issues and approach your goals.

Are you aware of the power of journaling? Do you know how journaling can help you reach a better version of yourself?

If you are inquisitive about journaling and you want to push towards your goals, you are in the right place. We present to you 6 ways through which will journaling can help with promoting productivity and personal growth. Let’s get started!

1. Write Down Your Most Important Goals

What do you want to accomplish? Who do you want to become? What are your short-term goals?

These are just some of the questions you can answer while journaling. The journal is the perfect keeper of your goals. Writing your short-term and long-term goals in the journal can keep you focused on what you want to accomplish.  

What's more, writing down goals has been linked to a higher achievement rate. According to research, if you write down your goals regularly, you are 42% more likely to achieve them. 

When you write your goals down, you're activating both the logic-based left hemisphere of the brain and the imaginative right hemisphere. Thus, you'll be more inspired to work on those goals, and you'll also stay on track with your objectives. 

Still, we all would like to make our goals and objectives more tangible and goal-oriented, which is why you simply ought to try a helpful app called TickTick. What makes it unique is you can also input your goals in the app's goal-tracking to-do list feature that lets you write them down, analyze, and finally organize them accordingly right inside this handy app! 

2. Pick a Daily Motivational Quote

Boost your motivation with quotes. A powerful quote that builds up excitement within you can help you start the day on a positive note.

Every day when you open your journal, write down a motivational quote for the day. By writing them every day, you’ll be consistently invested in building up your positive mindset.

You are what you think. Therefore, fill your mind with productivity-related quotes and quotes that will help you grow.

Here are some motivational quotes to get you started:

• "Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most." — Buddha. 
• "Action is the foundational key to all success." — Pablo Picasso
• "Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work." — Stephen King
• "Edit your life frequently and ruthlessly. It’s your masterpiece after all." — Nathan W. Morris
• "Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." — Theodore Roosevelt

If you like to pull out quotes from less ordinary sources, you can try looking into essays. For starters, browse this site with free essay samples, and you can surface quotes from topics you are interested in. 

3. Don't Overthink about What You Want to Write

Your journal is only for your eyes. It is probably the only form of expression that doesn’t demand any kind of filtering. What you think is what you should write about.

Spilling all your thoughts in the journal will clear your mind. It will also give you a better perspective on your fears, doubts, frustrations, and accomplishments. 

You can do 5 to 10 minutes of "stream of consciousness" writing. Simply sit down and write whatever comes to your mind first. The thoughts can be jumbled or disorganized. It doesn't matter. 

It is vital to get your thoughts and ideas sorted because if you focus on the chaos and have ideas scattered all over your journal, it may decrease your creative flow and make it look pressured. Some great things are rather simple after all, which is why journaling acts as a great way to free your mind and make some room for positive thinking and work-related tasks. 

4. Use Colors and Shapes To Promote Your Writing

Who says that journaling is limited solely to writing? With the help of color and shapes, you can get inspired and promote your writing. 

Get yourself more pumped up about journaling by using different-colored pens, including images, collages, and shapes. Express yourself freely. 

Adding color and variety to your journal will make it more personal. Embrace your creativity and let the journal showcase your personality. 

Visual prompts can make you more inspired to be consistent in journaling. Besides, your journal can be a form of expression, not just a safe place for sharing your thoughts and dreams. 

5. Keep Track of Your Daily and Weekly Objectives

Introducing healthy habits and a productive routine is beneficial for both your personal and professional success. Use the journal to keep track of your daily and weekly objectives.

Staying true to your promise of jogging 3 times a week will be easier if you write that objective down. 

The fast-paced life often swallows our short-term objectives. A new habit you wanted to embrace can get lost among your daily obligations. The journal won't let that happen anymore.

When you are dealing with some short-term and long-term goals, remember to keep track of your daily or weekly objectives as well. Some things will be usual to you just like habits while some challenges will seem difficult, which is normal. You can also use the great Habit Tracking feature in TickTick, which is exactly what its name implies – it helps to track down your habits and will train you as you start with something new like exercising or reading a chapter of an important book for your job and the personal growth. 

6. Organize Your Thoughts

Is there anything better for organizing your thoughts than a journal? 

The journal gives you a retrospective of what you have on your mind and helps you organize those ideas.

But how to keep your journal organized? If you want to be more productive, you also want to display your productiveness in the journal. 

What can help you organize your thoughts is using a bullet journal. This journal can be used for many purposes. No matter what you used it for, it will ensure that your thoughts are organized and efficient. You can also create different sections within your journal. One section can be for goal-setting, another for "stream of consciousness" writing, and the third one for essay-like storytelling.

The beauty of any journal experience is that it can easily become whatever you would like it to be. You can simplify the majority of your tasks. For example, using the Note feature of TickTick, you can simplify your note-taking process, which is an essential part of successful journaling. You can organize your ideas and goals all within a single format. Taking notes in TickTick is quite intuitive and is a breeze to work with. It reminds you of journaling with a pen and paper, yet with a comfortable digital tool that will make you feel right at home. The trick is to stay creative and add descriptions to each step that you take to serve as reminders! 

Final Thoughts

Journaling is more than writing down your daily activities. If you give it a chance, a journal can embody your life. This seemingly small habit that is journaling can help you grow and become a more productive person.

Give journaling a try, and let us know whether you’ve noticed some changes in personal growth and productivity levels. If you have some other useful journaling prompt, share with us what those are.

Note: This article is written by Marques Coleman, a content editor at Subjecto education website, where he combines his passion for writing with an interest in research.

“The tragedy in life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach.”

Benjamin E. Mays

When we talk about goals in life, two scenarios may come to the stage: Some people are super goal-oriented and drive themselves harshly goal after goal. Others live in static and dullness with no goals to reach. In this article, I tend not to address the adverse effects behind both but emphasize a healthier and more scientific approach for goal setting and reaching in life. That is the SMART Goals.

The Definition of SMART Goals

You may have heard of it multiple times but are still confused with the interchangeably used definitions. Despite those slightly different interpretations of this acronym, the most well-recognized version of the SMART Goals criteria is the one popularized by Professor Robert S. Rubin in Saint Louis University:

• S - specific
• M - measurable
• A - achievable
• R - relevant
• T - time-bound

Each step is essential for overall success. I’ll explain them specifically in the following with some tips and examples of SMART Goals to help you understand them better.

S - specific

This simply means that a goal has to be clear and well-defined for more effective planning. Most of the time, one’s failure of reaching a goal can be largely attributed to the ambiguity of his/her objective. The more vague the goal is, the less clear our mind will be, and the less likely we will be goal-driven. Therefore, start by narrowing down an ambiguous statement and making it something more specific and that can be executed. 

Example: 

An ambiguous goal: “I want to be a social influencer.”

A specific goal: “I want to be a social influencer with a not-so-big size of the audience in the make-up field on Youtube.”

Tips:

• Use adjectives and adverbs to describe and define your idea.
• Ask yourself the classic 4W questions: what, why, who, and where.

M - measurable

A smart goal also has to be measurable, which means that some metrics are set beforehand and can be used to evaluate whether the goal is met and progresses along the way. 

Example: 

“I want to be a social influencer with a not-so-big size of audience in the make-up field on Youtube.” Define the promising result “a not-so-big size of the audience” and make it more specific with a number, e.g. 20k subscribers. 

Tips:

• You can also have multiple layers to indicate the outcome: When your subscribers reach 20k, that would be an A result. B=80%, C=60%, etc.
• Replace KPIs with OKRs to objectively measure results and work towards the goal.

A = achievable

An unrealistic goal is set usually because of the blind optimism we have on the ability of our future self, according to some psychological studies. We also tend to experience an instant adrenaline rush when a goal we’ve set is ambitious because it seems exciting enough even just thinking about the time the goal is met and our beautiful future life after that. This is what makes setting an achievable goal not easy as being said. 

Tips:

• Apply a 30% discount to your expected results when setting a goal.
• Visualize the process of doing something instead of the outcomes.
• Do some research and take more inside and outside factors into account. For example, if you want to be a make-up YouTuber in the example, ask yourself at least those questions: “Do I have enough time to do that?” “Do I have enough make-up skills?” “How will I learn video shooting and editing?” “What is my special style compared with other competitors?” “Will there be any costs?”

R = relevant

This metric suggests you consider your goal from a broader perspective. Does the goal align with your life purpose or other long-term pursuits? Will the accomplishment of it be a stepping stone for you to achieve bigger goals in the future? Is it the right time to do that now? What will I gain and sacrifice and is it worth doing? Does it match your skill set?

Example:

Before you determine to be a make-upYouTuber, you may need to consider whether it suits your situation. If you happened to quit a job recently with some savings and are good at make-up techniques, and developing a side business on social media is a long-time dream of yours, you may find this goal is relevant to yourself from many different angles. 

Tip:

• Consider opinions from people you trust as well because they can sometimes provide you with more objective thoughts.

T = time-bound

Time-bounding your goal is the last but not the least. Why?

Having a specific time frame for your goal can increase your motivation. If there is no end date, most of us would be prone to procrastinate because we know something is still far away, which means the reward of it is also far away.

Having a time-based goal can also help you prioritize tasks because you have a deadline to focus on and always know what to do next. This can increase your efficiency and thus the possibility of reaching your goal.

Example:

Think about what you can do tomorrow, one month from now, and within a year. Sketch a roadmap with a clear timeline of what you do to become a make-up YouTuber with 20k fans. On the roadmap, there should be different stages, within which tasks are scheduled to be checked off one by one.

Tips:

• Always time-bound your tasks, every little one. You can learn more about the Time Blocking method (the most popular time management skill used by Bill Gates)!
• Use a simple calendar and to-do list app to manage tasks and make schedules. Let TickTick help!

The Science behind SMART Goals

The benefits of goal-setting have been pointed out by many psychological researchers before. Just to name one, having a goal to achieve can enhance our self-awareness due to the continuous reality check and self-evaluation. Then, what are the extra benefits of using the SMART framework? Why can it be effective in goal setting and reaching? Let’s dive into it.

Specific: The more specific the goal is, the more we will be able to notice the resources that help us get to it or things associated with it. This is because it has been brought to your attention and thus stimulates the “Reticular Activating System” (RAS) in our brain.

Measurable: Being able to see the milestones that indicate our progress along the way contributes to the final success. It also shapes our behavior and keeps us on track. Those stepping stones are also strong motivators that will keep us in a good momentum.

Achievable: This is the easiest to understand, because the more attainable the task is, the less execution power it will involve. Conversely, if a goal is too unrealistic or big,  we tend to put it off and off again as we know it requires great effort and commitment.

Relevant: Keeping a relevant goal involves our core values since we have to analyze our strengths and weaknesses to go with it. We also need to ensure it’s relevant to our life purposes. Therefore, it can increase our self-understanding and also help us reach it.

Time-bound: As being said, having a deadline can be the most direct way to motivate ourselves because we tend to avoid the mental suffering caused by missing deadlines. It reminds us of the completion of tasks and regulates our behaviors by creating a limited timeframe.

Final Words

Understanding the basics of SMART Goals and the science behind the criteria, it's the right time to take these tips and set a smart goal NOW!

Keeping your motivation up when you're working in an office is relatively easy. You need to get your work done before you can return to the comfort and privacy of home, so dragging your feet will only cause you further inconvenience. And with your colleagues surrounding and observing you, you’ll at once be reminded that you’re part of a team and driven to show productivity.

For most of us, though, that office life is behind us: gone for the foreseeable future, at least, and plausibly gone for good. Unless you've been hibernating in a hermetically-sealed underground chamber since early 2020, you know perfectly well why it isn't advisable for people to gather in significant groups. Regardless of the broader consequences, remote working is the new normal.

So how are you supposed to stay motivated when you’re working from home with your colleagues many miles away? How can you achieve focus when trying to get things done in an environment designed and built for comfort? It isn’t easy, but it can be done, and in this piece we’re going to set out five tips that can help you manage it. Let’s get started.

Assemble a solid home office

Slouching on the couch with your laptop on your lap can sound like a good idea when you’re used to a stuffy office. Isn’t that an ideal scenario? No more needing to sit at a desk under harsh fluorescent lights (per this piece, they can really bother some people). With your mind at ease, you can truly focus on getting things done. Well, things don’t work that way. Not only does such an arrangement lead to lowered productivity due to reduced concentration, but it also becomes uncomfortable remarkably quickly.

You need a proper home office — or as close to one as you can get with the resources and space available to you. At a minimum, that means a desk, a practical chair, enough artificial light to keep you awake during the winter, and whatever computer peripherals can help you work efficiently. Multiple monitors are particularly useful, for instance, and you can use a laptop dock to make it optimally easy to take your laptop elsewhere for the occasional change of scenery.

Rely on the right tools

Getting lost in admin is one of the fastest ways to get bored and disillusioned, and it’s a major risk when you’re working remotely. Digital communication within an office is often lax because the workers can simply talk directly when necessary, and any confusion concerning time or task management can be resolved through impromptu in-person meetings. But if you allow such poor digital management when people are working remotely, admin tedium will build up.

There are two components to good remote-working admin: using the right tools, and ensuring that everyone knows how to use them appropriately. The importance of SaaS is why businesses everywhere are scrambling to find and deploy the best task management apps on the market — and while options proliferate (as evidenced by myriad roundups featuring varied tools: examples here and here), you can stay exactly where you are.

TickTick makes it vastly easier to manage a remote business, allowing you to keep tasks managed across all major platforms. You can queue up all your key actions, giving each one a suitable priority level and deadline along with a custom prompt to nudge you into action ahead of time. Speaking of prompts, the Daily Alert feature is great if your mind drifts due to the weight of your workload (understandable when you don’t have colleagues or employees around to keep you sharp). It pops up at a set time every day to let you know what you need to get done that day.

And with TickTick Premium, you can make good use of Smart Lists. Using core logic operators, you get to create task lists to help you focus your attention on the most pressing concerns. For example, if you want to plan your schedule, you can create a Smart List showing only the top-priority tasks with start and due dates within the next week. I find this hugely useful because it lets me set up and knock down the most onerous tasks first, leaving time for other things.

Work towards small goals

To a major extent, our actions are governed by psychological rewards. When you do something right and achieve a victory, your emotional state improves (particularly when it comes to your level of confidence), and that feeling encourages you to keep going so you can reach it again. This is why people who pursue goals are so much happier. Even when they encounter setbacks, they can stay fixated on where they’re going and what they want to do.

Since the days can start to blur together when you’re working from home, you need something to break up the monotony, and that means pushing towards small but meaningful goals (more on this). Maybe you can aim to get a particular project done by the end of a working week, or set yourself a challenge of cultivating and demonstrating a new skill. However you define and approach your goals, simply having them in place will make a huge difference.

Maintain a clear routine

As much as people have always liked to complain about the daily grind of commuting to and from work, there’s a lot to be said for the clear distinction it established between their professional lives and their personal lives. When they were at their places of employment, they needed to get work done — and when they were home, they didn’t need to think about work.

Now that so many of us are working from home, we’re finding that distinction much harder to achieve. What does it mean to finish a working day now that you’re not necessarily going anywhere? Worrying about how much you’re getting done can lead you to feel that you should work longer hours to make up for it, but that’s a mistake. You can’t stay motivated if you reach the point of burnout due to too much work. When your day is done, log off, and go elsewhere.

Relax and take regular breaks

Even if you get into the habit of starting and finishing work at sensible times, the lack of anywhere to go (and colleagues to hang out with) can lead you to stay at your desk for the entire day. And since there’s no realistic way for anyone to mandate that you take a break, you can just keep on working through the time you would have taken for lunch.

Don’t do that: you need breaks. There’s a reason why good managers talk about them so much, and it isn’t that they’re trying to sneakily extend the working day. The longer you spend on a task without letting your mind fully wander, the worse your mood will get. You’ll become impatient, frustrated, and prone to making mistakes — and all of that will sap your motivation. So take a deep breath, relax, and take the day as it comes.

Note: Laura May is Digital Editor at Just Another Magazine. We write about beauty, fashion, lifestyle, relationships, travel, trends, and anything else that matters to you. Name throwing you off? Don’t take it too seriously — we intend to stand out from the crowd.

The Meaning of PDCA Cycle

PDCA Cycle (also known as PDSA Cycle or Deming Cycle), is a problem-solving method used for the continuous learning and improvement of a process or product. 

There are 4 basic steps in PDCA Cycle:

• Plan: identify a problem and possible solutions
• Do: execute the plan and test the solution(s)
• Check: evaluate the results and lessons learned
• Act: improve the plan/process for better solutions

These four steps incorporate inductive-deductive interplay and have been a simple and scientific approach for problem-solving (process-improving). It follows the curve of how we acquire knowledge through constant reflection, standardization, and modification.

The PDCA framework begins with a planning phase where a problem or a process to be improved is identified. This involves not only the goal setting and finding possible solutions, but also hypothesizing methods that can be used to reach the ultimate goal. Another thing that needs special attention is defining the success metrics. This simply means a clear evaluation matrix is ideally to be set beforehand.

Then, the solution(s) will be tested in the Do process. To detach the Do, there could be two steps: making the Do multiple To-Dos by splitting the task and defining them with a specific time, personnel, and steps, and collecting real-time data and feedback. 

Check includes analyzing the results and comparing them to the hypothesis in the Plan stage: how well the solution worked, how much the goal has been achieved, and whether the methods were proven feasible. If there are any unexpected issues, you may also need to find the causes and possible solutions. Note that there might be forth and back between Do and check.

The Act step closes the cycle, which involves adjustment on the initial goal or solutions and integration of all key learnings by the entire process, to standardize successful parts and avoid error recurrence. In a nutshell, the Act phase summarizes the current cycle and prepares for the next.

However, the PDCA cycle doesn’t stop here. Instead, it can repeat from the beginning with a modified version of the Plan. There is no end to it and sustainability should be its main pitch.

How PDCA Has Evolved

Usually used interchangeably with “PDSA Cycle”, “Deming Cycle”, “Deming wheel”, “Shewhart Cycle” etc, the PDCA model has indeed confronted some misunderstanding and confusion. It remains unexplained in most cases how PDCA became what it is today and what’s the difference between those mysterious terminologies and how they interact. According to Ronald D. Moen & Clifford L. Norman, its evolution could be summarized like the following:

Shewhart cycle (1939): Specification - Production - Inspection. 

He brought up this method from the viewpoint of Quality Control.

Deming Wheel (1950): Design the product - Make the product - Sell it - Test it.

Deming built off the Shewhart cycle and emphasized the four steps should be rotated constantly to aim for the product quality. This has gained increasing popularity when Deming participated in the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE).

PDCA Cycle (the 1950s):  Plan - Do - Check - Act.

A Japanese executive reworked the Deming Wheel and translated it into the PDCA Cycle for problem-solving. PDCA emphasizes more on the establishment of standards during the process and the ongoing modification of those standards. 

Extended PDCA Cycle (1985): Plan - Do - Check - Act.

Kaoru Ishikawa refined the PDCA model to include more steps in the Plan and Do steps: Identify the goals and methods to use; involve in training and education during implementation.

PDSA Cycle (1985): Plan - Do - Study - Act.

Deming claimed that the ownership of PDCA Cycle was never recognized by anyone and the word “check” was used incorrectly because it means “to hold back”. Therefore, he replaced it with “study” to emphasize the importance of the continuous learning-improvement model.

How to Implement - PDCA Examples

Now, you’ve got a clear idea of what the PDCA Cycle is and how it changes over time. As a simple and structured method widely adopted in Quality Control and Total Quality Management, can it also be applied in wider areas, such as personal growth and business development? Yes, I’ll give you a couple of examples.

Benefits of PDCA Cycle

Among all those other methods, why does the PDCA model shade some lights in the history, especially known for the “Japanese Quality” and is still widely used today? Some key benefits of it need to be valued.

PDCA methodology emphasizes minimizing errors and maximizing outcomes. When applied to business development, e.g. a product’s iterations, it could ensure a developing path where the product is shaped better and better to the market and customers. It’s the same when it comes to personal growth. It also leaves space for constant check and reflection, which can avoid wasting time on the mistakes or making the same mistakes.

PDCA framework follows a learning curve and enhances the learning-improvement process continually. This is the key factor defining PDCA as a scientific and methodical way to gain knowledge. With knowledge building up, people’s ability goes up. 

PDCA model encourages a growth mindset. Seeing continuous improvements is a good way to enhance individuals’ self-esteem levels and bring a great sense of accomplishment. People tend to find meaning in the things they do. Imagine if one stops making progress, they would stay in the static and lose meaning in repetitive work and life. 

Takeaways

• PDCA Cycle is a simple and scientific way for problem-solving and process improvement.
• PDCA Cycle involves four key steps: Plan, Do, Check and Act.
• PDCA works slightly differently from Deming Cycle, Shewhart Cycle, and PDSA.
• PDCA Cycle is a never-ending process that can be used on a continual basis.
• PDCA Cycle can be used for quality control, business development, and personal growth.

What is the Pomodoro Technique?

The Pomodoro Technique is one of the simplest and most feasible methods of time management, proposed by Francesco Cirillo in 1992. He named it “Pomodoro” (tomato in Italian) just because of the tomato-shaped kitchen timer he used to track time.

Struggling with constantly refilling to-do lists and never-ceasing deadlines like all of us today, Francesco found a way to enhance his concentration and productively get things done as a university student. That is Pomodoro Technique. Every 25-minute is considered as a Pomo, dedicating to a task during the Pomo and taking a 5-minute break when it ends. After 4 Pomos, take a longer break (usually 15-30 minutes). The whole process goes like that. With time, this can train our brain to focus in short and timed intervals, while also ensuring relaxation for quick recharging during work. Therefore, Pomodoro Technique outweighs other productivity methods mainly because it’s distraction-fighting and brain-training.

How to do it?

Pomo Timer was introduced to TickTick a long time ago, and we’ve mentioned this technique several times before, but we’ve never dived into it to see how it can be applied practically into work and life. Let’s do that now.

First of all, Pomodoro Technique ≠ focus + rest. The complete process involves four steps: planning, executing, tracking, and analyzing.

Planning

Planning can be broken down into 2 steps: scheduling and estimating. Writing down everything you need to do, and scheduling tasks for today is the start of preparation. Once scheduled, set estimated Pomo numbers on those tasks. For example: 

Tips: 

• Split a complex task with more than 7 Pomos into multiple subtasks.
• Combine trivial tasks that are less than a Pomodoro within 1.

Executing

Before you get down to switch on the Pomo timer, there are some simple tips:

• Can I pause the Pomo timer?

Pauses cause interruptions that may make it 10 times harder to start again. Therefore, it is usually recommended to complete a Pomo in one sitting. Pause it only if there’s something urgent.

P.S. In TickTick Focus, the Pomo Timer can be paused (with limited times), and you can choose to continue or end it. 

• Can I switch tasks within one Pomo?

Yes, but regular switches between tasks may not be a good way to stay focused. Ideally, doing one thing in one Pomo can contribute to a higher level of concentration.

• How to avoid distractions during Pomo?

Unexpected things usually pop up and distract us away from focusing on the tasks at hand. For example, those external distractions are various in the office, such as phone calls or a colleague’s coffee invitation. To avoid this, White Noise could be something you could at least try. Comparatively, interruptions from ourselves are more subtle, because a random idea can spring up out of nowhere. When this comes, take note of it to be dealt with later, and quickly return to the current Pomo. 

• What if I complete the task before the Pomo is over? 

What the author of Pomodoro Technique Illustrated suggested is "Over-learning". That is, if there is extra time in a Pomodoro, go back to the completed task to see if there is anything that can be improved.

• How to use TickTick Pomo Timer? (See the illustration below)

Tracking

For athletes and professional gamers, performance tracking is almost as important as three meals a day. Without tracking, you won't be able to know where you went wrong and what to improve. Therefore, don't forget to regularly evaluate your completed Pomos and think about whether you can do better next time. Instead of manually calculating all the numbers, TickTick Focus Statistics provides everything you need, from time spent on individual tasks, a daily Focus record to weekly/monthly trends of your Pomo Performance.

Analyzing

Last but not least, analyzing the data you’ve collected and optimizing the Pomo process for next time. With all in-depth data TickTick Focus provides, some key info needs special attention:

• The gap between estimated time and actual time on each task

Based on the difference between the estimated time and the actual time expenditure on a task, you can gain a fair understanding and make a better estimation next time. 

• The number of interruptions and specific contents 

According to the number and contents of interruptions, summarize what usually distracted you from being focused, and think about how to avoid similar situations in the future.

• Distribution of your daily focused hours 

From this perspective, you can find out your most productive time of the day to suit your workflow best.

Why can it work?

Although sounding effective, you may wonder why Pomodoro Technique can be a productivity booster?

• It creates a sense of ritual: Once getting used to starting being concentrated when the Pomo timer is switched on, our brain will be trained to listen to that command, similarly to a conditional reflex.

• It turns us from being passive to active: The moment you activate the Pomodoro, you have control over your time.

• It ensures a good work-life balance: It leaves time for relaxing and recharging during work. 5-minute breaks in between allow you to temporarily get away from stressful work and let your brain rest.

• It emphasizes optimization: Tracking and analyzing your Focus flow and time expenditure plays a great role in self-growth and reflection. One can get more and more aware of how he/she spent time and how to manage time well. 

• It provides instant positive feedback: With the Pomo timer practices, you can not only reap a bunch of tomatoes but also a great sense of accomplishment. This kind of positive feedback keeps you away from negative emotions developed from completing tasks and increases motivation greatly. 

Common misuses to avoid

Pomodoro can only be 25 minutes.

Pomodoro can be customized.

Working for 25 minutes + taking a break for 5 minutes is just the author’s suggestion. Customizing a cycle that suits your habits is the correct way to adopt the Pomodoro Technique. If you don't want it to be too fragmented, you can extend your Pomo appropriately; if you feel 25 minutes is too long, you can maybe start with 15 minutes.

I’m super productive because I finished 10+ Pomos today.

The number of Pomos cannot be the only indicator of productivity.

It should be noted that Pomodoro is a tool for improving efficiency rather than quantifying time. The completion of tasks and results are more important than the number of tomatoes!

As long as the Pomo is completed, there is no need to spend time reviewing it.

The analysis of Pomo statistics cannot be omitted.

Taking a few minutes to reflect on how time was spent on different tasks and what time you were most productive can make you perform better in the next execution of Pomo. But it is indeed unnecessary to waste too much time on reflection. Analyzing is suggested to be done within a Pomo. 

Fun facts

Francesco Cirillo, the author of The Pomodoro Technique, has also found some fun facts:

• The ideal Pomodoro time is from 20 to 35 minutes, preferably less than 40 minutes.

• The Pomodoro Technique can make people more sensitive to time. Some who have used Pomodoro for a while reported that they could accurately determine whether a Pomo has passed halfway.

• Two types of people are prone to anxiety when using Pomodoro: One is those who procrastinate a lot, and the others are perfectionists. For procrastinators to better execute Pomodoro Technique, the first goal is to complete the first 25-minute Pomodoro without interruption; for those perfectionists, TickTick wants to tell you that starting to do is more important than doing well. Time to reap your first Pomo!

As 2020 has officially come to the end, some may have already engaged themselves in re-evaluation on things completed and changes made throughout the year. Looking back to last year’s resolution and seeing what has been ticked off is always a good way to do that, so is listing what you did well and what you didn’t. To help you do that, 2020 TickTick Memory is ready! You’re not only able to quickly generate your TickTick 2020 year-in-review but can also write down your 2021 new year's resolutions at the same time in the list we create for you! 

Your 2020 TickTick Memory

Generally, there are 3 parts in the review, regarding Task completion, Focus, and Habit tracking data respectively. Some of the most curious questions will be covered, such as:

• How many tasks have I completed this year?
• How long have I been focused on my tasks?
• What time in a day is my most productive hour?
• What is the habit that I insisted on for the longest time?

More surprisingly, apart from the review itself, another handy feature we’ve added in the review is a 2021 resolution list! You can write down your 2021 new year's resolutions immediately after reading the review and this list will then automatically be added and kept in your TickTick.

Ideas and tips for your 2021 new year's resolutions 

Based on your 2020 Memory TickTick has generated for you, it becomes much easier to nail out your 2021 goals because you're now in the know of your productivity flow and task completion capacity. Here in the following are 8 common resolution ideas we’ve prepared for you, together with some tips on how to reach them.

1. Beat procrastination

Procrastination is perhaps one of the biggest struggles of people living in this modern society, either at study or the workplace. It is not just a bad habit, but a psychological syndrome concerning people’s inner fear, expectations, doubts, and pressures. Procrastination usually comes in the form of feeling unmotivated to start doing any tasks despite knowing there’s a deadline or putting things off and off again till the last minute. We all know this is unhealthy because of the mental suffering it causes. Therefore, finding the roots of why we procrastinate and ways to tackle it is an important goal that should be on the resolution! This article will prepare you with everything you need to know about procrastination. 

2. Increase focus and productivity

Being focused is a way to become more productive, and being productive speeds one’s way of reaching their goals. Therefore, this should be a fundamental skill required for achieving other resolutions. It is also something that can be practiced through time. You might have been familiar with some tricks already, but here I’d like to mention the 3 most essential things that you should at least know:

• Pomodoro technique -- Best way to help you stay focused.
• White Noises -- Soothing your mind and avoiding distractions.
• A Flow state -- Being “in the zone” with full immersion.

3. Manage your time well

24-hour a day remains the same for everyone, but the meaning of life relies on how we spend our time. However, the truth is most people still lack the awareness and skills of managing their time well and getting things done. Complying to GTD methodology, TickTick is such a tool that intends to help you gain more control over your time and life in many different ways, and one of the many is “Time Blocking”. By cutting your day into different blocks and putting your tasks and events into these blocks with a built-in Calendar in TickTick, your time is boxed and everything could be well planned out.

“Eat That Frog” is another useful method to help manage time. “Frog” means the most important task, and “Eat That Frog” means doing that task first thing at the start of your workday. Successfully eating that frog will carry you into the momentum for the rest of your day, which will not only make sure you’ve spent your most focused hours on the high-value task, but also increase the efficiency when working on those less-important ones.

4. Be more mindful of life

Being mindful simply means living in the present. It focuses your attention on what's happening now, instead of looking backward to the past or anticipating too much about the future. It is a way to soothe yourself and achieve greater happiness as you get more and more aware of the moment. To practice mindfulness, one can simply start from mindfulness meditation. Learn more or create a meditation habit from today in your TickTick!

5. Keep things minimal

Minimalism is another concept that we’ve heard often over these recent years. It is a less-is-more mindset and lifestyle, by trimming all unnecessary things out of our lives, whether they are personal belongings, mental burdens or digital clutters. The golden principle embedded is to live to the minimum and keep things dead simple. Having that mindset can help us in many ways, and on top of that, it reduces mental pressures, especially when living in such a commercial and highly competitive world. Although starting a minimal life is not a must but at least it is something beneficial. Learn more about minimalism.

6. Eat a healthy diet

“Eating healthy” is commonly seen in most people’s resolutions. Indeed, it seems so easy to be said but not that easy to be executed. What drags us back is usually our inertness and lack of plans. To counter that, the skills of sticking to a habit and tools to help us keep track of the habit are quite essential. The “21/90” principle is such a method that tells about how to form a new habit -- 21 days to establish a new habit and 90 days to make it stick. Yet, a complete habit-forming process requires more than that. Learn more:

• 3 key stages of making a new habit stick
• How to use TickTick to build a complete habit-tracking system

7. Develop a side hustle

If it was last year, I might not even mention “developing a side business” as a new year’s resolution, but things have changed unprecedentedly due to the COVID-19 crisis. Remote working has become the next normal and a lot of physical opportunities have vapored. It then becomes important to have a simple side hustle/project to enhance your financial stability and get you through any difficult times. Learn more about the benefits and methods of having a slash career.

8. Spend more time with family

Family time is always what needs to be cherished. The company and emotional support from family cannot be compared with other feelings and is always what gets us through tough times. Spending more time with family, even if it’s just a simple Sunday meal or a small gift sharing. Being grateful and expressing love as much as possible is perhaps the biggest resolution that I should suggest to everyone for 2021. 

Well, since you’ve got there – a bunch of ideas, tips, and resources to help you review the past year and see your New Year’s resolution through. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Don’t forget to check back on 2020 TickTick Memory in the app ! We’ll see you there:)

Many of us enjoy making plans, such as spending hours creating a never-ending to-do list. Similar to registering for a gym membership but never visit since then, the common reaction to a redundant list or a big commitment is usually:

• Procrastinate on it till the last minute;
• Start from small and low-value tasks to feel they are still progressing.

Maybe everyone procrastinates, and for the most of time, procrastination indeed damages our productivity and success. However, not every procrastination is deadly harmful. High performers differ from low performers by choosing the right tasks to procrastinate on. They intentionally put off those not-so-important tasks and devote themselves first to dealing with the task with the highest priority. This refers to a productivity approach called "Eat That Frog".

What does “Eat That Frog” mean?

Don’t be scared away if you first heard of this strange term, because it’s not asking you to eat a real frog. Metaphorically, “Frog” here stands for the hardest and most important task that you’re most likely to leave to the last minute. “Eat That Frog” symbolizes doing that task first thing in the morning, right on the top of your schedule. Beginning the workday from it and then persisting until the task is completed before you go on to do something else. 

The origin of “Eat that Frog” is said to be attributed to a quote from Mark Twain: “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” Brian Tracey further described and developed it as a productivity method in his best-known book: Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time. In his book, he has introduced 21 practical ways of how to eat that frog, bringing together other productivity practices like Time Blocking, and the Pareto principle into the discussion as well.

Advantages and limits

"Eat That Frog" seems quite understandable for its namesake, but would it be effective in the implementation? Why?

It reduces mental sufferings caused by procrastination

As mentioned earlier, choosing the right tasks to procrastinate on and invest in the top-priority task first is a pattern for high achievers and always brings about the positive side from notorious procrastination. Completing what is most important can reduce mental sufferings usually caused by reverse action.

More specifically, the guilt of not starting earlier, anxiety about the very limited time left for completing the task, fear of potential consequences, all these negative feelings come to us when a big and important task has been put off. On the contrary, if what we do is tackling that biggest difficulty from the very beginning and leaving other tasks behind, we will not be very likely to suffer from those psychological pressures. Besides, endorphins and dopamine stimulated from the achievement of a big task can also make us happier at work.

It helps enhance the focus for the whole day

By eating the frog first thing in the morning, your focus level can be enhanced for the rest of your day. This is because if you leave the most difficult task to the last, your day will be filled with worry and stress about that task, even if you’re doing something else. Carrying such bad feelings won’t allow you to focus on the task at hand. Therefore, the completion of top-priority tasks from the very start helps increase the focus level when performing other tasks.

It can boost productivity from many perspectives

Your productivity can also be boosted to a large extent from different aspects if you eat the frog in the morning. The first booster is the focus level as mentioned above. Another is the energy level. Usually, we are most energetic in the morning, when it’s the best time to perform the most skill-required tasks. Eating the frog is following this flow; thus we're more likely to perform better. Furthermore, the sense of achievement and confidence developed from successfully “eating that frog” can also keep us in momentum and good vibes that carry us into the rest of the day, which is beneficial to productivity.

It propels goal-reaching in the long run

The “frog” in another sense is the task that is closest to our final goals. According to the Pareto Principle, 20% of the actions determine 80% of the end results. That 20% is exactly the key task that can move us big steps towards our goals. Therefore, to complete it first helps us get closer to the goal. When added up, this would make the goal much easier to reach. Putting off things that are not helping with goal-reaching is a practical technique to avoid time-wasting.

Limitation

Although it sounds flawless, the problem with this method is that it might not be so flexible when it comes to the change of “frog”. In the real-life scenario, a new priority would pop up anytime and interfere with your original “frog”. Therefore, it may be beyond the capacity to eat two or more frogs at the same time and the completion of either will be influenced too. A possible solution is only keeping one frog at one time, and if there are two, one should always be of more importance. 

How to eat your frog

Although "Eat That Frog" seems easy-to-execute on paper, the implementation of it needs to combine with other productivity methods such as Time Blocking and the Eisenhower matrix, to make it a digest of productivity. 

Find the frog

The very first step is to find your frog. This simply means to identify which task is of the best value and needs most of your mental investment. According to the Eisenhower matrix, there are four types of tasks based on urgency and importance: urgent and important, urgent but not important, important but not urgent, neither important nor urgent. Those urgent and important tasks are the “frogs” that need to be marked as “high priority”. Be careful not to set too many high priorities, and keep the rule simple and strict, because if there are too many priorities, there is no priority.

Tip: In TickTick, when adding/editing tasks in your to-do lists, there are four Priority types you can set to a task: High, Medium, Low, and None. Find your frogs and use High Priority to pin them on the top!

Make Plans

Finding the next-day frog at the end of today’s work is always what’s suggested to do. I do that by shutting off all the windows on my browser and only leaving the one related to tomorrow’s "frog" open. This then would be the first thing I see the next morning when I come to the office and open my computer.

Another piece of advice is to always time block your tasks. As Brain Tracey said in his book, “Organize your days around large blocks of time where you can concentrate on extended periods on your most important tasks.” Arranging your tasks on TickTick Calendar and scheduling them into different time slots allows you to plan out your day well and to always stay aware of all your commitments. Make sure your "frogs" are right on the top of your daily calendar, coded by a bright color if needed.

If it’s a big frog and not possibly completed in one sitting, then it’s perhaps better to divide it first to make it several frogs for different days. To do that, the Subtask feature in TickTick can be useful, because you can break a complex task into more manageable ones, with multiple layers and priorities on them.

Time to execute on it!

When everything gets ready, there's no better time than now to jump into the start of frog-eating. Take this guide and start with your Thursday frog!

Tips: To add some spices to help you digest your "frog", you can also try:

• Pomodoro technique with White Noises
• Mindfulness practices to achieve a Flow state

What is white noise?

Some may have found themselves working more productively sitting in a crowded café instead of at home or in an open-plan office, and others may have had the experience that they fell asleep more easily especially when it is a rainy night. 

I believe you can somehow feel the relatability. Why would there be such situations, if it’s not just out of randomness? 

This is because “White Noise” like these, raindrops and people chatting in the café, can help us in terms of focus, productivity, and relaxation. Researchers at the University of Illinois found that participants who listened to 70 dB of noise performed better at work than the other two groups (exposed to 50 and 85 dB noise levels respectively). Just for your information, noise at 70 dB level is similar to the sound of a moving car 10 meters away. Noise at this level was reported to be just soothing enough to calm our minds and keep ambient sounds away, with itself not being too overwhelming to distract us from our tasks. This is called “White Noise”.

Similar to the definition of “White Light”, a mixture of all spectrums. “White Noise” is a mixture of all frequencies of sounds, including high, low, and mid-range. Most often heard in nature, the sounds of waves, rain, and forest are normally white noises. Other examples can also be found in everyday life such as TV statics, the sound of woods burning in the stove, and the boiling of water. 

Here is an example of what white noise sounds like. Put on your headphones and listen to this fries sound for at least 5 minutes and see how you feel. 

*Note: “Fries” sound is the most popular white noise in TickTick Focus.

Why does white noise work?

The main reason why noises like that can help us get more productive, focused, and relaxed is that it can block out other disturbing sounds in the surroundings and thus keep us in a non-distracted zone. Imagine you’re staying in a quiet café, where there are only several people talking while the coffee machine is running. You might be able to hear clearly each of the conversations from others around you. But if the café gets crowded as more and more people come in, conversations will start to fade away and become part of the background sounds. You won’t get so attentive as your mind skips from interpreting and processing information from these sounds. As a result, more attention will be allocated to what you’re doing at hand. This is why white noises can work in terms of attention and productivity.

When to use white noise?

The workplace is perhaps the place where we need to be focused most, especially because of increasingly various distractions nowadays: whips of your phone, a pop-up reminder from whatever devices, sounds of printers and coffee machines, loud talks from co-workers, annoying phone calls on the hallway, etc. The popularity of open-plan offices makes it even harder to stay away from these noises. White noises in this sense can be helpful, to help avoid disturbance for one thing, and to reduce your anxiety level for another. 

Studying is another case that needs a high level of focus and productivity. Dead silence in the library can make us particularly alert to ambient sounds, and sometimes even a drop of a pen is no different from an earthquake. But if you put on your earphones and listen to your favorite forest sound, you wouldn’t even be able to notice that because it can immerse you into what you’re reading or writing. 

People who suffer from sleeping problems, such as sleep deprivation, may also benefit from listening to white noises. Soothing and relaxing as the sound is, the anxiety level is way lower compared with sleeping in silence. Therefore, people may fall asleep more easily and are more likely to have a sounder sleep than usual. With a good-quality sleep, chances for a productive next-day are also higher.

One more situation that white noise can come into play is meditation. We’ve introduced how to do a mindful meditation before, and with the help of white noises, one can get more focused at the present moment and thus feel more calm and free during mediations.

Will the white noise itself be distracting?

Some may have sought help from white noises before but failed to see a fit, and others may wonder what if the white noise itself is distracting. Truth is that there’s no one-fits-all solution, and therefore sounds enjoyed by some may be noises to others’ ears. But one golden rule is the white noise that doesn’t incorporate too many high-pitched sounds or sharp breaks is the one liked by most people. Therefore, you found it is no use maybe because you haven’t met the right one yet. Being picky about white noises is the first step, and it may take some time to finally have one pleasant to your ears.

Give it a go!

Now that you’ve read it through, you may have got a better understanding of what white noise is, how it works, and when to use it. Fortunately, instead of looking around for other white noise apps or resources on media, you can simply find some great white noises in TickTick! We have recently replaced all of the original white noises with better-quality ones.

In TickTick, White Noise is supposed to be used with the combination of a Pomo Timer or Stopwatch in the Focus. The Pomo Timer (adopted from the Pomodoro Technique) is a good way to help you enhance concentration and productively get things done. You can choose a task you'd like to do and simply start the Pomo Timer in TickTick. Then if you feel you need a little more spice up, you can further choose a white noise as the background sound of your Timer. I believe it is hard to not be focused with the doubled help of the Pomodoro technique and white noises!

Quickstart tutorial: Select a task > Start Focus > Choose a white noise you like! Take me to try it! 

An often heard theory of habit-building is the “21/90” rule. 21 days for a habit to form (0-1), and another 90 days for that habit to stick (1-100). Apart from these two key stages, the initial decision to commit to a new habit is also important. 

Deciding to commit to a positive change

A ritual of starting

Before jumping into a new habit, a good way to get yourself mentally ready is a ritual of starting. Telling yourself and maybe also people around you that you’d like to make a certain change, is establishing an invisible “flag”. It’ll not only psychologically remind yourself, but others can also play the role of a supervisor if needed. 

A reason behind the change

It is essential while always neglectful to identify what drives you to make the change and where your initial motivation comes from. It seems determined that your habit won’t last for long if the reason behind it is self-punishment. This means that an intrinsic motivation of establishing a habit should develop from what you love, instead of hate.

A clear goal and steps to reach it 

Once you’ve committed, it’s important to set a clear goal and detailed plans. The goal can be big but also achievable, which can be segregated into everyday tasks. For example, you’ve decided to “eat healthily”, the goal can be “to half the frequency of eating out and double the intake of vegetables in the first month”. Based on this, plans for weekly meal plans and daily caloric intake can then follow.

A tool to help you track the habit

Keeping a habit with a useful tool can save a lot of troubles, and TickTick is one of the options. With the Habit feature in TickTick, one can create a new habit in the way they like by setting its frequency, customizing the habit icon, as well as adding quotes to the habit to motivate you. All of these can be done in one second to help you prepare for a new habit.

Programing behaviors as habits from 0-1

Time block your habits and get reminded

Once the new habit has been created, the next thing is to schedule it. Plan it out with a specific time and get yourself reminded. Easy work with the help of TickTick, because you can view your habits in TickTick Calendar and see when you need to do it. You’ll also get reminded, multiple times a day. For example, if you’ve decided to “Drink 8 cups of water a day” - You will be reminded 8 times at different intervals asking you to drink water. 

Visualize the process of doing instead of the results

A very common pitfall that people usually fall into when forming a new habit is fantasizing too much about the results. For example, When starting to learn a new language, what beginners imagine is the scenario they are fluently interacting with native speakers in that language. This indeed sounds inspiring from the surface but is no help in the actual accomplishment. Therefore, instead of visualizing the far-reaching future, putting the process of doing it into visualization (i.e. imagine practicing that language after work every night) is much more practical, which can help take actual actions.

Check-in habits and reflect on your behavioral path

It is more structural and reflectable if you can check in your habits and be aware of your behavioral path. Instead of doing maths yourself, in tools like TickTick, you can always keep track of how you did on a habit and get some cool insights for reflection. Two main features are especially handy in terms of this: 

Habit Log -- Record a Habit Log by writing down what you did and how you felt.

Habit Statistics -- Reflect on what you’ve done well and what still needs improvement.

Get rid of the guilt and allow flexibility

One fact that you may have to accept is there are always ups and downs in the habit-building process, which means no one can do it perfectly to never miss a check-in. It is not necessary to feel guilty if you’ve missed one because you need to give yourself time to breathe. In TickTick, you can mark your habit as “unachieved” because compared with burnout, balance and consistency are more important. Guilt is perhaps the most destructive emotion. Although it may encourage you to take quick actions to compensate, it can also demolish your willpower in one second afterward.

Identify unconscious excuses and eliminate them

Normally, we’re very good at finding excuses for our behaviors. For example, “I would skip the workout today because I ate less than yesterday”. That is an excuse because what you ate yesterday can’t offset the workout you need to do for today. When the “No” voice is spinning in your head, maybe you have to think twice whether it is the truth or just an unconscious excuse that will pull you back.

Making habits stick from 1-100

The buddy scheme  

As mentioned ahead, having someone in your habit-adopting process is a way to enhance your execution power. It could be someone who joins your plans as a buddy to complete things together. Or, just a person who knows your plans can also give you a little push if he/she senses abandonment from you. A role model could also be a “buddy” in another sense because he/she is someone you look up to and wish to be, even though you don’t know them in real life.

Enhance the extrinsic motivation 

To continue to do something as a habit, besides the intrinsic motivation (initial passion), extrinsic motivations are also a huge source of willpower. Binding rewards with actions is what people usually do to enhance motivation from outside: instant rewards (small treatments) for small progress and future rewards (big leisure) for big improvements.

Avoid rush decisions 

Nothing can change overnight, so is your behavior. Even though you’ve seen some progress, it may not be the right time to jump to the next level. Make your habit consistent, not evolutionary, and the key is always stickiness and sustainability. Therefore, remember to take baby steps and make sure you won’t lose your new habit because you rush it.

Extended from the “21/90” principle, there should be 3 stages in the development of a new habit: 0, 0-1, and 1-100. Take those tips above for every step and embrace a new change! Start a new habit in TickTick!

Feel like learning more? Read about How I Finally Stuck to My Habits by Going by Joseph.

Have you ever experienced a moment when you’re fully immersed in an activity, without noticing the flow of time, people around you, or even your  basic bodily needs, i.e. hunger? You might immediately recall a time when you enjoyed listening to your favorite music with your newly bought headphones on the subway, feeling seamless closer and closer to every bar of the beat, word of lyrics, and the note of chords. People’s talking started to fade away and you even missed the stop station unconsciously. This is the very moment of “being in the zone”, and is actually what Csikszentmihályi initially described as a “flow state”.

What is the Flow State?

Happening a lot to athletes and creative workers when they are racing, painting, or practicing ballet dancing, the state of flow defines the situation when someone is completely absorbed in what he/she does, accompanied by a feeling of great enjoyment in the process. However, flow can not just happen in physical activity or creative pursuit, but also in a simple day-to-day activity/task, like reading or cooking.

How Is It Truly Like to Stay in a Flow State?

According to Csikszentmihályi’s research, people who he interviewed experienced the following feelings when entering a flow state:

• Complete concentration -- staying in their non-distracted zone.
• A sense of ecstasy -- truly enjoying the thing they do.
• Clear goals – knowing exactly what needs to be done.
• Great self-esteem -- believing in their own capability in performing the task.
• Timelessness – being mindful of the present, without noticing time passing.
• Effortlessness -- performing the activity without much effort and struggle.

From the feelings they’ve described, the state of flow is indeed an exceptionally joyful moment that captures us temporarily away from the outside world, with the only dedication to what we’re doing at this present moment. This sounds a bit surreal but also an innately positive experience associated with greater satisfaction, self-growth, and productivity.

Satisfaction

As flow can produce intense feelings of enjoyment, it usually leads to a lower degree of cortisol and blood pressure. Positive emotions such as self-confidence and hope are sparked as well.

Self-growth

A growth principle underlies the flow experience. People are usually goal-oriented and self-motivated during the flow. Intrinsic motivation comes from their own passions, while extrinsic motivation is derived from rewards and challenges. Therefore, to maintain the flow, they must keep seeking greater challenges, which may require a higher level of skills.  

Productivity

Staying in the zone means one is fully focused and immersed. Their brain activities are also highly active during the process. Without distractions and time being wasted, they can thus achieve greater productivity and better performance at the task.

How to Enter a Flow State?

With so many benefits being in the flow, is there a certain way, following which one can easily achieve a mentally flow state? 

Yes and No.

On the one hand, flow experience varies from person to person. Psychologists found that it might be harder for neurotic people (from 5 personality traits) to achieve flow. On the other hand, there are indeed some tricks that help us get closer to a mental flow state in general. Here’s what:

Clear goals

Having a clear goal is usually the premise of entering a flow state. However, knowing what to do is not always enough, it'd better be something you enjoy doing, and also something a bit challenging. This should retrace back to the motivations we’ve mentioned above: your passion motivates from the inside, while challenges can motivate you with future rewards. 

Pick a task now from your to-do list in TickTick.

Full focus 

Once the task is ready, the other thing is to get yourself mentally ready, as the state of flow requires complete concentration and engagement. What you can do is to deliberately avoid possible distractions and practice being focused. Here’re some simple tips for you to gear up:

• Try the Pomodoro Technique

You might not be unfamiliar with Pomodoro already. It can help increase focus level by following people’s focus curve. Putting the work hour (25 mins) with breaks (5 mins) in recurring cycles strikes a good balance between work and relaxation. 

• Practice Mindfulness

Practicing mindfulness is also a good way to prepare for flow. Being mindful usually means focusing on the present moment, which helps ease our nerves and calm our minds. 

• Avoid distractions

Enabling the “do not disturb” mode of your phone or putting it away is half way there to focus.

Avoid multitasking: Multitasking would create a web of distractions that make it unlikely to achieve flow.

How TickTick can help create optimal conditions for a flow experience?

• Pick an optimal task from your TickTick to-do lists.
• Practice staying focused with the Pomodoro Timer in TickTick.
• Start a mindfulness meditation with TickTick Habit.

Sign up for free today, and prepare to have a flow experience.