productivity – Page 2 – Tehama Group Communications

October 7, 2013March 17, 2017

Stay on the Go Without Your Cup of Joe

Happy Monday! Time to wake up for that 8 a.m. class! After a long, typical, “Chico weekend” sometimes that early morning class isn’t the first thing on your to-do list. Oftentimes, the pillow takes priority. Luckily we have coffee. But what about the days you wake up late and don’t have time to brew your cup of Joe? Or you forget to bring your wallet to campus? How do we get through our day without our regularly scheduled morning coffee? Kiss the caffeine habit goodbye with some healthier alternatives to staying awake throughout the day.

coffee and fireplace — Photo credit: philmikejones

Sleep: As students, we all have random, crazy schedules that may not allow us to get the full amount of sleep our bodies require to function properly throughout the day. Sleep is extremely important. Let’s face it, after a late night of studying, we wake up looking forward to that afternoon nap. Don’t underestimate the power of the nap! About.com has some Tips for Great Naps about how to nap effectively. Our bodies go through different levels of rest throughout a nap and a night of sleep. Check out this bedtime calculator to figure out the best times to go to sleep and wake up so that your body feels refreshed instead of groggy when you wake up.

Food: Certain foods give us an extra boost of energy, while others make you crave crawling back into bed. Back away from the bed and grab an apple instead. According to Oddee.com, the natural fructose in apples slowly gets released in the body, which provides long lasting energy. Apples also contain carbohydrates to keep you moving and they are a good source of fiber. Another super food that keeps us on the move is eggs. Eggs are packed with protein and help keep us full so we don’t start getting sleepy and feeling lethargic. Throw some eggs in a pan with some chopped up veggies for an easy, energy packed start to your day. Even just the smell of breakfast food cooking will wake up your brain!

Music: Listen to upbeat music while walking to campus and in between classes. You’ll be surprised how some upbeat tunes can boost your mood and energy. Make a playlist of your favorite party songs, because we all know what it’s like to get the “that’s my jam!” feeling. If you need a little help picking out some energizing songs, spinebreakers.com has an awesome Top 10 Songs to Wake You Up in The Morning playlist already made to help you get your booty out of bed with a smile on your face.

You can tackle tomorrow without a caffeine crash. Ditch the cup of joe, bump your favorite beats, throw an apple in your school bag and take a guiltless power nap!

October 4, 2013March 17, 2017

Planning the Perfect Siesta

Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, Napoleon Bonaparte and Thomas Edison have one thing in common with me: enjoying an afternoon nap.

There are cultures that dedicate a portion of their day to having a siesta. Every day, between 1 and 4 p.m., I close my eyes and take a much anticipated break by napping.

Being a busy college student with a big course load, I have found that napping has increased my productivity. Long gone are the sleepless nights doing homework and studying. I find that the minute I wake up, I get more done and feel less stressed or lethargic about the pile of homework that greets me at the foot of my bed.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, there are three different types of napping:

Planned napping is when you take a nap before you get tired. This technique is used when you know you will be awake later than your normal bedtime or to ward off getting tired.
Emergency napping is when you are so tired you can’t function anymore. This occurs when you are engaged in an activity like reading a book and fall asleep right then and there.
Habitual napping is when you take a nap every day at the same time.

According to a Fast Company article, napping between 1 and 4 p.m. boosts productivity because it kick starts your brain to think it’s a second workday and doesn’t mess up your sleep schedule.

Falling asleep in class and at work isn’t ideal, but we all have those breaks in-between tasks where we can squeeze in a power nap. Even at work, we have our lunch breaks where a few zzz’s can make our work ethic stronger.

An article on Higher Perspective says there are different time frames for the mid-day power nap:

Napping for 10-20 minutes Increases alertness and gives a boost of energy. It’s the perfect amount without falling fully into rapid-eye-movement or REM sleep.
Thirty-minute long naps are 10 minutes too long in that most people wake up groggy and tired for an additional 30 minutes. Only after that time has passed do people feel the benefits of the nap.
Hour-long naps help with remembering names, places and facts. It helps when studying for a midterm or having to memorize a speech. The only downside is some grogginess does occur upon waking up but at least you’ll remember all the dates for your history exam.
Napping for an hour and a half is considered a full cycle of sleep, which boosts creativity, emotional and procedural memories and it is easier to wake up.

I am glad that I schedule a nap in everyday because I do reap the benefits.

It’s 1 p.m.; time to hit the hay.

September 13, 2013March 17, 2017

How to Procrastinate Productively

Procrastination… you know how it goes. You tell yourself Friday night that you are going to be super productive over the weekend because the week was too busy to get anything done. Then when you finally sit down to work you find yourself Facebook stalking, playing Candy Crush on your phone or starting an episode of Law and Order: SVU. When you finally realize several hours have flown by, you might feel better if you had at least got something done, right?

Procrastination is inevitable – so why not put it to better use? Here are my top five tips on how to procrastinate productively.

1. Get organized. Take this time to make a list of everything you have to do, saving the most important for last of course. After finalizing your to-do list, you won’t have to worry later that you have forgotten something and it will feel gratifying when you eventually get to crossing things off the list.

2. Go to the gym. If you have time to spend two hours on Facebook, you have time to fit in a work out. Besides, if you’re not going to get your class work done, you might as well work on your fitness. Those who are active and exercise are much more productive because being active reduces your level of stress.

3. Clean Up. Let’s just say, without procrastination my apartment would be a cluttered unorganized mess. There is always laundry to do, dishes to be washed, rooms to be cleaned and stuff to be organized and procrastinating your class work is the perfect time accomplish those tasks. A clean and organized space will make it easier for you to concentrate and be more productive.

4. Take a nap. Taking a 20 minute power nap is proven to boost productivity, so why not take a quick snoozer since you aren’t getting anything else done? But don’t forget to set an alarm because you wouldn’t want to sleep through the whole day!

5. Eat Something. You know you would use hunger as an excuse eventually, so you might as well get or make something to eat. Besides, in order to be productive you need to fuel your body.

As you can see, putting one thing off can result in the completion of so many other tasks! Now that you have accomplished so many things, you can finally sit down and finish your school work, because honestly, there is nothing else to do.