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Productivity

How to be productive when low energy?

Time to write: ~35 minutes | Updated: 2022-10-08
Epistemic status: notes to my (future) selves; made public just in case it's useful for someone else
EtA: some of this also work if you’re otherwise cognitively impaired; ex.: because you’re hungry

Meta

Are you really low energy?
try laying on the ground. maybe you'll get relaxed and bored enough to go back to work.
try working more.
pay attention if you're averse to some tasks, or have other emotions preventing you to work: sadness, anger, etc.,

Take care of your body:
am I tired? if so, will sleeping now be good to maintain my sleep schedule? consider doing a nap
am I physically tired? did I train? can I train? prioritize that
do I have other physical needs? am I hungry, thirsty, good temperature?

If you're medium energy, consider:
pairing up with someone
⁠
https://www.focusmate.com/
⁠
⁠
a housemate
a friend online

Anything you can do to boost energy level?
hot beverage
walk
quick exercise
inspiring conversation

Improve your near-term productivity:
go to bed early
prepare meals for the next days
clean the place; clean dishes; clean clothing; organize place
shave beard, shower
check if you need to buy things

Suggestions to start working
Start with:
small tasks, to build momentum
physical tasks
tasks to make the work environment better

Contain wasting time

if you’re too low energy, and can't do any of the above, and decide to do something fun, but think your energy level might come back:
put a timer to remember introspecting on whether you're ready to work / need to sleep
consider not doing something that can be addictive / excessively grab your attention

here are ways to have fun:
see:
fun things I want to do
⁠
⁠
learn rapping
write song lyrics
call a friend (careful about not disturbing them)

lazy mode:
if I have 2 hours, I can check movies in 'media' Google Sheet
check TV shows in ♫! folder
listen to audio fiction

Do low-value low-energy tasks

Very low energy

maybe listened to talks/podcasts I wanted to listen (but rarely useful)
⁠
YouTube
⁠
⁠
check my bookmarked podcasts
look at TikTok trends that I might want to do with Carissa

Low energy

organize bookmarks
check Facebook notifications

talk with people I already know about some ideas
write fiction
⁠
story ideas
⁠
⁠
Frankleinstein
Cryonics revival
date
try a new form of meditation
look into transcendental meditation (as recommended by Alton Sun IIRC)
edit videos
organize photos
although careful about doing tasks handling data to not delete or disorganize anything
document repetitive tasks ??
probably still better to outsource those

Medium-low energy

read emails, check Messenger conversations
read or text-to-audio content that's not too dense
check bookmarks
review past notes
do a weekly review
things to try that I don't know if are useful to do when low-energy:
brainstorming walk


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