DEV Community: Danila Petrova

Productivity vs the illusion of getting things done (Burnout)

Danila Petrova — Thu, 27 Aug 2020 16:03:54 +0000

We all want to perform better. We want to reach the goals that we have set for ourselves, we want to improve our quality of life, we want to socialize and build bonds that last a lifetime. So the natural conclusion is to squeeze every second of every day with the idea to do more. It is definitely a concept that is running rampant through the software development industry.

We create schedules and habit trackers and planners, all in an attempt to do everything all at once. So we have dedicated time for friends but we are too tired to be engaging constructively when we go through with our plans. We set aside the time for reading time, but our heads are overwhelmed by thoughts and nagging distractions.

This causes a feeling of guilt whenever we inevitably end up stopping to take a break, simply because our bodies are screaming for it.

Pshing your limits

Different people have a different capacity as to how much of a certain type of work they can handle. For example, I feel much better in small groups of up to 4 people. So if my work requires me to actively interact with dozens of people I end up feeling drained by the end of the day.

Additionally, I also have a tendency to take on more than I can handle. As a full-time student and a full-time employee I already have very limited time and energy that has not already been accounted for.

That being said, I have to be very careful about taking on hobbies and repetitive activities. I cannot reasonably assume I can allocate four hours a week consistently for reading, and hold myself accountable for it when I inevitably have to prioritize work or education over it. Yet, this seems to be a lesson I keep learning over and over again.

Burnout

The term burnout has been thrown around a lot. Especially in the context of the current social situation. Now, from experience, I can say that it is a very real, yet invisible enemy. After months of trying to work full time as well as fit lectures and assignments within the same day, I reached a nasty burnout.

With me, I had increasing symptoms over the course of two months but only realized it after my condition was unbearable. It started with a headache that I could push through. Even though I still found value in my work, I experienced increased fatigue and my motivation to do things became close to nonexistent. I had no energy and I was also incredibly irritable to those around me.

By the end of it, I had no desire to get up or do anything. Working felt like walking through a fog, and it would take me so much longer to get things done. For example, it took me 40 minutes to compose an 8 rows email, whereas I can normally write a 1000 word article draft in under an hour. In addition, I no longer trusted that I was doing a good job and needed to repeatedly check my work for errors.

In retrospect, my body was screaming for a break. I was exhausted and overwhelmed for months on end and my performance and health seriously declined.

Getting back on your feet

The more worn out you are the more effort it is going to take to get back on track. And if you are anything like me, the further behind you fall, the more you try to push yourself to make up for it. In an attempt to catch up with work I ended up working 7 days a week and pulling off all-nighters. Even though the collective work I was actually performing was you not only have a hard time getting things done but even attempting to be productive seems like a world-on-your-shoulders challenge.

It is, however possible as long as you admit the issue and take a step back to fix it. And the medicine is simple. Rest. Taking a break and allowing yourself to reset and re-centre your efforts are invaluable. When my condition reached levels I could no longer perform, I planned two weeks off. From the time to my request to the start of my holiday, I did as much as I could to close the gap between my deadlines and where I was currently at.

After that, for a week I did not do anything work or university-related. I took a trip with my sister, went to the beach and the mountains, read a book for fun. I slept as much as I wanted and did what felt right at the time.

The toxic side of productivity culture

Danila Petrova — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 12:33:25 +0000

Productivity craze has taken over the internet with a new passion in the midst of everyone working from home and the restrictions that it poses. And I can see why. The idea that we can stay safe in our homes and turn the stress and anxiousness over everything that is happening into measurable value for success is tempting.

And I am no exception. I have written an article or two about how to make the most of quarantine and listed all of the habits I have been trying to cultivate. In essence, I have practiced the "Just think about everything I would be able to get done if I just pushed myself!" mentality.

I imagined myself leaving my home post-quarantine in a fit body, with straight A’s on my university projects and receiving praise for my outstanding performance at work. Glorious isn’t it?

Yet, the reality proved to be more challenging. Months in, I have found my steadily depleting motivation to be a chain that is pulling me down. Along with that, fatigue built up over my unrealistically high-performance expectations.

Unrealistic expectations

As we are all navigating uncharted territory, and we are all dealing the best we can with the level of uncertainty that we have. No one knows how long we will have to base our lives around social distancing.

Or how deeply it will affect our careers, personal lives and overall psyche. The changes are deep within our lifestyle and for now, we should think of this as the new reality for the foreseeable future.

We should adapt a marathon and not a sprint mentality

I think that now is the time to recognize setbacks as a natural part of life, that we don’t necessarily need to power through on willpower alone.

As such we will not always be able to be on our best performance. And that is ok. The truth is that we do not need to be perfect with following our routines. Sometimes we need to take a break to recharge from the accumulated fatigue. Especially when we are bombarded with negative news day in and day out that affects our overall well being.

The key is to know when to push and when to take a step back. Evaluate what is most important to you right now, and what is pulling you down too much. Then choose if you need to spend less time and energy on activities that wear you down, even if they are textbook "good for you".

Productivity is reliant on your habits

While sometimes you need to cut your losses and take a step back to take a break, you are likely still bound by deadlines and responsibilities. Especially when it comes to software development, you can't let your team down, so you should try and perform well for their sake. So you cannot afford to skimp out on getting work done. In this case, the best you can do is make the most of what you have at your disposal.

Everything you do is a habit. Whether is checking the corona statistics in your area every day or exercising the routines you have in place help drive your productivity almost subconsciously, once they have been previously established. So if you find yourself demotivated, the key is to make your work process as easy to follow as possible.

Here are a few habits that may help you:

Work sessions

If you have a hard time focusing, switch to 25 min work, 5 min break practice. You can use a Pomodoro timer to get going. This will help you get things done one step at a time while removing the taboo, and hence guilt of your easily distracted mind.

Take mandatory breaks

If you find yourself working longer and longer hours hoping to catch up, but inevitably you feel exhausted and unproductive, you should set up regimented breaks. And that means get up off your desk, ditch the work phone aside for 20 min and just look out the window, take a walk, read a personal book, check out a comedy podcast or just chat with someone. Take your mind away from the task at hand and allow yourself to rest for just a few minutes. When you get back you will be refreshed.

If I do not have breaks I would end up grinding through the entire day, getting more and more ineffective as the hours go by, until I can barely comprehend sentences. This is neither healthy nor efficient.

End-of-workday time

Depending on your work and the hours you tend to be the most productive you can set up a “clock-off” time. For example, as a result of adapting to my previous tech support job, I work the most efficiently in the afternoon up until the late hours of the night.

And while I do not want to work until 2 am as I used to, I will take advantage of this tendency. So I use my mornings as personal time. I take a bike ride, eat healthy breakfast and meal-prep my lunch. I get to work around 12 pm or 1 pm and I work until 9 pm latest.

Reward yourself

Have a snack and beverage you are excited about to cut into your workday and make you feel more comfortable and satisfied. For me, this is a chocolate protein ice latte with some cinnamon-vanilla cake that I bake myself. Having something to look forward to after you achieve something will serve as a reward system. Turn in your work on time, get a treat - as long as it is a healthy one and you maintain the work-treat relationship it will be a great help.

But remember!

Do not abuse this or it will lose its significance and make sure that those treats are a small portion of your overall nutrition. Getting on the sugar spike-and-crash train will do you no favours in the long run.

There are ways to make your workflow so easy to follow that you don’t have to think about it. So take the time to consider what will make it easier for you to get work done, and take the steps to make that a habit.

You can use external tools such as reminders alarms, to-do lists, or other apps to help you get in the groove initially. But eventually, you should be able to phase them out and take over yourself, if you choose to.

The bane to all habits

Inconsistency has killed many of my preferred activities. For example, I used to read a lot. I used my total of three hours commute to read for fun. Whether it was going through a fantasy series or reading a book on ancient civilizations for university, I would get a lot of reading in simply taking advantage of my time on the bus.

Take away the environment I associate with reading, and I haven’t read a single book.

The two-day rule

Habits rely on accumulation over time. You start to associate repetitive surroundings, actions and activities with their respective outcome. For example - when you grab a water bottle, change into your gym clothes and pi=ut on your workout playlist your brain expects you to switch into training mode.

If you perform the same actions on a regular basis, it will be significantly easier to maintain the activity and extract the best results from your efforts. The more you skip the weaker the habit is, and the more time it will take you to get to your goals. The key to being productive is the two-day rule.

It is the only rule you need to follow to bring strong foundational habits. The core idea of it is that if you have a scheduled or repetitive routine you cannot allow yourself to skip two times in a row. And let’s face it, things come up. Sometimes we can’t show up to maintain your habits - you may be on vacation, or an emergency situation may come up.

However, if you set out to never skip on your activities twice in a row, you will still get farther ahead than if you were to et your habits derail completely and have to keep trying to rebuild them from scratch.

Getting things done does not have to be complicated

When it comes to being productive it is so easy to get in our heads. We become obsessive with the process and planning and setting up systems in place as an attempt to micromanage our daily routines. But in all of our desire for improvement, we forget to set aside the time for ourselves.

Yes. We need to have practices and a plan to follow. But more often than not the biggest changes come with doing as much as you can consistently. And allowing yourself to have a moment of weakness, as long as you keep yourself accountable not to quit will go a long way to making any good changes stick.

Do you believe in the two-day rule? Is this something you have been doing subconsciously? How do you stay on top of your habits?

My favourite productivity practices

Danila Petrova — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 12:02:41 +0000

I am a big fan of making small tweaks to your lifestyle for the sake of efficiency and productivity. At the same time, I am also a big advocate for knowing your limits and maintaining good mental health as you go about work.

Over the last couple of years, I have been a full-time student as well as a full-time employee at a custom software development company. So saying that I have achieved a work-school-life balance would be a blatant lie. More often than not, I get overwhelmed with chasing after my goals.

And while I have several occasions where I reached burnout, I believe each experience improved my ability to manage how much work I can realistically take on and not risk my health. I want to share with you a few of the most valuable practices that I picked up over the years so that maybe you can avoid the same pitfalls.

Respect your limitation

My interests are all in different fields. I study web design yet work in content marketing. On the side, I have a great interest in the arts as a hobby, such as music and painting. Additionally, I find great value in physical activity and aim to live a healthy lifestyle.

Needless to say that finding a balance that helps me fulfil my needs and is sustainable has been difficult. So I have often been not only tempted but greedy, in taking on more than I can handle. As much as I want to work on all fronts, sometimes it is just not an option.

So I make it a point to evaluate all I have on my plate when I consider taking on something else. For example, I usually take singing lessons, but as I have exams coming up along with work, I postponed them until I pass my semester. As I have limited time, I changed my workout sessions. Instead of training four times a weak for an hour or more, I started putting in a simple 20-minute stretch routine every morning.

The key is to be fluid with what you take on at a time. Balance your commitments by evaluating which ones you can leave out, as opposed to which should be a priority right now. The alternative is severe burnout that would inevitably render you incapable of achieving any of your goals. Adapt a marathon-not-a-sprint mindset, and you will get much farther than you would think.

Respecting your limitation and responding to your body's signals is the most valuable piece of advice I can give you. Learning to put a commitment on the back burner for a while, and pick it back up later, is eventually going to allow you to be much more efficient with managing your responsibilities.

That is not to say that it is impossible to balance a few demanding responsibilities. In fact, there are some great ways to go about it. So I will follow up with the most practical tips I have adapted in my day to day life. You do not have to give up anything that is important to you; just remember to take care of your health while you are at it.

The two-minute rule

The bigger the project, the more intimidating it is to get started. And the more intimidating it is, the more difficult it is to achieve results, as we are often paralysed by fear of not being able to handle it.

If this is the case, the first thing to do is to break it down. For example, instead of thinking you have to finish the software demo for a month, simply focus on achieving a key function that works well over a week. And do the same next week. Little by little, you will have a finished product.

Even once you have broken it down into pieces and compiled a to-do list of small tasks, it can still be scary to get started. So make it a point just to sit down and only work on something for two minutes. While you probably won’t be able to do it all in two minutes, chances are you will get that push you need to get started.

Once you start working on a solution for a problem, you pique your curiosity you wouldn't want to stop working and as a result, end up getting something done. Taking the pressure off just to get started makes all the difference.

The two-day rule

Let's say you got started on a project you are working on. Let's say your goal is to work on it every day for a certain amount of time. Essentially you are aiming to build a habit. And every habit is based on repetition. You can do great for a very long time, but once you miss the train a couple of times, the practice begins to fall apart. It becomes harder and harder to do the same things that would normally take very little energy to start.

The two-day rule states that if you decide on a frequency for an activity, you are allowed to skip when your circumstances demand it, but never two times in a row.

For example, if you decide to train five days a week. If you have to skip because you aren’t feeling well or you need to catch up with work and studies, the worst-case scenario is that you will train every other day, putting in a total of three sessions. This helps maintain your frequency and your habit.

Batching

As much as getting started and being able to maintain frequency is a game-changer, your practice is not complete unless you distribute your tasks. Merely doing something is not always the right thing. You need to decide on priority for tasks and also choose the order in which you perform your work.

The more various tasks you have, the more challenging task-switching can be. In my life, I have a hard time switching from work to lectures to university projects within one day. But if I implement batching to get through a large portion of similar work I produce much better results, while having a much more sparing effect on my mental health.

Here are some examples of how I use this in my day to day life. I write all of my articles for the month one after the other, then I dedicate time to outreaching and publishing each one. The same way, I group practical assignments that use similar techniques or software one after another until I finish them all.

You can also do this in different ways. How often do you check your emails? Every hour? Every two hours? The constant interruptions hurt your workflow and ability to concentrate. So try to go through all of your emails all at once. Dedicate 30 minutes in the morning to sip coffee and respond. Then ditch the email for the rest of the day. Chances are, if something is urgent, you will get a call, rather than an email.

No way around hard work

Now, you can practice all the productivity tips in the world, but unless you actually sit down and apply them in your work, you cannot hope for significant results. It does help, however, to be more intentional with how you approach your commitments to make the process healthier and less stressful.

At the end of the day, we all need to grow, improve and excel in the areas we have chosen as important for ourselves. But being smart about it and valuing our health and well-being in the process is the most important thing.

Minimalist work practices for optimal development process

Danila Petrova — Thu, 02 Jul 2020 10:03:46 +0000

In a world filled with constant attention grabbers, having the ability to direct and refocus your thoughts is increasingly more valuable. Especially if we consider our current tendency to over-compensate for not getting our daily dose of human interactions by being constantly connected to social media platforms. Our senses end up bombarded by information and as amazing as it is to be able to keep up with events worldwide, it can be equally draining and demanding.

On that note, I want to present a few ways that mindfulness and minimalist approach to your workflow can help you. While I am in no way a minimalist expert, I have noticed its value in making life simpler and taking away from the overthinking that usually goes on.

Distractions declutter

We cannot talk about minimalism without touching on decluttering. Now, I am not saying bag up everything that is not essential for you to exist and get rid of it. No. Instead, look into organizational systems that can take away the mess of things from your desk and immediate surroundings. The messier my space is, the more I have trouble focusing when I try to get some intellectual work done.

Find a balance between accessible and tidy that works for you. Keep the things that serve as helpful tools or bring you joy. The rest you can either get rid of if you never use it, or organize it neatly, so it is accessible when you need it, yet out of sight, so it doesn't overwhelm your senses when you work.

Digital minimalism

While I have been referring to physical decluttering so far, there is also a lot to gain from taking the same approach to your digital devices. Every notification, email, ad and app is fighting for your attention.

And those are all very effective marketing practices. But do you really want to spend that time scrolling through social media, or interrupting your workflow to swipe away a game notification? If not, maybe you need to consider applying a healthy practice of digital minimalism.

Consider turning off notification to all non-important apps. Also, sort your files inaccessible ways that allow you to find things easily. You can dedicate time in the day to catch up on communication, get through your emails and browse social media. But make sure that when you dedicate your attention to those activities, it is because you want to, and not because of the constant flow of well-designed distractions.

You do not have to be extreme with it, just evaluate what is important and what isn't. Minimize the level of stress by taking back the choice when to get distracted.

One thing at a time: What is important right now?

Do you have a long list of work you are expected to get done? Is it overwhelming to tackle the pile? Probably. But any assignment can be broken down into smaller pieces. Here's an example: getting more water requires you getting off your desk, taking your bottle, walking the distance to the water dispenser, placing the bottle, filling it to the top and walking back to your desk.

And once you have broken it down, you can sort all of the tasks in priority order. Then just start with the first item. And only move on to the next when you are over and done with it.

Simplify your time management practices

You can use Kanban or Scrum Methods if it fits your personality. Or it can try complex Bullet Journaling - this worked great for me for a while. Or a sticky note system. Or any system that works for you. But every once in awhile, take a moment to think if it is really adding value to your work practices. Or does it take too much effort to upkeep that you could be directing towards the work itself?

Sometimes the simple solution is the best one. You might be surprised how much you can achieve with a simple to-do list. You do not need a format. Just write the date and then one after the other the tasks you have for the day. That's it!

But keep it short, the more you pile on, the less effective the method is. You can always add more things once you have completed all items on the list. But if you set an unrealistic expectation and ultimately fail to complete them, will deeply hurt your productivity, sense of accomplishment and overall satisfaction with your work.

Avoid multitasking

Since I have been working closely with developers, I should start by saying that, in this field, multitasking can be vital to the work. Especially when your work demands switching between different tools and doing research as you go. This is not what I am referring to here. But rather the things that are not adding value to your current work process.

Sure, the idea of getting so much done all at once is amazing, right? You can get some work done, and have a good time listening to music, and listen to the newest office gossip with one ear, and keep an eye out to the chat you are having with your significant other.

But is it really doing it all at once? In reality, multitasking is merely task-switching. But every time you switch from one thing to the other, when you go back you need a second to remember what you were up to. Maybe you need to re-read the last few messages to respond adequately, or you need to take a second look at the code you are writing.

In any case, at the end of the day, you are not only less effective, but you are wearing down your nervous system. And from personal experience, I can vouch that burnout from overwhelming yourself constantly is not a condition you want to allow yourself to reach.

Where does your attention go?

Minimalism is all about intentionality. Evaluate where your energy, focus, attention and intent go and decide if this is really what you want. If not, take a step back and choose what brings value to your life and what overcomplicates it unnecessarily.

Guard your attention and bring more dedicated focus to your activities. The benefits will be not only in professional aspects but also will help you maintain strong mental health, allowing you to chase your goals.

Did you register yet? FREE Online Conference: Java Trends and Best Practices

Danila Petrova — Fri, 19 Jun 2020 06:30:34 +0000

Only one week untill the official launch of the event!
We put toghether the very first entirely online conference to provide you with exclusive training on the best Java practices as well as trending tendencies in the industry. free of charge!

All you need to do is register.

Check out the updated list of speakers. Among there are our long-time partners and Java Champions that have been featured on Java Daily. Among them are industry leaders Victor Rentea, Simon Ritter, Sven Ruppert and many more. You can also take a peak at the topics that will be covered as well as the schedule.

We hope we see you in some of the zoom rooms next week. So hurry up and book your spot!

JOnConf 2020: Java trends and best practices - FREE Online conference

Danila Petrova — Mon, 15 Jun 2020 06:30:20 +0000

Our team is proud to announce a brand new event we put together for developers. And everyone is invited! In times where social distancing is absolutely necessary we want to bring career growth and networking opportunities directly in your homes.

Our goal is to provide you with exclusive training on the best Java practices as well as trending tendencies in the industry. FREE of charge! Directly from the experience of Java champions with over a decade of experience in the field.

To make the event special, we recruited our long-time partners and Java champions who have previously been featured in our Java Daily newsletter. I want to share with you more about some of those industry leaders who will be taking developers under their guidance.

Sven Ruppert has been working with Java since 1996 and is an Oracle Developer Champion as well as a speaker, helping developers worldwide to grow their business.
Victor Rentee is an independent trainer and consultant as well as a renowned Java champion. He has been teaching developers for the last 8 years with over 1500 trainees worldwide.
Nicolas Fränkel is a developer advocate who has been working with Java with more than 15 years. He has extensive experience consulting customers from various fields. His training experience extends past courses and conferences and into university halls and institutions that provide a higher level of education.
Some of Dreamix’s own leading specialists will be taking the stage as well, digitally speaking, to share their first-hand experience from years of developing custom software.

The full list of 10+ speakers is yet to be announced, so keep an eye out for that! With over 5 zoom rooms and multiple workshops, you will dive deep into the latest trends and best practices in the Java world.

We hope we see you in our virtual rooms a few weeks for now. While there is still time, the sooner you secure your spot the better! So head on to the JOnConf website and take a look at the schedule and topics that will be covered over the weekend!

Dealing with stress while working from home

Danila Petrova — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 05:05:35 +0000

The last few months have been stressful at best for all of us. Even if we took aside the fear of health risk, the side effects of the necessary social distancing are tangible. We have all and altered our working arrangements are lifestyle to accommodate life-saving precautions.

Especially taking into account the build-up of the last few months, we are all dealing with stress in different ways. On one hand, so many people are determined to power through and achieve great things in trying times. On the other, as highly social creatures, some feel more anxious and depressed when deprived of a basic need.

While businesses, industries and employees are all struggling on a financial and economical level, the quarantine is also a golden opportunity for mental issues to develop. My personal opinion on the matter is that this is not only an expected, but natural reaction, that we all need to respect as a part of the process. And then proceed to address the issue responsibly. But how do we notice it?

Falling behind on work

As far as performing in the midst of a quarantine, I have heard conflicting opinions. I have colleagues who are experiencing a burst in motivation and productivity and seem to be thriving in the comfort of their own homes. On the flip side there are many who are thrown off when main pillars of their daily routines are yanked from under their feet.

Not to mention that working from home at all times with loved ones can create an entirely different set of distractions and chaotic mess of a working process.

You may fall behind on work and that is ok. It is a sure sign that your mental health is taking a hit and beating yourself up over it additionally will help no one. The best thing to do is to communicate the difficulties you have with your manager and consider taking some time to rest.

The effect that a few work-free days can have is underrated, and it is often neglected.

Low motivation and productivity

For some, in the grand scheme of things some menial tasks may seem unimportant. And inherently lose motivation to perform and strive for excellence in areas that would normally be tackled with passion and dedication. As well as struggling with the current workload, many have run into the issue of rethinking their life-decisions and the path they are on. For some, this will result in making attempts to change the work field. For others it may be taking a deeper look at the personal relationships in life.

Dealing with a high-risk, high-stakes situation as the one we are collectively up against is bound to cause some turmoil and changes on personal, community and organizational level.

Loneliness and a sense of unfulfillment

Humans need interaction. We get emotionally changed when we are a part of a community that shares in each other’s success and provides support in the low times. But as invaluable as zoom and social media is to close the distance, it cannot replace human face to face communication or even hope to hold off the need for such for extended periods of time.

Taking a step back

When we feel overwhelmed or that we are falling behind what we are supposed to be doing it is so easy to dig ourself in a hole of self-loathing. We are increasingly more disappointed in ourselves, yet we keep pushing forward beyond our ability to cope. Which only deepens our sense of failure when we fall behind on our self-assigned goals and high expectations.

From my experience working in a custom software development company, as long as you communicate your needs and difficulties with your superiors you can reach a mutually beneficial solution. The company can go on without you, and you can take the time to get back on your feet and back on top performance.

So taking a step back is ok. Taking a few days off os ok. And making a conscious effort to be more forgiving is not only okay but encouraged.
Evaluating priorities, goals and demands

You Probably Suck at Directing Your Attention

Danila Petrova — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 03:59:19 +0000

We have all stumbled upon and read articles on how to manage our time, our tasks, our relationships and just about anything else we do on a daily basis. From observation, however, there is an aspect of our day that doesn’t get nearly enough consideration. And that is having conscious mindfulness where we put in our attention.

Naturally, we assume we work a lot if we have a full-time job. Easily 40 hours a week go towards building a career, right? And we, hopefully, get enough sleep which can add up to 50/60 hours. Beyond that we generally do not have much time on our hands left, so we plan out and perform activities that bring us the most joy and benefit to our lives.

But do we really get the most of our time, even if we allocated enough of it?

How much attention do you really pay to what you are doing?

Just in the time, I have been writing out this article, I have had music blasting in my headphones taking a certain amount of my attention. Additionally, when I get notifications on my phone, I intuitively interrupt my thought process to check them out. Not to mention that since I work from home, my cat would casually stroll on my lap, so I end up petting her before going back in to finish my sentence. And at that point, I had to reread the whole paragraph just to remind myself what I was getting at.

My point is, just because you decided to work for a period of time, and you were able to get something done, doesn’t necessarily mean your attention was on the task at hand. All of those interruptions and annoyances take a considerable amount of time that slips through our fingers and we do not even notice it. This is probably why you have been a little behind on your work, or have been having a hard time getting things done, in general.

While we are bound to get distracted, there are still ways to stay on top of that, and at least be better at noticing when time is disappearing without a trace.

Observe your patterns

Everything we do in a day is a part of a habit. Which is essentially a pattern. Unless you consciously make decisions that are out of the auto-pilot mode of your actions, you will repeat the same sequences over and over again.

Here is an example. Every day when I wake up, I lay in bed for a bit, scrolling through Youtube videos. On days I don’t have anything with a set time, I can spend an hour or two without even thinking about it. While I do think I have learned a lot through the platform I have undeniably spent more time scrolling out of boredom as opposed to advancing myself in any way.

Task switching can be problematic

You have probably seen a lot of resources glorifying multitasking as a way to get things done. When it comes to software developers in particular, It almost seems to be a key part of the process. Switching from app to app and interrupting work to do research seems inevitable.

Yet you may have heard that it is bad for you. I personally observe the latter to be true. In essence, multitasking is misleading, simply because the brain is not capable of processing multiple tasks at the same time. It is however efficient at switching quickly between them.

And simply because it is possible, doesn’t necessarily mean it is effective. In fact, the more tasks you try to do at once, the longer it will take you to complete your full task list, as opposed to you taking them on one at a time. Additionally, doing that for extended periods of time can get you a headache and raise your anxiety levels as the more tasks that are introduced the less efficient the brain function actually is.

Train your focus

Think about any muscle in your body. The more you use it, the stronger it becomes and the better it performs. It is also much quicker to switch into gear and start working.

Just like a muscle, you can train your ability to focus - but it does rely on a certain level of dedication. And there are a few things you can try.

Pomodoro timers - set a 25 minute timer, and a 5 minute timer. Sit down and focus on your work for 25 minutes, and then rest for 5. And repeat! That is all there is to it. Making focusing so doable, you end up getting in a groove without too much will power.
Turning off notifications - limit your distractions. Notifications are intended to take away your attention for the sake of a product. Choose what notifications are important and disable the rest.
Limiting distractions - While notifications are a huge culprit, there are more things around you fishing for your attention. For example leaving empty mugs on your desk, waiting to be taken to the dishwasher. Or any desk clutter really. Anything that takes your attention and redirects it to an entirely different train of thought is distracting. So maintain your space in a condition that limits those distractions.
Writing down a list and following through. To do lists are simple, yet incredibly effective tools. My advice is to only put down up to 6 tasks, and only take on more when your list is empty. This way you set up realistic goals for yourself, maintain a sense of accomplishment and get things done.

Just try and see what sticks. None of those methods is revolutionary. You have probably stumbled upon some of them on accident. But if you employ them as a daily tactic, the results will be visible and soon!

Guard your attention

When it comes to the digital age, marketers purposefully attack your attention spam, aiming to redirect your focus into their product. So you need to be particularly aware of what you allow to interrupt you, and what you don’t.

Learn to direct complete focus on the task at hand, before moving on to the next - the differentiation will help your performance immensely, and it will also provide you with additional peace of mind.

The only productivity advice you need: The two-day rule

Danila Petrova — Sat, 13 Jun 2020 14:28:13 +0000

Productivity craze has taken over the internet with a new passion in the midst of quarantine. And I can see why. The idea that we can stay safe in our homes and turn the stress and anxiousness over everything that is happening into measurable value for success is tempting.

And I am no exception. I have written an article or two about how to make the most of quarantine and listed all of the habits I have been trying to cultivate. "Just think about everything I would be able to get done if I just pushed myself!".

I imagined myself leaving my home post-quarantine in a gorgeous fit body, with straight A’s on my university projects and receiving praise for my outstanding performance at work. Glorious isn’t it?

Yet, the reality proved to be more challenging. Months in, I have found my steadily depleting motivation to be a chain that is pulling me down. And so is the fatigue that built up over my unrealistically high-performance expectations.

Unrealistic expectations

As we are all navigating uncharted territory, and we are all dealing the best we can with the level of uncertainty that we have. No one knows how long we will have to base our lives on social distancing.

Or how deeply it will affect our careers, personal lives and overall psyche. The changes are deep within our lifestyle and for now we should think of this as the new reality for the forseeable future.

So we should approach this as a marathon and not a sprint

I think that now is the time to recognize setbacks as a natural part of life, that we don’t necessarily need to power through on willpower alone.

As such we will not be able to be on our best performance at all times. And that is ok.The truth is that we do not need to be perfect with following our routines. Sometimes we need to take a break to recharge from the accumulated fatigue. Especialy when we are bombarded with negative news day in and day out that affects our overall wellbeing.

The key is to know when to push and when to take a step back. Evaluate what is the most importanhaving a negative impact on you. Then choose if you need to spend less time and energy on activities that wear you down, even if they are textbook "good for you".

Productivity is reliant on your habits

While sometimes you need to cut your losses and take a step back to take a break, you are likely still bound by deadlines, so you cannot afford to skimp out on getting work done.

In the IT industry in particular, turning in your work on time is imperative to the overall project performance. In this case, the best you can do is make the most of what you have at your disposal.

Everything you do is a habit. Whether is checking the corona statistics in your area every day, or The routines you have in place help drive your productivity almost subconsciously, once they have been previously established. So if you find yourself demotivated, the key is to make your work process as easy to follow as possible.

Observe your habits. Ask yourself why you are doing the actions, what you get from it, and what the side effects of it are. For example

One of my most-maitained habit has been working out. After quarantine I couldn't go to the gym four days a week for two hours, so I adapted it to a home workout. But I considered all of the stress of the transition as well as the emotional wear-down of worrying about my family's safety.

I chose to go the micro-habits route. I now aim to have just a little bit of exercise daily. A small walk, some stretching, working with resistance bands or circuit training. I also introduced my bike to my routine as well as it seems to be a great stress release. I cannot comfortably maintain a grueling training program, so I instead tweaked my habits to do just enough to feel ok and accommodate my current needs.

The two-day rule

Habits rely on accumulation over time. You start to associate repetitive surroundings, actions and activities with their respective outcome. For example - when you grab a water bottle, change into your gym clothes and put on your workout playlist your brain expects you to switch into training mode. And so you feel more ready to take on your exercise.

However, if you set out to never skip on your activities twice in a row, you will still get farther ahead than if you were to get your habits derail completely and have to keep trying to rebuild them from scratch.

Getting things done does not have to be complicated

Do you believe in the two-day rule? Is this something you have been doing subconsciously? How do you stay on top of your habits?

5 Ways I Improved During Quarantine

Danila Petrova — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 10:54:21 +0000

Chances are, we all had high hopes for 2020, yet we were met with one challenge after another. And while the impact varies from person to person, we all had to adapt to the new reality one way or another.

As stressful as the last few months have been for me, I have made a conscious effort to make the most of the situation. Which means utilizing any and all resources I have and directing them to improve areas of my life that I couldn’t with an office job.

1. I prioritized education

I consider myself lucky to have a job in a company that develops healthcare software. However, balancing a full-time job and my bachelor degree in a highly practical field has been challenging from day one. I have three main responsibilities. The first one is putting in 40 hours at work and meeting my deadlines at my job. The second one was attending my lectures - many of which are in the format of workshops with demanded attendance. And the third one is completing my credited projects - that would take vastly more time than my lectures.

All of that taken into acount, distributing my time has always been difficult at best, and usually didn’t leave room for much else. However, as I am working and studying from home - cutting out up to three hours a day from the commute, I have been able to prioritize my university load better and I can see the results clearly in my projects.

2. I focused on my health

When I think about health, in my head it is broken down to a few categories: fitness, food, sleep and mental health.

Staying healthy and maintaining good physical mobility has been a priority for me over the last few years - and I have observed tremendous improvements over time. When I put in consistent effort, I am much more energetic, confident, optimistic and overall happy.

Staying at home allowed me to get consistent, good-quality sleep of 7 to 8 hours. Not to mention being able to incorporate daily workout routines - even if they are quick 15-minute ones. I tend to switch between strength training, stretching and dance workouts7 that keep things fun and at the same time allow me to build different motor skills simultaneously, even if at a more general level.

I was also able to rekindle my love for cooking and also explore a variety of meals that are easy to whip up and take to work for lunch from basic ingredients.

As for my mental health, I make it a priority to listen to my instincts. I do not push myself too much to be perfect if I am having a bad day - while I do stay on top of my deadlines and responsibilities.
I communicate with loved ones and I take the time to explore the things that make me feel better.

3. I grew my hobbies

One thing that has been a pillar for my wellbeing is maintaining and growing my hobbies. I have always had many artistic inclinations, but I hardly had time to practice my art outside of design projects. And there was even less time for my singing and love for board games.

I can now redirect time id spend in traffic or on a lunch break at the office doing something I genuinely enjoy. Which leads to me getting better about it and an immense boost in confidence. As much as I want to share my activities more with friends face-to-face, I have found ways to adapt. I got some friends hooked on Hearthstone that has a similar feel as board-game. I joined skillshare art classes and share my progress with the tutor and the rest of the people who take it, receiving feedback and being a part of a tight-knit community.

4. I learned to manage distractions and remain goal-oriented

My biggest challenge, by far has been managing distractions at home. As amazing it is that I can fit in all my responsibilities, priority needs and hobbies, it is easy for everything to bleed into one big mess.

Normally, I would have to move from one place to another to switch between my activities. So it is easy to manage my focus on my task at hand when I physically transition to one place to another. I associate the office with my job, the university with lectures and seminars, my home desk with design work and my couch with sweet sweet Netflix time. And of-course the gym with physical exercise.

At home, however, I use one desk for work as well as education. And the seriousness of the work can be easily spoiled with my couch and TV right there next to me.

So I made some furniture rearrangement to section off my living area so I can have a sense of separation that I need. And it still took me a while to have anything resembling a schedule that I can keep.

5. I improving my time-management skills

I already touched on this. But I do believe time management deserves more attention. Once I made arrangements to deal with the physical distractions all around me, I was able to make progress with my work.

But the next obstacle was that without the need to meet a specific schedule for lectures to work, all of my responsibilities expanded and mashed together. Before I know it, the time is 6 pm and I have way more to get done for the day than I realized.

As an attempt to maintain normalcy, I included a self-assigned schedule and used Pomodoro timers to get started. My performance varies day to day, but I manage to keep up so far.

Small steps

We are dealing with difficult and to a degree unprecedented times. It is easy to feel discouraged and to focus on the negative experiences we have. But if we do just as much as we can every day, little by little, when we look back we will realise how we made the most we could personally.

On a daily basis, I feel like I am falling behind and struggling. But it is really the opposite because I have grown and improved in ways I wasn’t expecting and didn’t think I could.

Follow the right quarantine advice: Focus on your needs

Danila Petrova — Thu, 28 May 2020 08:16:37 +0000

At this point, I am just about tired of the constant flow of articles on how to deal with the quarantine life that seems good on the surface but is not necessarily sustainable. Not to mention that everyone has a different background and resources, and a lot of this advice is not applicable in specific situations.

For example, as lucky as I am to have the room to dedicate an office only area, many are stuck working on the kitchen table with their toddlers playing in the background. No amount of tips on how to create a distraction-free desk will compensate that.

So should we try to implement this general advice to better our lives?

Before I even heard about COVID-19, I wrote an article that focused on what motivates us. I focused on two main theories: Motivation for the sake of achieving something and enjoying the process of overcoming a challenge. I will not be talking about this one today.

The other main point I made was understanding Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. We can only do so much with our limited time, and making sure we secure what is foundational for our wellbeing is a base instinct.

We need air, water and food to exist physically, so daily, we do things to satisfy those basic needs and end up planning everything else around them. But I am getting ahead of myself. Let me tell you more about Maslow’s theory first. And hopefully, this article will help you weed out the marketing advice from the one that will improve your life.

Hierarchy of needs

For those who have not yet read my previous article, I would like to sum up quickly why I am so fascinated with this theory. We, as human beings have different needs, that have been categorized by Maslow in five general categories. Although, in some instances, they are broken down into even more tiers.

The theory states that higher levels of need can only be achieved and bring satisfaction to our lives if built upon the primal, more significant ones.
It is usually visualized as a pyramid. Each tier resting on top of the previous one.

The physiological needs are the absolute foundational ones that are a factor as to whether or not we can exist and live. Such as the need for food, water, air and shelter.
After that comes the safety need for security. Greatly reliant on our resource income (in today’s environment - a steady job), health insurance and owning property.
The third level of need is the one based on love and belonging, where the relationships we have with our family, friends and loved ones become a pillar to our sense of worth and motivation.
Next comes esteem - the inherent belief that we are valuable as well as valued by our peers. Knowing we are respected by those we respect and having a self-assessment of someone competent and valuable.
And lastly, self-actualization, that is - simply put - the desire to be the best self, the person can be in all areas of life considered a priority as defined by the individual.

Subconsciously, or entirely by choice, we make daily efforts to build our individual pyramid based on our goals, priorities and preferences. And as much as we climb the ladder, there is no guarantee that the progress we make will be permanent.

When the balance gets thrown off

We adapt to our environment. Precisely the ability to adapt to different conditions has brought humanity to the point we are currently at, collectively.

We are also good at building systems that we follow to get things done. For example, when we are hungry, we have the system to take the money and go to the grocery store to procure ingredients and make a meal - essentially a system to feed ourselves that is based on the current environment.

A few thousand years ago, the process of obtaining nourishment was entirely different - the man would take a club and go to the woods to whack a bunny for dinner. That is if childhood cartoons are to be believed.

But understanding what our current systems are lacking and finding ways to accommodate this need based on our updated circumstances is human nature. So we build our lives with the understanding we have of the world around us. But when this world shifts and changes, we may need to take a step back and rebuild our basic foundation before we can go on chasing our refined ambitions.

It is worth mentioning that many things can rattle our world off-balance. It can be a world-spread disease, or something much more personal. Such as the loss of a loved one or an injury that impacts daily routines. Or it can be losing the sense of belonging when leaving a long-term partner. The only constant thing in life is the need to adapt to our circumstances as they change.

Rebuilding and adapting

While keeping a sense of normalcy is something we all want, it is worth acknowledging that we are trying to rebuild our foundation right now. Just a few short months ago, I was working on my interpersonal relationships as well as chasing a higher level of personal performance and trying to be the best version of myself. I was focusing on my work performance and education. As well as training to improve my aesthetic physique and health. In essence, all my efforts were aimed at fulfilling my need for self-actualization.

Now I feel, however, that I have been knocked down a few tiers and am trying to re-establish a sense of security and safety. While I have been lucky enough to maintain my job working in a company that develops healthcare software, I do feel less certain than before. I am worried about my own, and the wellbeing of my loved ones. And I am having a harder time maintaining relationships since I can no longer share even simple, friendly interactions with the people around me.

All this being said, right now, for most people, the important thing is to stay healthy, maintain a reliable income and hope that the people we love are safe and taking care of themselves. If this foundation is not solid, chasing excellence in all our endeavours becomes an endless source of stress, instead of positive motivation.

And that is okay! Life is all about adapting to the current situation. While it may feel like a step back and trying to rebuild something we used to be on top of, we are only making our foundations stronger, once we do get past this rough patch.

The most important thing right now

We all hope that this is a temporary crisis. One that we will leave behind in 2020 and look back upon with sadness. And, perhaps, a sense of accomplishment, simply because we were strong enough to get through this.

We hope that we won’t feel panic about going out without a mask, or touching public transport and rushing to disinfect our hands. We won’t hold back from a genuine personal touch or measure the distance between ourselves and other people in our heads when we pass them by. But for now, we do the best we can.

I am looking forward to the days where I can obsess over whether or not I will be able to get an A on a university assignment, as opposed to struggling to find the motivation to pass the class. But for now, I will do the best I can day by day and be patient enough with myself. And trust that I will be better equipped to deal with unexpected challenges in the future due to this crisis!

What do you think? Has the quarantine impacted your goals, desires and ability to chase after them? Leave your thoughts in the discussion below, and I will make sure to read them all!

What are your Quarantine Home-Office Habits?

Danila Petrova — Mon, 13 Apr 2020 10:41:36 +0000

Habits are the base structure of everything we do. The way we walk, our speech patterns, how we brush our teeth and all other repetitive activities are some form of habit. That being said, we can put in more of an effort as to what our daily activities are and how they result in our day to day lifestyle.

Our lifestyle habits, in turn, can affect every aspect of our lives such as work, how we communicate with people, relationships, working practices and how we manage our time as a whole. Habit management can be detrimental to productivity, as well as personal growth - slowing down or straight up stopping our progress towards the goals we have set for ourselves.

Environment changes lead to habit changes

Currently due to the coronavirus epidemic, as many of us as possible are working from the safety of our own homes. As a part of a flexible company developing healthcare technology, I am no exception. And while this is the best way to limit the spread of the virus it comes with a neat little pack of challenges.

Now that the main structures of our day are taken out of the equation there is room for other habits to settle in. Removing commute to work, strict working hours (for some), social activities, going out to the gym etc. Be honest with yourself, how much of this, suddenly free time has been gradually occupied by leisurely activities? Did you become an avid Netflix watcher, or ended up spending hours on end in social media or whatever your downtime preferences are?

With the changes of environment and activities, you are bound to find yourself changing up your routines and substituting now obsolete habits with ones that seem to be better for you at the moment. However many of those come with side effects that are prevalent. Too much sedentary lifestyle can result in bad physical health as well as back and neck pain and headaches.

What makes a habit

There are a few key aspects to any habit. As a habit is a repetitive action, it is nearly the same every time unless there is a different command.

Cue

A cue is some kind of signal that sets the habit in motion. For example, a cue for eating would be to see the food you enjoy or to feel a sense of hunger.

Routine

The routine would be to go on and grab some food and eat it. The action becomes more and more intuitive and easy to complete without much thought, the more it has been performed.

Reward

Once you have responded to the cue by carrying out the routine you get a reward of some sort. In this instance, you feel full and feel satisfaction from the tasty food.

Good vs. Bad habits

Habits are a basic function of your body, the basis being that with repetitive action it is not a matter of decisions but simply auto-pilot. The effort you put into your habits is significantly less than if you make a decision that contradicts them.

There are widely spread conceptions of “good” or “bad” habits to have. And this is definitely valid. If you allow an action that has negative consequences repeat multiple times with a cue, routine and reward it will become an automatic habit.

This is where being aware of your habits serve you. You can observe your current repetitive actions and make a conscious effort to direct them towards a healthier lifestyle if this is what you choose.

Cornerstone habits

Those can create a ripple effect on your life. For example, one such habit could be stabilizing your sleeping habits. If you wake up roughly around the same time every day you will be able to make other activities more consistent as well, such as cooking healthier meals instead of running out for junk food because you didn’t have the time to meal prep. Or having sufficient time for chores, leisure and hanging out with loved ones.

The things that have the potential to turn into a cornerstone habit depends on your personal preferences and your own goals. However, keep in mind that those are habits that in turn change many other smaller ones.

Three important habits for home office

Most of us are working home office. So it is worth being said that there are certain habits that factor into our productivity, mindset and overall mental and physical well-being while adapting to the situation.

The following three habits are those I have observed to be the most important for me, and for many others, I have been in contact with.

Work/leisure separation

Surely I am not the only one who noticed this. But at home, it is so easy to get distracted by the usual leisure activities that you end up interrupting your workflow time and time again. The way this played out for me is I would be on and off work for twelve hours a day. In total, I would have worked roughly eight hours, but because I kept stepping out of work and into chill time, I always felt the I-need-to-get-back-to-work feeling hanging over my head.

In order to combat this, I have introduced two main habit changes:

Work in blocks of two, three or four hours straight. This helped me get through the bulk of my work quickly. And as an added bonus, two-three sessions in I was all done! So I could enjoy the rest of the evening guilt-free, which proved much, much healthier for my mental health.
Dedicated work vs. leisure spaces. I set up a desk and a couch in my room, that both serve as an impromptu office area. So all my work I do in one of those spaces. And if I want to take a break to scroll on my phone or go on youtube, I physically get up off my workspace and go on my bed, the living room, out on the balcony, kitchen etc. Having the work mindset in my “office area” was a game-changer. It helps me keep up with my work sessions and ultimately with my deadlines while allowing me to relax as I need it in a healthy way.

Dedicated working hours

I already touched on this, but the first couple of weeks I stretched out my working schedule, and as a result, I ended up fatigued and tired and I had to work late into the night to finish up work I had neglected through the day. This, in turn, resulted in me sleeping in late and having to work late again to keep up.

Doing this introduces a dangerous precedent. One after another my habits became less sustainable and having a healthier mindset became more unattainable. So I decided to pull up my working hours a little bit at a time. And while I do not exactly work strictly “9 to 5” I am much more able to plan out my work and feel better doing it.

Maintaining pre-existing habits and routines

What would your day look like pre-quarantine? When did you wake up? Did you usually have breakfast? Did you work out before or after work? Did you talk on the phone with a relative on your break?

There are so many things out of our control right now, but our daily activities are not one of them. So you should make a conscious effort to maintain your usual routine as much as possible, whatever it may be. Of course, you may have to make some alterations to fit in your current lifestyle, but you should focus on making your habits now maintainable back into the world.

The importance of habit mindfulness

If you want to gain a sense of control you need to take a look at your daily actions and identify the underlying habits that guide the way you spend your time. By knowing what your habits are you can then take steps to maintain those that add value to your life. And on the flip side, you can make an effort to add ones that make a positive influence and limit those that are hurting you one way or another.

While I would not recommend making drastic or restrictive changes in your life right now, I would recommend taking account of your habit as an observation. Simply being mindful of your subconscious actions will make it much easier to guide them in a healthy way, when you decide to do so.

What are your home-office habits? What is important for you to maintain through the quarantine? I hope this article was at least a little helpful, and if you have any suggestions I may have missed, please add to the discussion below!