My Tips For a Super-Efficient Workday · ad

Now you may have noticed recently if you've been watching my vlogs that my workflow is becoming more and more demanding which I certainly can't complain about. It's just things like making and editing videos, running my online shop, making and editing and printing new artwork and one of the things that I have kind of learned along the way in this constant pursuit of productivity is just how important it is to keep things as simple as possible. So I'm unbelievably excited to be partnering with Intel at the moment, yeah Intel, and their super powerful 8th generation i7 core processor which has the potential to streamline even my busiest days. So I am gonna take you along with me for a typical day while I try to achieve perfect efficiency and productivity. So to get everything done in a day that I need to do and to maintain some semblance of like work-life balance and sanity, I aim to do around eight hours of work a day. I try not to go over and I try not to go too far under either. And you guys will know if you've seen any of my recent videos that I've been trying to do it in 45-minute chunks of work followed by a 15-minute break and just keep repeating that in a cycle throughout the day, obviously with like a longer lunch break in the middle. I find that breaking things up in that way helps to keep me in like an optimum state of motivation and momentum and it really increases that focus of knowing okay if I'm in this work chunk I'm just gonna be purely working and in my 15-minute break I can watch conspiracy theory videos to my heart's content without feeling like a self-judgment or like I should be working. And with that kind of rigid routine of work and rest time, I do find it helps to cut out as much time wasting as possible however you can. Just having a really nice easy transition from one thing to another just adds up to so much time saved in the long run and a lot less decision fatigue throughout the day. So for example having this laptop as like a two-in-one really cuts down on having to switch between devices and I know that pretty much everything I need is gonna be right here whether it's work or play but you'll see more of that as we go on throughout the day. Mornings for me, I think for a lot of people, are a great time for work that is more creative, more conceptual. I actually do most of my painting and experimental artwork, stuff that's just for me, I'll do that first thing in the morning before actually starting on my work hours. So that's actually all done so far for today. I might, if I have time, get back into some sketching and things but for now I'm already done with that and that's great to have that done and out of the way before I have to start work. And that kind of warms me up so that once I'm sat down to do actual work work, it's a good time for me to do things like planning videos or brainstorming ideas if I've got like a brief from a client that needs kind of going over and coming up with ideas for, it's a great time for that. Making thumbnail sketches for bigger pieces, it's just the time where my brain, I know, is in the optimum kind of mind space for that. I've been loving using this laptop as a tablet. If you've seen other videos of mine, you'll know I kind of like to spread things out, do a big brainstorm, usually on a big piece of paper but that recently has been leading to this huge stack which, as you might have noticed, was literally just on the floor by my desk and everything is organized in kind of a roundabout way but it is a little bit inconvenient at times and it helps to have things digitally sometimes just to be able to edit things really quickly, move things around and I can sketch, I can doodle, I can write things, it helps a lot to have things just all in one place. This stack of paper is already making me quite anxious so I'm gonna put it back on the floor. Yeah, to all the people that think I'm super neat and organized, this is the reality of it. You just don't get to see what goes on underneath the desk. Another great benefit of having this on a tablet is that I can have everything up on the same screen that I need so if I'm using a brief I can have that up, if I'm using references I can have those up on the screen as well. Literally everything I need right here so it's so easy to just enter that flow state undisturbed, no distractions and so much more convenient to do it on a tablet that has this amazing 8th gen i7 processor laptop power so there's no lag, I don't really have to worry about having loads of programs open at once. After, and only after, I've made at least a start on some creative work and that is when I will allow myself to spend some time checking emails, maybe going through social media, just checking on that side of things and that just helps me getting sidelined by other priorities and maybe other people's wants and needs and demands first thing in the morning. I've had that space to do my own thing and work to my own rhythm without being pulled in a certain direction. I'm warmed up now so I feel a little bit better equipped to deal with that kind of stuff and that could involve, like I said, doing emails which I'm doing right now or reviewing contracts and briefs I might have, going over my finances, maybe just processing orders and queries in my shop, lots of like necessary admin-y stuff. Most of it I really quite enjoy, any excuse to use a spreadsheet for me is a good time and the rest of it doesn't feel like such a drag I find if I've already dedicated some time to myself earlier in the day. Even on really busy days, in fact especially on really busy days, I think it's really important to break up the monotony of it. I really don't like spending a whole entire day just sat at my desk staring at a screen. So I am two chunks of work in, so I've done two hours of like 45 minutes, 15 minutes and I've had a half-hour lunch break, had some pita bread, some taro misalata, some olives and feta and some biscuits and some juice and now I am packing orders just to break up the routine a bit, do something that I can do standing up, moving around. If I was doing more art today I would be maybe moving it on to my easel and standing up to work. Just little things that get me slightly active. Obviously I'm not a very active person but it helps to just have a little dance around, put some music on and do something away from my desk just to break up the middle of the day. Now onto my next task. I feel like anyone that has ever edited videos understands that kind of flow you get into where you just get into a real rhythm of things and time passes without you really realizing how much time has passed. I like to take advantage of that kind of rhythm of almost effortless productivity by actually editing in bulk when I can, at least a couple of times a week so that I can have days like today that are just dedicated to YouTube stuff and then I have time on other days throughout the week to have a more art-focused day. And I can't tell you how much of a difference it makes to be working on a computer that responds as quickly as I can think. You know, I don't have to worry about multitasking, about switching to the internet to look for music for my videos. I'm always dipping into the internet to look for like Premiere Pro tutorials as well and it's nice to know that I can do that without slowing myself down. I was never really a huge advocate for multitasking. I always thought it led to not really giving a hundred percent to each thing that needs your attention. But I've realized that when you've got the power of something like this 8th Gen Core i7 processor, you're not sacrificing the potential or quality of one thing by simultaneously doing another. So right now this video is exporting and that would normally mean going off and doing other things but right now I'm just gonna jump right into Photoshop, start making a thumbnail while I wait for that video to export so that once it's all done and I'm uploading, it's just ready to go right away. And having this touchscreen for all those little details, just really being able to get in there, get that precision when it comes to editing photos or even editing art, no need to go and find my other tablets and plug those in. And the fact that this 8th Gen i7 processor allows me to do all that with stuff running in the background is just a real game-changer for me. I try- and I'm trying to get more straight with myself on this- but I try to make sure that I stop working at a certain time because it will most definitely have a knock-on effect to how I perform the next day. And I think that is a side to productivity that kind of gets overlooked. The resting stage is really really really important to keeping up that momentum for more than just one really busy day. I personally think it's really important to reflect on your day and just the things that you've done, the things you've achieved, celebrate the small victories. I always say that I think it's really important to just take a moment to think about what you've achieved and how each step has taken you a little bit closer to wherever you want to be. And of course you want to give that creative side of your brain some space to breathe and relax, so I like to wind down with a documentary, just something like visually beautiful that I don't really have to pay a lot of attention to other than like looking at the pretty pictures. It just really helps to fill up those inspiration wells again. Perfect way to just close off a really productive day, reward yourself and almost transport yourself somewhere else. I adore the two-in-one features of this laptop, the convenience and comfort of being able to turn it into my TV like this. I'll have a link below if you want to find out more about Intel or this particular laptop. It's been the perfect companion for a full and successful day. Efficiency for me comes from just keeping things stripped back, keeping things simple, making sure that you have the right tools and the right mindset to get things done well and no extra fluff thrown in to slow you down. I would really like to thank Intel again for giving me the tools to really take my work to the next level and I would like to thank you guys because without your support I really wouldn't have ever had an opportunity like this. So let me know if you'd be interested in any more kind of day-in-the-life type videos like this, maybe more of an art-centric one. But other than that, thank you guys so much for watching and I will see you in the next one. Bye!