Sorry about the loud background music! I completely crashed my laptop with this heavy edit, and after a few rounds of failed exports, I gave up trying to figure out how loud it was and just went ahead - I now realise it really should’ve been lower, but oh the bright side, and no background music at all, here’s my video on how I organise my digital workspaces and your free link to try SigmaOS too: go.sigmaos.com/elizabeth xx
the edit turned out BEAUTIFUL! thanks for your dedication, the most important aspect of this video for me was the high stimulation tasks combined with high stimulation rewards, I finally understood why I’m so exhausted all the time, even when i’ve had enough breaks scheduled in
Ever changing from teenage years to adulthood/business owner In primary school I would use a 45 minutes of study(non STEM subject like English or history) and 15 minutes of reward/play Rewards would be (usually two or more of these at one time) 15 min walk 15 min call my Dad if he was traveling for business 15 min a piece of Cadbury chocolate after I drank 3 glasses of H20 15 min on social media 15 min playing the violin 15 min watching Netflix or Hulu 15 min file nails or beauty mask Any STEM subject which I love my blocks of study were 90 minutes to 2 hours blocks. Rewards would be eating dinner, cleaning my room, organizing anything in my room or adding to my Amazon to buy lists, taking a quick shower after some yoga, doing my hair, cleaning my contacts, speaking to a friend or listening to music these are examples of “rewards” that would not last longer than 30 minutes. This was mainly in high school. Larger rewards were due to any achievements from good grades to a reward or prize I may have won so my rewards were going to plays, art festivals, or music concerts with my friends or parents or volunteering at a festival I considered a reward. Buy a dress or outfit online was a reward I gave myself. In my teens I started investing money from my Ebay store with the help of my father so going online and researching stocks and mutual funds were fun for me and I considered it a reward to research it. Going sailing with my father was a treat and reward for me. Going to the beach was a reward too. I was obsessed with skiing and snowboarding in college so this was my reward going on ski trips for 3 to 4 days at a time once I completed my studies or make the grade. As an adult I “reward” myself once business goals and tasks are completed from paperwork for the lawyers to vet to hiring staff approvals are completed to accomplishing financial goals. My rewards now are planning and going on solo to small group trips with my friends to different places in the world. I enjoy traveling and volunteering. I tutor children twice a week online and this has been one of my greatest rewards. I fell into this by the urging of a friend and it has been an extraordinary experience. I share your videos with children from the precocious 8 year olds to the shy unassuming teens. They love and adore your channel and have put many of your tools for study, learning and efficiency into practice. Bless you! ❤❤
Love how this turned out!! Thinking about our daily actions in terms of level of stimulation and overall energy level is perfect for those of us who have so many ideas, are so passionate, yet need a chaotic (and practically organized) way to express it.
It's good work music 😄 Could you do a few study with me videos with classical music please 😃 I also wonder if you have AHDH but are super organised 😊 I overplan, but have ME and POTS syndrome (Covid x 2 made me 75% more sick) so nothing much gets done and I do not do mornings 🤣 I am going to borrow your big buffer blocks and cut out the to do list 😆 I have to task swap a lot (I would rather not as lose flow of tasks - but pacing) or rest as brain fog hurts and body just says no 😬😘😘😘
When I study for an exam, I create a list of different methods for revising a particular topic. These methods include active recall, mind mapping, reading related but non-academic articles, solving past papers, reviewing quizzes, and so on, depending on the subject. Then, when I schedule my study time blocks, I allow myself to choose the revision method based on my energy level and overall well-being at that particular moment. Ultimately, this approach helps me become less avoidant and more engaged in my work.
I am not a neurodivergent person but I have struggled with anxiety and by extension procrastination. Strict schedules never worked for me because they would just produce more anxiety (via perfectionism). I really like her approach to productivity and have picked up a few techniques here and there that have proven so helpful. Thanks Elizabeth.
I told my therapist that I found it hard to follow a schedule and she told me to put specific things on my schedule like “study Chapter 4 at 10-10.30am”. It was super hard to follow because of my interest-based productivity. This was much more forgiving and made more sense!
About 10:19 : Forest has a stopwatch mode ! Instead of studying for a set amount of time, you can just start the stopwatch when you start studying and can end it whenever. It helps with the rule of not having a hard stop time, while still being able to get the benefits from Forest such as tracking your study hours and blocking distracting apps
This is naturally how I schedule things and I've always felt like a failure not timeblocking and scheduling the way everyone else does. Thank you for validating this approach of working intuitively and WITH your brain instead of against it.
right??| I personally switched to doing things this way because rigid plans really did not work for me at all... Like I always felt pressured and unmotivated. Now I do things much more flexibly and my results are sooo much better, I get more done and I don't constantly feel anxious!
4 types of reward systems: after a fixed time interval after a fixed number of tasks after variable time (when you don't feel like working, when someone calls, etc.) (preferred) after variable number of tasks (preferred) Identify your reward activities: good work done reward no work done reward (scrolling probably) first thing you do in the morning what you do right before you sleep what you do to calm yourself down building your calendar: don't have a hard start or hard stop time give yourself a huge buffer to complete a task start when you want to and stop when you're tired or you don't feel like it switching between huge tasks takes a lot of mental energy. take a short break before you start with the next task don't schedule specific tasks. let it just be study, work, etc. know your energy levels and work accordingly the special effects: choose a set of reward tasks and choose one task as your reward randomly (to maintain that novelty) let the nature of the reward be complementary to your work. (if studying for you is reading a book alone, get out and socialize as a break)
I'm a parent and still helpful. Spent not understand why I couldn't be disciplined like other people. Didn't know about interest driven nervous system. Chile now I'm not scared of my life and actually start cultivating excellence. Thanks for these videos
Scared of my life, what a good description. I’m also a parent and also found this very helpful. This is going to sound terrible but I find that I’m always so busy with ‘have to’ tasks that my family is often on the short end. I’m going to make spending quality, down-on-the-floor with my kids a reward.
@@PiaJKJ Start by considering the absolute requirements of their routine. The things that the world ends if they don't happen. (Parents will understand what I mean.) Then, see how much of that you can delegate to your kids. Takes some of it off your plate, & teaches them valuable life skills. Then, look at times your kids are already not needing you (like, when they're asleep). Try scheduling during that time frame so that you can expand your scheduled time as they grow & become more self-sufficient.
I just wanna say that you are a total lifesaver, Elizabeth. Thank you for all the work you do in creating this invaluable content for us. As a person who has had difficulty all their life juggling multiple commitments and staying organised, your ideas really resonate with me and encourage me to keep going. I find I usually fall short when I try to implement mainstream strategies. I'm really grateful that you cater for neurodivergent individuals and anyone else who has tried a lot of learning/organisational approaches and is at the end of their tether. Keep up the tremendous work and God bless you.
One novel tip that always stuck with me, which I read in one of those "How to Succeed at College" books many decades ago, was that highly successful people *_schedule their leisure time in addition to their work time._* That was such a 'mind blowing' concept to me, because neither of my parents ever taught me that growing up. They taught me to schedule my work/activities, sure, but when it came to my free time I could just "wing it" and relax. While not exactly what you're talking about here, this video does remind me of that, and I noticed it _was_ a habit practiced by all of my most accomplished peers at school.
the only thing that has EVER worked for me is the buffered time blocking. I make a list of daily tasks, then separate my day into time blocks of “morning” and “afternoon”. I’ll assign the tasks to either of those blocks, and then intuitively do them within that general frame. Even at my job, I’d separate my shift by the hour, and then spread out my tasks within those hour chunks. If I got the task done within the first 15 minutes, hey, 45 minutes of chill time! If I’m half an hour into a time block and haven’t changed the garbages- no worries, it’ll take 10 minutes, tops, and I still have half an hour.
This is exactly what I needed. There might be many people it doesn't work for, but nothing I've been given has worked for me yet, so this is genuinely amazing. Making videos like this for people with interest-based nervous systems and sensitive to stimulation is amazing. Thank you for using your experiences to make these informative videos despite having a lot of other things on your plate! I aspire to be like you and able to do all sorts of things I want to while not overwhelming myself.
Thank you for your existence! I'm in fact a parent, mother of two, and this video was reaaaally healpful! So don't distrust yourself too. What you do here has SO MUCH worth! I hope someday I can help people as a content creator myself and if I do 10% of what you do to help others I'll be proud of myself.
I just thank the fact that the internet exists so that I come across content like yours which is a LITERAL LIFESAVER. My brain works similar to yours and I was already figuring out somethings that you spoke about like the fact that having variable work hours was actually more enjoyable than a very fixed time block to work. But I burnt out easily because I couldn't figure out how to fit in my rewards and noticed that scheduling a reward basically made me not want to do it 😂😂 !! Scheduling for us interest based nervous system folks is practically unheard off and I'm genuinely so so grateful for your content and sharing what has been working for you. Thank you ❤❤❤
I`m so impressed by the editing. It gets better each time. Never the same. The videos are like a piece of art. There is a sense of refinement. Gorgeous!
ironically i have always used this method and never even realized it! i’ve gotten better over time just allowing myself to give into impulses and work on what is most stimulating to me, instead of what i think i “should” be doing. whenever i do this, i immediately fall into hyperfocus and get lots of work done on that task. it’s so much more productive for me than pre-planned regimented blocks.
Even though your youtube videos are quite long compared to other youtubers, but i am willing to sit and listen to everything you say even if the video is 2 hours long, thank you so much for sharing such valuable insights with us and putting the time and energy into it.
I love this. I started a new full time job a few months back, and have been realizing I operate in an anxiety-based motivation (a new job creates a lot of anxiety, which is a strong source of motivation). And now that the anxiety has worn off and things started to get more predictable, I struggled to get things done exactly because now they are supposed to be easier (and predictable). I truly needed to watch this to remind myself to go through my day more intuitively. Thank you, Elizabeth.
Im a neurodivergent person and you have inspired me to realize I dont need to fit the way society works. Because of my studies and future career im able to do what actually works for me, which is similar to what works for you. Thank yoj so much for helping me not to feel like a “failure” but just different.
👋 My summary: - 00:00 🌟 Introduction and Background - Elizabeth introduces her hectic life as a medical student with multiple jobs and additional commitments. - She expresses the need to make changes in her scheduling due to stress and overwhelm. - 01:23 📅 Importance of Understanding Your Schedule - The importance of understanding what falls within a schedule is discussed. - She explains how both work and non-work activities impact each other psychologically. - 03:12 🕐 Types of Reward Reinforcement Schedules - Elizabeth explains the four types of reward reinforcement schedules: fixed interval, fixed ratio, variable interval, and variable ratio. - She highlights the significance of these schedules in shaping motivation and behavior. - 05:04 📆 Creating a New Type of Calendar - Strategies for creating a more effective calendar are outlined. - The importance of adding buffers to task start and end times, avoiding strict schedules, and project switching is discussed. - 07:13 🎁 Randomization of Rewards - Elizabeth introduces the concept of randomizing rewards after completing a task. - She explains the selection of reward activities and how it helps manage stimulation levels and energy throughout the day. - 15:49 🌟 Acknowledging Individual Differences - Elizabeth acknowledges the limited applicability of their approach to specific circumstances and invites viewers to share techniques that suit their unique situations. - A closing message of self-compassion is delivered.
Best possible comment my ADHD ass could happen upon while scrolling through comments already during the first 30 seconds of the video lol. Now I can pay attention to the video so much better!
u are my youtube soul, idk how to explain how i feel rn but u always makes me feel like im not alone, and ur videos are very good for me when i want to procastinate on one work but also want to learn something from this period of time, best wishes. (i mean i like ur state and just ... im so jealous of how u can manage to maintain this good state
You are amazing, as someone who is a first year PhD student /and/ Autistic/ADHD person. My old scheduling stopped working and I had to find new ways to stimulate my brain and this is exactly how I did it. Never stop what you do.
For me, breaking down a project into tiny chunks helps me because I can easily get overwhelmed by a task like "work on essay." I need to have some idea of how to get started in order to circumvent procrastination. That being said, my calendar does have broad blocks like "work" or "study," but I'll have a to-do list elsewhere of the projects I'm working on, and their steps. I find this format works super well for me. The time block is still broad enough that I can decide what order I work in and other specifics like that, but if I get stuck in analysis paralysis or indecision, I can refer to my list to kickstart myself.
Love this, there’s more emphasis on focus tracking versus time/task tracking. This works so well for my neurodivergent brain. To add, my schedule is also catered to my cycle. My productivity/focus levels fluctuate depending on the week. So, I try to plan for certain tasks keeping in mind what my energy levels will be like
I don't usually leave comments on RUclips videos but I just wanted to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this video and how you went through different productivity methods. I've been very interested in efficiency and productivity for a while now, especially as someone who continues to take additional night classes despite beginning a full time career but I've never come across the tips that you mentioned. A lot of productivity tips tend to centre around basically forcing yourself to just do the work so it's very refreshing to see someone encouraging being kind to oneself!
It's been a while now, and although I waver, and forget this actually, it's one of the most useful study technique videos I've come across. Thank you Elizabeth.
I always feel bad when my brain doesn't really do well with structured productivity and forced me to adapt myself into the box. But hearing this makes so much more sense and it's actually the way I love to work but get called lazy or unorganized. Seeing this I realize I'm not, I just function that way and I should embrace it and use it at my favor
I think that even if other people cannot fully implement the scheduling that you suggest, they can still take the concepts and philosophies that you offer (as much of it as they want/need). Thank you so much. ❤
This validated the way that I naturally work best! I have always been a person who works best when I don’t have rigid plans. I almost never give myself an end time for doing my schoolwork and it is the only way I’ve made it two years in so far. I love the idea of making varied rewards, will definitely give that a try!
Can we talk about the editing 😍😍😍 this is absolutely a piece of art a master piece I've been through the same situation for a long time and it was so boring to study just caz i had to start at some point and finish at a specific one only last year which was my last year at uni too that i learnt how to study "spontaneously" and don't stress myself much about the timing I really liked the concept of randomizing and balance the awards depending on the work done, it is a new but totally makes sense for me
I've always messed up everything that needs to be handled since I am always struggling to follow a strict schedule. It seems that once I fail to follow one item in the schedule, everything breaks down. Hope this video would save me from endless procrastination.
I've never considered how a high stimulation task followed by high stimulation reward could be one of the reasons for the adhd burnout cycle. I find myself struggling to do a low stimulation reward most of the time, especially as the day goes on.
I'm a mum, and I really found this helpful. I started just adding work times to my schedule and that worked really well for me. I started failing when I would add specific timeslots within that time and try to be rigorous with my task start and end times. this video allowed me to see that I don't have to do that and just think of different time slots I can add and work off a list and be flexible with what I need to do. thank you for the dice idea, you are right, coming up with a sustainable reward is the hardest thing, lol.
I do love your videos, Elizabeth - one of the things I appreciate is the fact I don't have to listen to them at 2x speed: I'm very comfortable with your speed of thinking and speech. My somewhat banal approach to doing tasks I don't like is a "gotta eat that frog now" approach. Then I'll get stuck into it until I've finished the task or it's gotten too hot to continue. I like doing AI (Stable Diffusion) and dislike hard physical work, like shoveling rocks and like that, but even though I'm retired (71, retired from PACU nursing), certain things (projects) still need to be done. The follwoing day I'll go for a day-trip to Brisbane (QLD) or down to the Gold Coast, which allows me to do gentle exercise - walking - to get over the hard work: that's my reward. BTW, the music loudness level was fine, and the choice of melodies quite pleasing, thank you.
This video is so important! I'm tired of these productivity youtubers saying "put EVERYTHING into your calendar"! This usually does not work for most jobs and activities (only for youtubers, I guess...). This video, however, gives a really helpful KNOWLEDGE of how motivation works and how we can make our calendar work. Thanks!
It's amazing how I found your video right after I started planning my schedule today. My plan felt intuitively wrong, and your video explained exactly what I was missing!! Thanks for all the information. Also, admire your energy, because I am drowning between my Uni work and jobs
thank you!! I never thought about it as an interest based vs importance based nervous system. I'm realizing after watching this video that I am interest based for sure.. love the varied reward system idea!! 🌺 aloha from Hawaii!
This has been my natural way of scheduling all my life and I've felt so inadequate in it because I've had prepschool teachers etc raving about pomodoro and hard scheduling and comparing myself to type A's in my field (jurisprudence), to whom exact scheduling seemed to come so naturally. I'm so relieved to hear my intuitive way of studying/working is actually legit and not somehow "wrong" at all! Btw, for me, the reward is always knitting:-)
Thank you for the inspiration. As a mum, I almost see more opportunities to randomize than people with strict work schedules. While my baby's needs are always urgent, pretty much all my other tasks can be randomized (cleaning, what to make for dinner, etc). I can't wait to try this out one out.
i try to incorporate my hobbies into my work. I like sketching, making collages etc, so when my motivation is low i make mind maps or collages related to the information ive learnt, its kind of like active recall and it makes me look forward to studying and revising the content.
I think that last sentence of 'not to believe everything you think' is so true! I apprechiate your completely open unique personality! Thanks for sharing
OMG! I love your vibes! The video is amazing, but the edition, pleaaaase! It must have taken a lot of time! It's so satisfying to watch all the edited items!
@13:30 it's dopamine! Highly stimulating tasks one after the other creates a high demand of dopamine to be released within our brain. There is a baseline of dopamine circulating within our body every day, but after such an event, it drops below baseline. So after a stimulating or exciting activity, you may feel that "low" after the "high" until your dopamine returns back to baseline (your baseline can also fluctuate!). It's a slow process and is based on genetics, so it may take one person longer to return to their baseline than another person. Hence why one person may feel extremely drained and need a day rest, while someone else only needs a few hours. There are a lot more variables to it but that's the gist.
also, I ADORED this video, and your video style. only video I haven’t clicked off on, played in the background, or put on 2x. weirdly helps a lot that the colour palette is warm and muted lol
Has just found your channel, can't hold not to subscribe. Thank you so much for making this video. Have been losing my self for years. This video convince me to just be the way I am
God . My situation is really similar to yours! Gonna try this out! I worked from home yesterday and kept trying to force myself to work, and I just ended up so resentful and everything looked boring and uninteresting and I even started to have negative emotions. I was like “nothing really matters. My work doesn’t matter. “ Things like that. Anyways. I’m gonna try this out. Really grateful for your sharing🥰🥰🥰
Hi Elizabeth, Thank you for your videos! ❤❤❤ Always looking forward to it. I've learnt a lot of things, honestly. You may be the only single, not parent person who unserstand parents/ mom so well and situations we deal with. You deserve more on your channel! So happy to see your following growing in such a speed that you deserve! Well done! 🩵🩵🩵
Morning!, the reason of this message was due to the fact that I so one of your videos… and I love it!! And at that video you said that you weren’t as good at memorizing and that was ok for you, and I thought of the mind palace method that uses creativity instead of consistency, so I’m here to recommend it (you may find it helpful hopefully). In any case I was also here to tell I love your content and methodology because it has help me immensely, thank you!
A SUMMARY ❤: 1. non-work (rewards) should be a part of your schedule ( they do not have to be written down , but make space for them ) 2. The type of reward system you have in place makes a difference , if you have an interest based brain a more variable reward system will lead to more motivation to work . (variable ratio / variable interval reward methods ) 3. Identify your work and non-work tasks . 4. ask yourself these questions to identify your non-work tasks : • Good work done reward ? • No work done reward ? • The first thing you do in the morning • The thing you do when you are falling asleep • What do you do to calm yourself down 5. By fixing our work schedules and randomizing our reward schedules , we are making rewards much more addictive to an interest based brain 6. So how do we change our scheduling to be more random and interesting while still using time blocks ? • Add the biggest buffers you can to the task time (do not have a hard start or stop time) , this way you’ll have a window in which to start and you can stop when you feel like you’ve worked enough. • don’t back - to back tasks • don’t treat your calendar like a to-do list , add bigger and broader tasks and customize during the day with whatever you feel like doing • learn and use your body clock( which might change with the days of the week ) 7. create a list of rewards and use them randomly ( this increases interest and therefore motivation during the day ) 8. balance the stimulation of work and non-work activities , high stimulating work activities need to be complimented with low stimulating rewards in order for you to maintain a steady energy level throughout the day
Do limited effect, select clips in order and perfect the sequence of clips images and music. Heavy edits often give you the worst results. The golden point is balance, and limited to as per necessary only. If your script is good, which it is, with good video quality and thumbnail. Trust me, that's all you need. People don't come for video nor audio, they come for the message; which should be clear and understandable. I just want to say. I love all your videos, and your advice is always helpful, thank you. Keep it up.
This is so clever you are truly brilliant, I found it very easy to follow you. I used to use study 40 mins, break 10 mins (between major breaks like sleep, food, etc.) Breaking 10, when you're so into what you are studying feels like theft!! - So recommenced studying after the break more ravenously.
So I really like the idea of putting more "productive" rewards instead of stimulating ones, but where would you put the scrolling, social media and all of the "fast food" type of reward? Maybe I'm missing something....
I gave up on calendar blocking long ago, I realise looking back that I HATED it. My approach now is to only calendar in things that have to happen (uni, work, events..) and deliberately leave blocks of time “free”, in which I know to do things like study, practise, etc. So no hard start/stop times - similar to you I guess but without the actual input into the calendar. I relate to what your life sounds like on so many level that I confess to getting a rush of approval whenever I hear I do something similar to you 😆 My takeaway from this would be a more deliberate approach to rewards, I found that incredibly interesting
I absolutely love your videos! I wonder if one day you can talk here or on your podcast of how you stopped giving so much attention grades and focused more on learning... I'm a new university student and I can't take grades of my mind, though I know it's prejudicial. Each video you do is a blessing, lots of love
if you prefer to incorporate forest into the new time blocking strategy, turn on timer mode and start and stop the timer, depending on your work completion, satisfaction and energy levels.
Sorry about the loud background music! I completely crashed my laptop with this heavy edit, and after a few rounds of failed exports, I gave up trying to figure out how loud it was and just went ahead - I now realise it really should’ve been lower, but oh the bright side, and no background music at all, here’s my video on how I organise my digital workspaces and your free link to try SigmaOS too: go.sigmaos.com/elizabeth xx
the edit turned out BEAUTIFUL! thanks for your dedication, the most important aspect of this video for me was the high stimulation tasks combined with high stimulation rewards, I finally understood why I’m so exhausted all the time, even when i’ve had enough breaks scheduled in
Ever changing from teenage years to adulthood/business owner
In primary school I would use a 45 minutes of study(non STEM subject like English or history) and 15 minutes of reward/play
Rewards would be (usually two or more of these at one time)
15 min walk
15 min call my Dad if he was traveling for business
15 min a piece of Cadbury chocolate after I drank 3 glasses of H20
15 min on social media
15 min playing the violin
15 min watching Netflix or Hulu
15 min file nails or beauty mask
Any STEM subject which I love my blocks of study were 90 minutes to 2 hours blocks.
Rewards would be eating dinner, cleaning my room, organizing anything in my room or adding to my Amazon to buy lists, taking a quick shower after some yoga, doing my hair, cleaning my contacts, speaking to a friend or listening to music these are examples of “rewards” that would not last longer than 30 minutes. This was mainly in high school.
Larger rewards were due to any achievements from good grades to a reward or prize I may have won so my rewards were going to plays, art festivals, or music concerts with my friends or parents or volunteering at a festival I considered a reward. Buy a dress or outfit online was a reward I gave myself. In my teens I started investing money from my Ebay store with the help of my father so going online and researching stocks and mutual funds were fun for me and I considered it a reward to research it. Going sailing with my father was a treat and reward for me. Going to the beach was a reward too. I was obsessed with skiing and snowboarding in college so this was my reward going on ski trips for 3 to 4 days at a time once I completed my studies or make the grade.
As an adult I “reward” myself once business goals and tasks are completed from paperwork for the lawyers to vet to hiring staff approvals are completed to accomplishing financial goals. My rewards now are planning and going on solo to small group trips with my friends to different places in the world. I enjoy traveling and volunteering. I tutor children twice a week online and this has been one of my greatest rewards. I fell into this by the urging of a friend and it has been an extraordinary experience.
I share your videos with children from the precocious 8 year olds to the shy unassuming teens. They love and adore your channel and have put many of your tools for study, learning and efficiency into practice. Bless you! ❤❤
Love how this turned out!! Thinking about our daily actions in terms of level of stimulation and overall energy level is perfect for those of us who have so many ideas, are so passionate, yet need a chaotic (and practically organized) way to express it.
Maam I feel u r doing that hands movement excessively.....still always love watching your videos....they are truly helpful
It's good work music 😄 Could you do a few study with me videos with classical music please 😃 I also wonder if you have AHDH but are super organised 😊 I overplan, but have ME and POTS syndrome (Covid x 2 made me 75% more sick) so nothing much gets done and I do not do mornings 🤣 I am going to borrow your big buffer blocks and cut out the to do list 😆 I have to task swap a lot (I would rather not as lose flow of tasks - but pacing) or rest as brain fog hurts and body just says no 😬😘😘😘
When I study for an exam, I create a list of different methods for revising a particular topic. These methods include active recall, mind mapping, reading related but non-academic articles, solving past papers, reviewing quizzes, and so on, depending on the subject. Then, when I schedule my study time blocks, I allow myself to choose the revision method based on my energy level and overall well-being at that particular moment. Ultimately, this approach helps me become less avoidant and more engaged in my work.
Thank you for this! :D
How did you improve active recall
cool! I'll try that
This makes so much sense!
Thank you for this❤
I am not a neurodivergent person but I have struggled with anxiety and by extension procrastination. Strict schedules never worked for me because they would just produce more anxiety (via perfectionism). I really like her approach to productivity and have picked up a few techniques here and there that have proven so helpful. Thanks Elizabeth.
Same here
100%
Im interested to know What techniques have worked for you?
I told my therapist that I found it hard to follow a schedule and she told me to put specific things on my schedule like “study Chapter 4 at 10-10.30am”. It was super hard to follow because of my interest-based productivity. This was much more forgiving and made more sense!
It's not even my task but, just thinking about how it's formulated, makes me want to rebel and procrastinate. (And I'm almost 40)
ig even therapists don't have the answers to everything huh
how do you schedule your stuff now ?
About 10:19 : Forest has a stopwatch mode ! Instead of studying for a set amount of time, you can just start the stopwatch when you start studying and can end it whenever. It helps with the rule of not having a hard stop time, while still being able to get the benefits from Forest such as tracking your study hours and blocking distracting apps
I love Forest but sadly for the 80% of the app you have to pay for
This is naturally how I schedule things and I've always felt like a failure not timeblocking and scheduling the way everyone else does. Thank you for validating this approach of working intuitively and WITH your brain instead of against it.
right??| I personally switched to doing things this way because rigid plans really did not work for me at all... Like I always felt pressured and unmotivated. Now I do things much more flexibly and my results are sooo much better, I get more done and I don't constantly feel anxious!
4 types of reward systems:
after a fixed time interval
after a fixed number of tasks
after variable time (when you don't feel like working, when someone calls, etc.) (preferred)
after variable number of tasks (preferred)
Identify your reward activities:
good work done reward
no work done reward (scrolling probably)
first thing you do in the morning
what you do right before you sleep
what you do to calm yourself down
building your calendar:
don't have a hard start or hard stop time
give yourself a huge buffer to complete a task
start when you want to and stop when you're tired or you don't feel like it
switching between huge tasks takes a lot of mental energy. take a short break before you start with the next task
don't schedule specific tasks. let it just be study, work, etc.
know your energy levels and work accordingly
the special effects:
choose a set of reward tasks and choose one task as your reward randomly (to maintain that novelty)
let the nature of the reward be complementary to your work. (if studying for you is reading a book alone, get out and socialize as a break)
I'm a parent and still helpful. Spent not understand why I couldn't be disciplined like other people. Didn't know about interest driven nervous system. Chile now I'm not scared of my life and actually start cultivating excellence. Thanks for these videos
Can definitely relate to what you are saying. It always baffled me how people can be so disciplined and push through pain/boredom
Scared of my life, what a good description. I’m also a parent and also found this very helpful.
This is going to sound terrible but I find that I’m always so busy with ‘have to’ tasks that my family is often on the short end. I’m going to make spending quality, down-on-the-floor with my kids a reward.
I'm also a parent and can't work out how to structure my interest-driven preferences around the routine my kids need. Any ideas?
@@PiaJKJ Start by considering the absolute requirements of their routine. The things that the world ends if they don't happen. (Parents will understand what I mean.) Then, see how much of that you can delegate to your kids. Takes some of it off your plate, & teaches them valuable life skills.
Then, look at times your kids are already not needing you (like, when they're asleep). Try scheduling during that time frame so that you can expand your scheduled time as they grow & become more self-sufficient.
I just wanna say that you are a total lifesaver, Elizabeth. Thank you for all the work you do in creating this invaluable content for us. As a person who has had difficulty all their life juggling multiple commitments and staying organised, your ideas really resonate with me and encourage me to keep going. I find I usually fall short when I try to implement mainstream strategies. I'm really grateful that you cater for neurodivergent individuals and anyone else who has tried a lot of learning/organisational approaches and is at the end of their tether. Keep up the tremendous work and God bless you.
This🙌🏻🙌🏻
One novel tip that always stuck with me, which I read in one of those "How to Succeed at College" books many decades ago, was that highly successful people *_schedule their leisure time in addition to their work time._* That was such a 'mind blowing' concept to me, because neither of my parents ever taught me that growing up. They taught me to schedule my work/activities, sure, but when it came to my free time I could just "wing it" and relax. While not exactly what you're talking about here, this video does remind me of that, and I noticed it _was_ a habit practiced by all of my most accomplished peers at school.
oh i think i had that book, but it disappeared on me. that would have been helpful
the only thing that has EVER worked for me is the buffered time blocking. I make a list of daily tasks, then separate my day into time blocks of “morning” and “afternoon”. I’ll assign the tasks to either of those blocks, and then intuitively do them within that general frame. Even at my job, I’d separate my shift by the hour, and then spread out my tasks within those hour chunks. If I got the task done within the first 15 minutes, hey, 45 minutes of chill time! If I’m half an hour into a time block and haven’t changed the garbages- no worries, it’ll take 10 minutes, tops, and I still have half an hour.
me too!
This is exactly what I needed. There might be many people it doesn't work for, but nothing I've been given has worked for me yet, so this is genuinely amazing. Making videos like this for people with interest-based nervous systems and sensitive to stimulation is amazing. Thank you for using your experiences to make these informative videos despite having a lot of other things on your plate! I aspire to be like you and able to do all sorts of things I want to while not overwhelming myself.
Thank you for your existence! I'm in fact a parent, mother of two, and this video was reaaaally healpful! So don't distrust yourself too. What you do here has SO MUCH worth! I hope someday I can help people as a content creator myself and if I do 10% of what you do to help others I'll be proud of myself.
I just thank the fact that the internet exists so that I come across content like yours which is a LITERAL LIFESAVER. My brain works similar to yours and I was already figuring out somethings that you spoke about like the fact that having variable work hours was actually more enjoyable than a very fixed time block to work. But I burnt out easily because I couldn't figure out how to fit in my rewards and noticed that scheduling a reward basically made me not want to do it 😂😂 !! Scheduling for us interest based nervous system folks is practically unheard off and I'm genuinely so so grateful for your content and sharing what has been working for you. Thank you ❤❤❤
My favourite covert ADHD self-help channel 💜 Thank you
I`m so impressed by the editing. It gets better each time. Never the same. The videos are like a piece of art. There is a sense of
refinement. Gorgeous!
I barely navigate my time without full time job in a med school. Bc in my case I ought to stay in the hospital whole day. So you are my hero.
ironically i have always used this method and never even realized it! i’ve gotten better over time just allowing myself to give into impulses and work on what is most stimulating to me, instead of what i think i “should” be doing. whenever i do this, i immediately fall into hyperfocus and get lots of work done on that task. it’s so much more productive for me than pre-planned regimented blocks.
Even though your youtube videos are quite long compared to other youtubers, but i am willing to sit and listen to everything you say even if the video is 2 hours long, thank you so much for sharing such valuable insights with us and putting the time and energy into it.
I love this. I started a new full time job a few months back, and have been realizing I operate in an anxiety-based motivation (a new job creates a lot of anxiety, which is a strong source of motivation). And now that the anxiety has worn off and things started to get more predictable, I struggled to get things done exactly because now they are supposed to be easier (and predictable). I truly needed to watch this to remind myself to go through my day more intuitively. Thank you, Elizabeth.
Im a neurodivergent person and you have inspired me to realize I dont need to fit the way society works. Because of my studies and future career im able to do what actually works for me, which is similar to what works for you. Thank yoj so much for helping me not to feel like a “failure” but just different.
Love the new filming background! Probably my favorite yet.
👋 My summary:
- 00:00 🌟 Introduction and Background
- Elizabeth introduces her hectic life as a medical student with multiple jobs and additional commitments.
- She expresses the need to make changes in her scheduling due to stress and overwhelm.
- 01:23 📅 Importance of Understanding Your Schedule
- The importance of understanding what falls within a schedule is discussed.
- She explains how both work and non-work activities impact each other psychologically.
- 03:12 🕐 Types of Reward Reinforcement Schedules
- Elizabeth explains the four types of reward reinforcement schedules: fixed interval, fixed ratio, variable interval, and variable ratio.
- She highlights the significance of these schedules in shaping motivation and behavior.
- 05:04 📆 Creating a New Type of Calendar
- Strategies for creating a more effective calendar are outlined.
- The importance of adding buffers to task start and end times, avoiding strict schedules, and project switching is discussed.
- 07:13 🎁 Randomization of Rewards
- Elizabeth introduces the concept of randomizing rewards after completing a task.
- She explains the selection of reward activities and how it helps manage stimulation levels and energy throughout the day.
- 15:49 🌟 Acknowledging Individual Differences
- Elizabeth acknowledges the limited applicability of their approach to specific circumstances and invites viewers to share techniques that suit their unique situations.
- A closing message of self-compassion is delivered.
Best possible comment my ADHD ass could happen upon while scrolling through comments already during the first 30 seconds of the video lol. Now I can pay attention to the video so much better!
Obviously it's from chat gpt youtube video summary but thanks anyway
Haha obvs GPT
😊😊
u are my youtube soul, idk how to explain how i feel rn but u always makes me feel like im not alone, and ur videos are very good for me when i want to procastinate on one work but also want to learn something from this period of time, best wishes.
(i mean i like ur state and just ... im so jealous of how u can manage to maintain this good state
You are amazing, as someone who is a first year PhD student /and/ Autistic/ADHD person. My old scheduling stopped working and I had to find new ways to stimulate my brain and this is exactly how I did it. Never stop what you do.
"click off the video if you're a important-based-work person", line was the best and your videos & schedule approaches are so cool and interesting.
For me, breaking down a project into tiny chunks helps me because I can easily get overwhelmed by a task like "work on essay." I need to have some idea of how to get started in order to circumvent procrastination.
That being said, my calendar does have broad blocks like "work" or "study," but I'll have a to-do list elsewhere of the projects I'm working on, and their steps. I find this format works super well for me. The time block is still broad enough that I can decide what order I work in and other specifics like that, but if I get stuck in analysis paralysis or indecision, I can refer to my list to kickstart myself.
Love this, there’s more emphasis on focus tracking versus time/task tracking. This works so well for my neurodivergent brain.
To add, my schedule is also catered to my cycle. My productivity/focus levels fluctuate depending on the week. So, I try to plan for certain tasks keeping in mind what my energy levels will be like
I don't usually leave comments on RUclips videos but I just wanted to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this video and how you went through different productivity methods. I've been very interested in efficiency and productivity for a while now, especially as someone who continues to take additional night classes despite beginning a full time career but I've never come across the tips that you mentioned. A lot of productivity tips tend to centre around basically forcing yourself to just do the work so it's very refreshing to see someone encouraging being kind to oneself!
It's been a while now, and although I waver, and forget this actually, it's one of the most useful study technique videos I've come across. Thank you Elizabeth.
I always feel bad when my brain doesn't really do well with structured productivity and forced me to adapt myself into the box. But hearing this makes so much more sense and it's actually the way I love to work but get called lazy or unorganized. Seeing this I realize I'm not, I just function that way and I should embrace it and use it at my favor
I think that even if other people cannot fully implement the scheduling that you suggest, they can still take the concepts and philosophies that you offer (as much of it as they want/need). Thank you so much. ❤
This validated the way that I naturally work best! I have always been a person who works best when I don’t have rigid plans. I almost never give myself an end time for doing my schoolwork and it is the only way I’ve made it two years in so far. I love the idea of making varied rewards, will definitely give that a try!
This helps a lot as I'm a university student (24 credits for a semester)& also have to work for 44 hours a week
I love your approach to productivity so much! Thanks for the awesome video🥰
Can we talk about the editing 😍😍😍 this is absolutely a piece of art a master piece
I've been through the same situation for a long time and it was so boring to study just caz i had to start at some point and finish at a specific one only last year which was my last year at uni too that i learnt how to study "spontaneously" and don't stress myself much about the timing
I really liked the concept of randomizing and balance the awards depending on the work done, it is a new but totally makes sense for me
Oh my god!! You have saved me after years of negative self dialogue of "what's wrong with me"!! I cannot thank you enough!!!
I've always messed up everything that needs to be handled since I am always struggling to follow a strict schedule. It seems that once I fail to follow one item in the schedule, everything breaks down. Hope this video would save me from endless procrastination.
didn't know it was possible but your editing has gotten EVEN better Elizabeth! loved the video
I've never considered how a high stimulation task followed by high stimulation reward could be one of the reasons for the adhd burnout cycle. I find myself struggling to do a low stimulation reward most of the time, especially as the day goes on.
I'm a mum, and I really found this helpful. I started just adding work times to my schedule and that worked really well for me. I started failing when I would add specific timeslots within that time and try to be rigorous with my task start and end times. this video allowed me to see that I don't have to do that and just think of different time slots I can add and work off a list and be flexible with what I need to do. thank you for the dice idea, you are right, coming up with a sustainable reward is the hardest thing, lol.
Like your hand gestures
As someone who works a lot out the house and still study and look to prevent burnout on a daily, I find this video very helpful!
I do love your videos, Elizabeth - one of the things I appreciate is the fact I don't have to listen to them at 2x speed: I'm very comfortable with your speed of thinking and speech. My somewhat banal approach to doing tasks I don't like is a "gotta eat that frog now" approach. Then I'll get stuck into it until I've finished the task or it's gotten too hot to continue. I like doing AI (Stable Diffusion) and dislike hard physical work, like shoveling rocks and like that, but even though I'm retired (71, retired from PACU nursing), certain things (projects) still need to be done. The follwoing day I'll go for a day-trip to Brisbane (QLD) or down to the Gold Coast, which allows me to do gentle exercise - walking - to get over the hard work: that's my reward. BTW, the music loudness level was fine, and the choice of melodies quite pleasing, thank you.
This video is so important! I'm tired of these productivity youtubers saying "put EVERYTHING into your calendar"! This usually does not work for most jobs and activities (only for youtubers, I guess...). This video, however, gives a really helpful KNOWLEDGE of how motivation works and how we can make our calendar work. Thanks!
It's amazing how I found your video right after I started planning my schedule today. My plan felt intuitively wrong, and your video explained exactly what I was missing!! Thanks for all the information. Also, admire your energy, because I am drowning between my Uni work and jobs
thank you!! I never thought about it as an interest based vs importance based nervous system. I'm realizing after watching this video that I am interest based for sure.. love the varied reward system idea!! 🌺 aloha from Hawaii!
This has been my natural way of scheduling all my life and I've felt so inadequate in it because I've had prepschool teachers etc raving about pomodoro and hard scheduling and comparing myself to type A's in my field (jurisprudence), to whom exact scheduling seemed to come so naturally. I'm so relieved to hear my intuitive way of studying/working is actually legit and not somehow "wrong" at all! Btw, for me, the reward is always knitting:-)
Thank you for the inspiration.
As a mum, I almost see more opportunities to randomize than people with strict work schedules. While my baby's needs are always urgent, pretty much all my other tasks can be randomized (cleaning, what to make for dinner, etc). I can't wait to try this out one out.
i try to incorporate my hobbies into my work. I like sketching, making collages etc, so when my motivation is low i make mind maps or collages related to the information ive learnt, its kind of like active recall and it makes me look forward to studying and revising the content.
u posted this at the perfect time i was just procrastinating and the end message in ur video was something i really needed to hear thank you
I think that last sentence of 'not to believe everything you think' is so true! I apprechiate your completely open unique personality! Thanks for sharing
Thank u so much Elizabeth! Your videos are always helpful and interesting
These are real behavioral terms: fixed interval, fixed ratio and I’m studying to be a BCBA so this is helpful in a multitude of ways! Thank you ❤
With having ADHD, having your content out there is helping so so much
OMG! I love your vibes! The video is amazing, but the edition, pleaaaase! It must have taken a lot of time! It's so satisfying to watch all the edited items!
epic zoom backround - the paintings are gorge!!!!
I feel guilty watching this video as a break from working using Forest lol
Thanks for super helpful advice.
Congrats. Nearly one million subscribers
this is the only ad i actually listened to and enjoyed!! well done!! downloading immediately
there is no one i relate to more than you in terms of work style. thank you thank you
Really, I don't have enough words to thank you... your insights are unmatchable! Thanks Elizabeth!
You don't know how much you inspire me and put value in my life. I see you as one of my idol ❤ thank you so much for these amazing concepts
You're the ADHD whisperer!
Thank you for your work ❤
i've never saw "crying" as a reward to my work, but i guess it could effective
@13:30 it's dopamine! Highly stimulating tasks one after the other creates a high demand of dopamine to be released within our brain. There is a baseline of dopamine circulating within our body every day, but after such an event, it drops below baseline. So after a stimulating or exciting activity, you may feel that "low" after the "high" until your dopamine returns back to baseline (your baseline can also fluctuate!). It's a slow process and is based on genetics, so it may take one person longer to return to their baseline than another person. Hence why one person may feel extremely drained and need a day rest, while someone else only needs a few hours. There are a lot more variables to it but that's the gist.
I use a lot of these techniques, but I don't think I realized I did because I've never voiced them! You are so good at explaining.
wow, is this the best video on youtube? probably
also, I ADORED this video, and your video style. only video I haven’t clicked off on, played in the background, or put on 2x. weirdly helps a lot that the colour palette is warm and muted lol
Your videos are so pleasing to watch! Thank you a lot for everything you do
I must say that watching your videos at 2x speed is something overwhelmingly stimulating indeed.
Your videos are so dense that i have to back and forth to better understand 🤯 i mean it in a positive way of course! ❤
Has just found your channel, can't hold not to subscribe. Thank you so much for making this video. Have been losing my self for years. This video convince me to just be the way I am
Your videos are always worthy! I was waiting for this.❤
Lovely Queen ❤❤❤❤
You thought of everything even in the description. Thank you sm for sharing your knowledge❣️
God . My situation is really similar to yours! Gonna try this out! I worked from home yesterday and kept trying to force myself to work, and I just ended up so resentful and everything looked boring and uninteresting and I even started to have negative emotions. I was like “nothing really matters. My work doesn’t matter. “ Things like that. Anyways. I’m gonna try this out. Really grateful for your sharing🥰🥰🥰
Hi Elizabeth, Thank you for your videos! ❤❤❤ Always looking forward to it. I've learnt a lot of things, honestly. You may be the only single, not parent person who unserstand parents/ mom so well and situations we deal with. You deserve more on your channel! So happy to see your following growing in such a speed that you deserve! Well done! 🩵🩵🩵
wicked video elizabeth. just wanna say, love all the classical painting references instead of some graphic logos. splendid vibes
Morning!, the reason of this message was due to the fact that I so one of your videos… and I love it!! And at that video you said that you weren’t as good at memorizing and that was ok for you, and I thought of the mind palace method that uses creativity instead of consistency, so I’m here to recommend it (you may find it helpful hopefully). In any case I was also here to tell I love your content and methodology because it has help me immensely, thank you!
A SUMMARY ❤:
1. non-work (rewards) should be a part of your schedule ( they do not have to be written down , but make space for them )
2. The type of reward system you have in place makes a difference , if you have an interest based brain a more variable reward system will lead to more motivation to work . (variable ratio / variable interval reward methods )
3. Identify your work and non-work tasks .
4. ask yourself these questions to identify your non-work tasks :
• Good work done reward ?
• No work done reward ?
• The first thing you do in the morning
• The thing you do when you are falling asleep
• What do you do to calm yourself down
5. By fixing our work schedules and randomizing our reward schedules , we are making rewards much more addictive to an interest based brain
6. So how do we change our scheduling to be more random and interesting while still using time blocks ?
• Add the biggest buffers you can to the task time (do not have a hard start or stop time) , this way you’ll have a window in which to start and you can stop when you feel like you’ve worked enough.
• don’t back - to back tasks
• don’t treat your calendar like a to-do list , add bigger and broader tasks and customize during the day with whatever you feel like doing
• learn and use your body clock( which might change with the days of the week )
7. create a list of rewards and use them randomly ( this increases interest and therefore motivation during the day )
8. balance the stimulation of work and non-work activities , high stimulating work activities need to be complimented with low stimulating rewards in order for you to maintain a steady energy level throughout the day
LOVE the content, and the editing is a masterpiece!
You have no idea how helpful this video was thank you soo much 💕
Thanks a lot for this video, all of this time I have been searching exactly this one, it's something that I was really needed.❤❤❤
Do limited effect, select clips in order and perfect the sequence of clips images and music. Heavy edits often give you the worst results. The golden point is balance, and limited to as per necessary only.
If your script is good, which it is, with good video quality and thumbnail. Trust me, that's all you need.
People don't come for video nor audio, they come for the message; which should be clear and understandable.
I just want to say. I love all your videos, and your advice is always helpful, thank you.
Keep it up.
This is so clever you are truly brilliant, I found it very easy to follow you. I used to use study 40 mins, break 10 mins (between major breaks like sleep, food, etc.) Breaking 10, when you're so into what you are studying feels like theft!!
- So recommenced studying after the break more ravenously.
So I really like the idea of putting more "productive" rewards instead of stimulating ones, but where would you put the scrolling, social media and all of the "fast food" type of reward? Maybe I'm missing something....
I like the talking head/sign language routine. Also the Vermeer and the Whistler on your wall. Must've set you back quite a few shillings😂
I gave up on calendar blocking long ago, I realise looking back that I HATED it. My approach now is to only calendar in things that have to happen (uni, work, events..) and deliberately leave blocks of time “free”, in which I know to do things like study, practise, etc. So no hard start/stop times - similar to you I guess but without the actual input into the calendar. I relate to what your life sounds like on so many level that I confess to getting a rush of approval whenever I hear I do something similar to you 😆
My takeaway from this would be a more deliberate approach to rewards, I found that incredibly interesting
I simply adore your work. Thank you for sharing.
Another great and truly informative video! It's really admirable what you do! I hope you are well, and you take care of yourself.
Your resilience is truly inspiring! 💪 » "The journey to accomplishment is often fraught with setbacks."
I absolutely love your videos! I wonder if one day you can talk here or on your podcast of how you stopped giving so much attention grades and focused more on learning... I'm a new university student and I can't take grades of my mind, though I know it's prejudicial. Each video you do is a blessing, lots of love
Extremely invaluable! ❤️
amazing video Elizabeth! thank you for sharing your study tips!
if you prefer to incorporate forest into the new time blocking strategy, turn on timer mode and start and stop the timer, depending on your work completion, satisfaction and energy levels.
❤❤❤❤ Thank you so much for this! It is truly helpful for me. I am so glad you shared this information.
it was a really calming and informative video, thank you
You are genius, Elizabeth! I'm downloading SigmaOS now.
What's a DMG file?
Thanks a bunch for sharing.
Have a good Day. ☺👍