How to Get More Done By Making One Simple Change in Your Routine

by | Jan 24, 2019 | Education, Family, Parenting, Reading, School, Students, Study Skills, Teachers, Tutoring | 0 comments

How to Get More Done By Making One Simple Change in Your Routine

 

Want to get more done? Start with the most difficult or important task first.

Why is it Difficult to Start This Way?

It seems easy in theory, but if you’ve ever tried starting with the most difficult task, you know that it can be hard to stick to. You get in a groove where you are starting with the most difficult or important task each day, but then after a few days you are back to starting with busy work or what feels quick and easy. Our brains seem to be wired this way, especially if it allows us to check something off of our “to do” list. So, it can be tough to motivate ourselves to start with the hardest or most important task.

So Why Should We Even Try?

If we go with our natural tendencies and start with easier or more enjoyable tasks, it becomes even more challenging to motivate ourselves to tackle the big difficult task later. You may feel more productive this way in the short-term but accomplishing only quick and easy tasks is damaging to long-term, high impact productivity.

Conversely, if you start with the hardest task, you will get a boost from finishing it and gain momentum as each subsequent task gets easier to complete. Progress on our goals makes us happier. When we are feeling happy and positive, we are more likely to keep working hard and make continued progress on our goals. By starting with the hardest task we can build momentum instead of losing it. We are also doing what will require the most energy when we are at our best instead of saving it until the end when we are exhausted.

Who Does This Strategy Work For?

The strategy of starting with the most difficult or important task first is as effective for an employee or manager who is working on a list of tasks or projects as it is for a student who is completing assignments. You can apply the strategy to your task list as a whole, and you can also apply it to each individual task. Say you are a student who has multiple homework assignments, but chemistry is the most difficult for you. Start with the chemistry homework. For chemistry, let’s say that you have to study for a test and you have a few days to prepare. If the most difficult parts of the material for chemistry are the equations, start with those and leave the terms and definitions to work on once you’ve mastered the math portion.

What if You Have Trouble Getting Started?

If you have trouble getting started, it helps to break a difficult task into subtasks. For a big project, think about the smaller tasks that need to be completed. If you are studying, for example, what concepts do you need to understand; what do you need to be able to do; and what type of practice should you complete in order to be prepared? Thinking through a task and breaking it into manageable parts not only makes it easier to get started, it makes that task meaningful to you. We all know that meaningful work is easier to stick with when inevitably, at some point, you run into some sort of snag or difficulty.

 

-Nina Parrish, M.Ed.
Owner | Parrish Learning Zone, LLC

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                                       ~Nina

Nina Parrish, M. Ed.

Nina Parrish, M. Ed.

Co-Owner and Director of Education

Proud mom of two adorable girls. Teacher who has developed an education business that started at a kitchen table and has grown into a thriving small business... Click here to Learn more about Nina.

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Pam Cantrell Burton
Pam Cantrell Burton
2020-10-14T16:15:51+0000
Parrish Learning Zone helped my daughter with on-line SAT and college essay preparation. She not only scored in the top 90 percentile on the SAT after working with Lauren Cannavo, she especially benefited from the tutoring she received for her admission essays. My daughter was accepted at Notre Dame, UVA, William and Mary, and received scholarships to George Washington University and the University of Alabama. She was initially deferred at the University of Chicago and waitlisted at University of Michigan and Emory University. She eventually chose not to remain on the waitlists and committed to UVA.Lauren also advised our daughter regarding her submission of a 20 page essay on community service for DECA, a high school business club. Our daughter, along with her partner, won second place in her category at the DECA state competitions in 2019 and 2020, and received second place at the DECA international competition in 2019.Lauren was not only a top-notch professional, she really cared about our daughter and was so pleased about her accomplishments. We are so very grateful to her and Parrish Learning Zone.
Marijayne Kruus
Marijayne Kruus
2020-05-11T21:51:37+0000
Mr. Chaves is an extremely gifted chemistry teacher. It's such a difficult subject--my son was drowning by the time we found PLZ. This was truly a last ditch effort on our part. Mr. Chaves was able to turn that ship around after only 4 lessons and my son passed the SOL! He was able to distill difficult concepts in a way that made them comprehensible and he was patient and kind and gave my son the confidence to succeed. His actual eacher expressed surprise and made a point of telling him he didn't know how he did it but he was impressed. It takes a gifted teacher to get results like that.I only wish we'd found PLZ and Mr. Chaves in the beginning of the school year.
Wendy Zelazny
Wendy Zelazny
2018-06-08T02:05:15+0000
Highly Recommend
Anne Kater Reeves
Anne Kater Reeves
2018-06-07T22:46:05+0000
I highly recommend Parrish Learning Zone. My daughter was able to achieve the SAT score she was aiming for with the help of her Math (Mr. James Slane) and English (Mrs. Lauren Cannavo) tutors. Not only did they help her with practice tests but they also boosted her confidence in taking the SAT. The owners (Nina and Jay) were always prompt in answering my emails. They are very accommodating and worked around my daughter’s schedule (thank you Shiela for all your help in finding available dates for my daughter to meet with her tutors). Thank you Parrish Learning Zone for helping my daughter achieve her goal!
Beth Yankovich
Beth Yankovich
2018-03-23T20:29:18+0000
I can't say enough good things about Parrish Learning Zone. My son has historically suffered from low reading comprehension. I felt he needed a little extra help so I contacted Parrish Learning Zone. The owners at Parrish matched my son with the perfect tutor for him, they developed a rapport almost immediately. He is now in 8th grade and doing well in all his classes. My son is very active in school sports and the staff at Parrish are always very accommodating. They always reschedule with no problems. My son even likes to go early to chat with Sheila.
Beth Kent
Beth Kent
2017-11-08T18:59:11+0000
Awesome! Very structured and student focused - they identified the areas of weakness and turned those into areas of strength in a very short amount of time. I loved the communication from the tutor and the company. I received a specific report of my child's tutoring session including improvements and areas that needed continued work. I received reminders of upcoming tutor sessions - which I needed!! I felt the individual attention and service was worth every penny AND found the prices to be much more reasonable that other tutors in the area. I would HIGHLY recommend Parrish Learning Zone to any parent that needs to find highly competent tutoring help for their child. Parrish is simply the best!
Michele Hiltbrunner Freemyers
Michele Hiltbrunner Freemyers
2017-03-14T15:53:50+0000
An excellent place to take your kids for any tutoring needs! PLZ is a very personalized and hands on service! Both of my teenage boys have been through here for various reasons and I know we will continue to make use of them!
Tammy Elms Mosco
Tammy Elms Mosco
2016-06-02T12:20:59+0000
I am extremely thankful to Parrish Learning Zone. I have a son that is a freshman in college majoring in mechanical engineering. I am so glad that we found out about the Parrish Learning Zone because they were very caring and really worked hard around my sons high school football schedule to ensure that he received all of the needed instruction in order to do well on the SAT testing. It was a great investment for his future. I believe this experience prepared my son for the transition to college life. He was able to attend a top engineering college and to play football there. My daughter is a senior in high school now and was admitted into two of the top ranked public schools in Virginia. She will be a freshman at one of these schools next year. She also was enrolled in the Parrish Learning Zone for preparation for the SAT. I am again thankful to the Parrish Learning Zone and feel that this was a great long term investment into their futures. I would strongly recommend the Parrish Learning Zone to anyone looking for an environment that offers a caring and knowledgeable approach to educating students. They are the best.
Angela Jackson
Angela Jackson
2014-05-15T00:39:39+0000
Andrew Powers
Andrew Powers
2014-02-09T12:32:29+0000

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