Chrome Browser and Safari (#2 in series)

Chrome and Safari are probably the web browsers that most people have. These browsers have my favorite add-on of all. the add-on is called "Waste No Time" We humans are very vulnerable to cheating ourselves out of what we know we are supposed to be doing. Humans work best when they have a mentor. Someone who forces them to do what is supposed to be done. This add-on allows you to block all web access for a set period of time. During the "lockdown" there is no way to get on the web. You just have to tweak the settings (all the info is on the website.) It is a great thing because that is what we need-something to force us off the web. There are also settings where you can block a website for the rest of the day after you have used it for the time you set. There are literally endless options. The best way I can describe things is with a story so here I will tell another story to show you my point of "Waste No Time" (sorry if the stories are lame)
Cassidy stared down at her to-do list:

1. Laundry
2. Dishes
3. Scrub floor
4. Dust
5. Read science homework
6. Clean bedroom

She sighed. Oh my goodness so much to do in so little time. I have no clue where to start. She looked back at her laptop and typed in the search engine "how to prioritize my todo list" She soon found herself watching YouTube videos on "how to clean your room quickly" or "evening routines" soon she was so involved she forgot about all her chores and was scrolling through facebook. All to quickly it was 11:30pm. She shut her laptop and went to bed. She woke up the next morning to a very messy house. However she did not have time to clean it she had college classes to take. But oh she had forgotten to finish her homework. Not finding any clean dishes for breakfast she had to skip it. Since she had not cleaned her room she could not find her backpack or homework. And since she did not do her laundry she did not have a clean outfit to wear. She was mortified so she went to school in the outfit she wore yesterday, an empty stomach, and unfinished homework. 

Now lets pretend Cassidy installed "Waste No Time" on her laptop...
Cassidy stared down at her to-do list:

1. Laundry
2. Dishes
3. Scrub floor
4. Reade science homework
5. Clean bedroom

She sighed. Well I have lots of  stuff to do before tomorrow morning so I best get started. Since none of this stuff needs a computer involved I will just lock it down so I cannot get distracted by it. I will block all the websites on the web except my music website. Because I must have music to keep me motivated to work. She hit the button (very reluctantly) and her computer was locked until tomorrow morning. She set to work washing dishes, doing laundry, scrubbing the floor, etc. By the time 9pm came around she had knocked all the things off her to-do list except her science homework. She settled into bed and finished her homework then she drifted off to sleep. The next morning she got her favorite breakfast, put on her fave outfit, and was out the door with her finished homework. She was ready to face the day.
So I hope that kind of helped you to understand how "Waste No Time" works. It is the greatest thing invented for boosting productivity. And that is what I am here to help you with right? :)
NOTE: I am not at all affiliated with "Waste No Time" I am simply sharing my knowledge with you on how it works so that you can have an amazing life. Also none of the names are attached to people I know the stories are 100% fictional, but hopefully can apply to real life to some extent. Thanks for reading.

Mozilla Firefox (#1 in series)

Firefox. Probably not many use this web browser but some reading this blog might. Currently it is what I use so this is where I will start. There is only 1 add-on in all of Firefox that works the way I wanted it to. It is called Leech Block. 
There are many settings that you can do on this add-on so go to the website and read up on it. I want to explain something tho. Be careful when touching settings in the "advanced" section. Once you have everything the way you like it then I would check all three boxes in that section. However BE VERY CAREFUL! I do not want to be responsible for blocking your web service and no way to recover it. My theory is is that if you don't block every website except the ones you need nothing will get done. So with that being said it is important to block everything except the websites you need for the present task. (the website tells you how to set that up) I am just kind of telling you what is out there for Firefox users.

New Series! (Being in control of the technology)

I am starting a new series about being in control of technology and not letting it control you. We all have to admit that it is the #1 killer to productivity. It is the truth. Just look around you. People are constantly staring at their phones and computer screens. I have to say that I am guilty of doing this too. If you are honest we all probably spend too much time on social media and the internet in general. What ever happened to good old fashioned books and pencil and paper??? If we spent as much time in God's word as we do on the web we would be a totally different United States. We would be on fire for God. So what am I going to talk about in this series?

1. Add-ons, apps, etc that will force you to get off your phone, tablet, laptop
2. Tips and tricks to help you get off of electronics

Just two simple things but hopefully it will help you to see that there is more to life than electronics. (I'm talking to myself too.) Over the past few years I have researched ways to stay off electronics because the regular "just turn off your phone" advice didn't help. I will cover mac books, android devices, chrome, Firefox, iPhone, chrome books, etc. So hopefully it will be useful to you.

What distracts you?

Jane sat down to finish her mountain of homework. She DID NOT want to do it. She sat there staring at her Algebra problems. As she half-heartedly began working on 7x=5x+(48/3) *2 her phone went ding. Se picked up her phone. I really hope this text is from Natalie; I have been waiting all day for her to respond. Sure enough that is who it was from. She sent a reply and got back to her math. But oh she had hunger pains and went to the fridge to get a snack. When she got back to the kitchen table. She didnt feel like doing math and eating at the same time. So she scrolled through pinterest. When she got done with her snack she started on her math yet again. This time her dog bounded into the room with his toy he layed it across her lap and she knew he just wanted to play. She took him outside and they began to play fetch. Quickly Jane forgot all about her mountain of homework.
In order to be more productive you must first off figure out what your distractions are. Jane seemed to be pretty distracted and she never got very far in her math.  Remember in my last post when I talked about the Pomodoro Technique??? Well...we will use this technique to find your distractions. I have included a page I created to help you with this. This is the page.  
 When you open the page you will see 4 categories.

1. Time
2. What did you do?
3. Distractions
4. Break-time

In the first section write the time you began the timer and then write the time you finished your break.
In the second section write down exactly what you did during that period.
In the third write down what distraction you had in those 25 min. BE HONEST.
In the last column write what you did during break time.
If you do this you will begin to see a pattern. It is very helpful to know exactly what you are doing. Let me show you an example using Jane again. Suppose she used the pomodoro method to get her math homework done. It would look like this:
Jane had lots of Algebra homework to do so she sat down and began the 25 min timer. She wrote down it was 4:17pm  on her sheet. Her phone went *ding* and she picked it up. Her friend Natalie had texted her. She quickly responded ad got back to work. I must not let things distract me. I have lots of school to do in 25 min. Soon she became hungry. I'll wait til my break. When her 25 min was up she had already done 15 math problems. She wrote that down on her paper in the second column. In the third column she wrote "got a text from a friend" then she went and set the 5 min timer. She got something to eat. *Brrrinng* the timer went off again. She wrote down in the last column that she had something to eat on break. 4:48pm was written as the end time of the first pomodoro. She quickly got back into her studies. Math was finished and she jumped right in to studying Biology vocab. By the time 6:17 pm rolled around she had finished all her homework. 
Here is a little exercise for you. Print off the page I created and then fill it in with all of Jane's info. HINT: you will have to use info from the first and second stories. Have fun guys! And comment below what distracts you most after you do the exercise for a couple days. I would love to hear your responses. Also please vote on the poll at right ===>

Pomodoro Technique

Hello PQ Followers! Today I want to put a post out about a technique that is by far the best thing that has ever happened for studying. (for me anyway) It is called the Pomodoro Technique. What in the world is that? You might be asking. Well... the person who invented it was an Italian. And pomodoro is the Italian name for tomato. So let me give a little back story because I know I just totally confused you.
There was this man named Francesco Cirillo he wanted to improve his study habits because they were quite lame. So he used a tomato kitchen timer. Finally after some time the pomodoro technique was born. Since he was Italian he switched the name from English to Italian. So in all reality the pomodoro technique should be called the tomato technique because he used a tomato kitchen timer to time his study sessions. There are a few reasons why this method really works:

1.  You get frequent breaks
2. Study sessions are short so you can focus on one small thing at a time
3. It helps keep down distractions
4. You get more done than you realize

In this blog I am talking mostly to students, however, this method can be used by just about anybody. So let me tell you how it works( it it really quite simple)

1. Think of task that needs to be done 
2. Set the timer for 25 min and begin working. DO NOT LET ANYTHING DISTRACT YOU.
3. After the timer rings you get a 5 min break. Do whatever you want. Get a snack, do so stretches, watch a youtube video, scroll pinterest, draw, play music, etc. Remember tho you only have 5 min so don't get too involved in what you are doing. Just give your brain a little break.
4. Once the timer rings its time to get back to work for another 25 min. repeat 1-3 for a total of four cycles.
5. After you have had four 25 min sessions and three 5 min breaks; its time for a 20 min break to clear your mind and reset.

So that is basically the pomodoro technique. It is kinda fun. There are so many app and website timers specifically for this method. You can find one of those or just use a regular timer. If you put the min in sequence it would look like this: 25, 5, 25, 5, 25, 5, 25, 20
Imagine if Alanya had used this. She would have gotten so much more done.
So I hope this was helpful to you. In my next post I talk about finding your distractions. Stay tuned.

Introduction To My Blog

     Alayna woke up with a start. Uhg why is my alarm going off now? I only got a few hours of sleep. *hits snooze* Ten minuets later her alarm went off again. By the time it hit 8:00am she had hit the snooze button 6 times. Finally, Alayna decided to wake up and check her messages. She had gotton a ton since she went to sleep and 2:45am. After quickly replying to them all she went and checked to see what her friends had put up on Facebook. she was scrolling through post after post wen all of the sudden she realized it was 8:23am and school starts at 8:45am. Quickly she ate breakfast and got dressed. But then she got a text from her friend and she had to see what it said and so she sat for 11 min texting her friend. By that time it was 8:45 and she had not even packed a lunch or her homework. Oh no! I totally forgot to complete my homework...and I forgot about the 12 min commute it takes to get to school. Alayna was freaking out now. She jumped in her car and sped to school. No lunch. No homework. She was of course late. All she wanted to do was melt into the floor; everyone was staring at her. Where had all her time gone?
       Hello! How are you??? I am the Productivity Queen! There are sooo many distractions in life these days and it seems so hard to get anything done. There are school students, mothers, office workers, factory workers, dads, grandparents, etc. that are getting more distracted now than ever before. Their lives are totally consumed with getting caught up with the things they meant to do yesterday or the day before. Something is eating away at our time and it just seems like we are always multi-tasking. Maybe that is because we really are. In this blog I want to give everyone resources that you can use in order to take control of your life and not have to be like Alayna. I am by no means perfect. I struggle with this stuff just like a lot of other people. However I have searched around and found a ton of good tips and tricks and advice that worked for me that I would like to share with you. God never intended for us to be flustered and confused about managing our time and being productive. He wants each and every one of us to focus on his plan for us. It is my hope and prayer that this blog will at least help one person. Please feel free to leave me comments I will try respond to them. Also, if you would like to do a guest post please contact me at productivityqueen@post.com