kate's guide to productivity & rest (part one).

heyyy besties!! it's been the most packed month & i have not had time to write posts which makes me super sad because i want to so badly :( but finally, i am back & excited!

since we are all deep in the school grind, welcome to my new series:

• part one: (this post) my favorite productivity apps & how i use them

• part two: habits and routines for the school year

• part three: study tips & romanticizing school!

• part four: meal prep (with my sister rachel)

• part five: not overdoing yourself!! balancing productivity & rest

i'm not an expert in any of these things, but i hope this series can give you some new ideas & motivation! these tips and apps have genuinely been life-changing for me and i hope they can be for you too :))

so for part one, we are talking about apps and digital tools i love! these are all on my iphone, so hopefully they transfer to other phones as well. most of them are also online as well which is awesome. staying organized is the first step to being productive, & these apps have helped me so much!

p.s. my phone is in spanish, yes that's intentional <3

google calendar time blocking

this is literally my favorite thing. it keeps me sane fr. i do not know how i functioned without it!

→ why do i prefer google calendar to my bullet journal/paper calendars?

. super convenient to bring everywhere! easy to check and add to on the go

. so much easier to change! you can drag events & tasks from hour to hour, day to day, weeks, months, etc. that's the most annoying thing about paper for sure!

. sends me reminders when things are coming up. love paper but i still forget.

• make different calendars and layer them! mine are:

  • events (pink): everything general happening.

  • tasks (brown): things i need to do (read more below).

  • church (purple): specific church, youth group, and stake stuff.

  • school (gray): i replicate the school district's calendar into my calendar! it helps block out the day & i know when all the days off are. i also put in tests and due dates here.

  • social media (yellow): since i run multiple socials, i plan & schedule my posts here.

  • swim (blue): as a swim teacher, it's nice to see my schedule of lessons in blue!

  • xc (purple): i manage cross country, so i have the meets & team dinners there.

• using time blocking to plan tasks

  • i love how visual time blocking is! it's been a game changer for me when it comes to organizing my time and being realistic about how much you actually have time to do!

  • i also use this for reminding myself to do tasks i would definitely forget to do in the future.

• recurring events & tasks: you only have to set it up once!

  • so helpful for remembering to do laundry, chores, and other repeating tasks on certain days

  • events like swim lessons, school, youth group, etc that happen every week or day, etc

  • birthdays: super helpful!!

  • calling friends & family: i love to set up regular call times with my friends & fam who live far away! then i get a reminder at the specific time which is so nice.

be present

my favorite phone accountability app!

here's what i use it for:

→ my overall screen time goal. this is super personal, and the downside of the free version of this app is that all apps count, even google maps and stuff like that where it is more hands-off. however, i love how be present will send you notifications when you hit one hour, two hours, your goal, etc. it's hard to tell how many hours you spent on your phone between various activities and tasks, so this gives you awareness!

→ app intentions. as you can see, mine is to only open instagram twice. i would delete insta if i didn't run socials, but since i do, this gives me ten minutes at two different opens to get that done. you can open it more, but then you lose your streak. every ten minutes, it will kick me off. i tried using opal for a while, but i prefer be present because of how they do this. highly recommend!! for socials, for games, for anything you want to be more intentional about your time on.

→ night mode. from 8:30pm-7am, my night mode comes on, and all the apps not under "always allow" on settings are blocked. i can go into be present and unblock the whole night mode, but usually i just say okay fine, i'll do it tomorrow. highly recommend for helping yourself go to bed earlier! it is also great in the early mornings.

→ accountability. you can add friends and they will get notified when you pass your screen time goal! if this is something that will motivate you, definitely take advantage of it :)

→ blocking session. such an awesome tool i need to use more!

notion for lists & money

the upgraded google docs, with tons of amazing systems and features.

→ simple aesthetic with lots of customizable visual features as well

→ you can see all your pages and sort them into folders

→ lots of templates free to use

i grabbed a finance tracker template and customized it for myself. at the end of the month, i look back at my bank account and track all my income and expenses. then i transfer money for saving for college, my mission, and paying my tithing. i also have a savings account with my money i am saving for myself, for a plane ticket, trip, phone, etc.

i save at least 50% of my income and have been since i was little! this is such a good habit to get in and pays off so much in the long term, especially for college. highly recommend thinking about how much you want to save. over the summer, i saved 70% because college is coming up very soon. also, just tracking expenses is so good & helps you be more intentional about how much you are spending and where, and what your net income is! time is money and the other way around :)

tweek

if you love to-do lists, this is an awesome digital one... both online & on mobile!

→ super aesthetic and simple

→ free to use and transfers over devices

→ widgets on iphone

let me know if you like using tweek! or if you have a better recommendation for a to-do list app :)

productivity is also in not letting youself get distracted by your phone/devices, so here are some of my advice for setting rules & habits in place to help you control your phone, not the other way around :)

kate's phone tips:

• leave it turned off in the morning!! this is hard with school, but especially on weekends and in the summer, i do not turn on my phone until after breakfast and my scripture study! this was such an amazing habit in the summer than i miss a lot!! there's something so peaceful about having a morning with yourself and not worrying about your phone. it also helps train your dopamine: if you're on your phone first thing, what is your body going to want all day? your phone! it also just helps you lower your screen time in general and get the important things done before you get distracted.

• try to do work without it. as much as possible. leave it in your locker, in the kitchen, in the hallway, in your fanny pack. it helps everything.

• leave it downstairs in the kitchen in airplane mode while you sleep. i'm not worried about getting an emergency call in the night, so if you are skip this tip. i love this habit. it helps me go to sleep earlier and be able to do my first habit above! it's also not healthy to have your phone in your bedroom, especially charging, all night, because of emfs.

• take advantage of 'do not disturb' mode and turn off all notifications except the ones you need! protect your peace <3

• have a bedtime for your phone. my goal is eight pm right now with school, and that is not yet a strong habit (help!), but definitely something to be thoughtful about and pick a time that works for you :) remember, phone bedtime will impact your bedtime more than anything!! it's also just good to protect your body from blue light before bed and give yourself a calm night routine without electronics :))

• have no phone days / no social media days! they are the best days :)

and that's a wrap! i am very minimal with apps, these are the tried & true.

please let me know if you try using any of them & if it helps you out!!

& remember that productivity is all about what works for you: you don't need fancy apps or systems to make it work! these are just my recommendations because they work for me :)

see you soon for part two!

xo, kate <3

pss i love love love comments!! they make me so happy! leave your name please so i know who you are :) thanks all <33