By Sheyna Rose Hoitsma

Transitioning from work, to relaxing, to studying, and back to working can be challenging. Especially when school, work, and downtime are all in the same place; your house. This article offers some tips for staying productive and helping ease the transitional periods between tasks, which can be the most disruptive. It can be especially difficult transitioning between tasks when we are going from doing something we enjoy to doing something we want to postpone or to avoid.

It’s important to consciously make our environment effective for what we are trying to do- be it working, relaxing, cooking, etc. Humans are very ritual-based whether we are consciously aware of it or not. So, intentionally setting up efficient rituals can help prime us to get ready for certain tasks.

If you are interested in holistic models of learning that can help to maximize productivity you can do a little of your own research on any of these topics: Ayurvedic, Traditional Chinese Biological Clock, and The 8-Shields Model. These holistic philosophies and beliefs are based on observations of the natural world. They may offer some insight on how to work on becoming aware of our own unproductive habits by learning some more productive and effective ways to organize our time throughout the day.

Special thanks and gratitude to:

Fatima Zaidi M.S., Board Certified Behavioral Analyst, Master Trainer/Consultant at QBS, inc.

Paula Rasanen, (MFT student) After school and Summer Learning Director, Human Development B.A., Child Development A.S.

My Grandmother, Joan Bowman, MFA in Writing, Author and Interior Designer.