My Productivity Reflective Journal | MSc Psychology Student & Content Creator

LESSON 3 — THE PRODUCTIVITY EQUATION

I spend almost 90% of my time as the Plane — constantly executing tasks like writing assignments, recording videos, and responding to messages. My Pilot role is severely neglected. I often jump into work without asking "Is this the most important thing I should be doing right now?" My Engineer role is almost non-existent — I don't have a weekly review system.

My commitment: I will spend the first 10 minutes of each morning as the Pilot — identifying my top 3 priorities before opening my laptop.

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LESSON 4 — THE MYTH OF "I DON'T HAVE TIME"

I often say I don't have time to exercise, build my online counselling business, or create content. But the truth is I spend roughly 1.5–2 hours daily scrolling on my phone. That's 10–14 hours a week I could redirect.

The real issue is not time — it's prioritisation. When I say "I don't have time to build my counselling platform," what I'm actually saying is "I'm choosing to prioritise other things."

My action: Track my time for 1 week using a notebook log to see where it is truly going.

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LESSON 5 — THE MYTH OF MOTIVATION

I keep waiting to feel motivated before writing my research proposal, recording my next YouTube video, or starting my online counselling website.

As a psychology student, I know about Behavioural Activation — the clinical principle that action precedes motivation, not the other way around. We literally teach this to clients in CBT for depression, yet I haven't been applying it to my own productivity!

My new rule: I will not wait to feel ready. I will act, and the feeling will come. Starting with just ONE sentence in my proposal today.

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LESSON 6 — THE MYTH OF MULTITASKING

The last time I was truly in flow was writing a psychology essay on cognitive behavioural models — late at night, phone in another room, lo-fi music playing, no notifications. Three hours passed and it felt like 30 minutes.

Conditions that enabled it: single task only, phone removed, background music, clear goal, a topic I genuinely found interesting.

My commitment: I will intentionally recreate my "flow environment" every study session.

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LESSON 7 — PARKINSON'S LAW

My research proposal has been "in progress" for weeks. Without a firm personal deadline, it expands to fill every gap in my week — I keep adding to it, second-guessing it, and never feeling it's ready.

Parkinson's Law explains my procrastination perfectly. The task feels enormous because I've given it unlimited time and space.

My action: Set an artificial deadline for every major task, 2–3 days before the real deadline, and tell my supervisor about it to make it feel real.

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LESSON 8 — THE PARETO PRINCIPLE (80/20 RULE)

High-leverage 20% of my work:
- Writing and submitting assignments (directly impacts my MSc grade)
- Creating and posting educational psychology content (builds my audience and future business)
- Supervisor meetings and feedback sessions

Low-leverage 80% eating my time:
- Excessive email checking
- Reorganising notes and files repeatedly
- Watching productivity videos instead of being productive

My commitment: Before each day, identify the ONE task in my high-leverage 20% and protect at least 2 hours for it first.

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LESSON 9 — NEWTON'S FIRST LAW (MOMENTUM)

I keep stalling on launching my online counselling website. It feels massive — domain name, design, legal disclaimers, pricing, content...

But the tiniest possible action is simply opening Google and searching "how to create a counselling website in the UK." That's it. Not building it — just one search.

I also identified my keystone habit: making a cup of tea and sitting at my desk at 8:00am. Everything productive in my day flows from that ritual. I need to protect it.

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LESSON 10 — THE POWER OF HABITS

3 habits I am committing to:

1. 10 min Pilot planning — After making morning tea — "I am someone who works intentionally"
2. 30 min focused writing/content creation — After planning — "I am a consistent creator"
3. 10 min evening brain dump — Before closing my laptop — "I am someone who ends the day with clarity"

I will use habit stacking and reward each habit with 5 minutes of music or a short walk.

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LESSON 11 — THE POWER OF PRODUCTIVE DOWNTIME

My current "downtime" is mostly scrolling Instagram and YouTube — passive and numbing, not restorative. The Default Mode Network needs genuine rest to consolidate learning and generate creative insight. Passive scrolling doesn't provide that.

My new downtime plan:
- End each work session with a brain dump
- Daily highlight: a 20-minute walk outdoors — non-negotiable
- One evening per week: read a psychology book purely for enjoyment

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LESSON 12 — THE POWER OF PRODUCTIVE PROCRASTINATION

When I procrastinate, I usually watch YouTube, reorganise my notes, or message friends. Using productive procrastination, I can redirect this toward:
- Recording a rough draft video instead of watching others
- Reading one journal article instead of reorganising notes
- Doing a workout instead of scrolling

I will also remove social media apps from my phone's home screen and replace them with my reading app and notes app. Environmental design — I know from psychology that what's visible shapes behaviour.

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LESSON 13 — THE FUN FACTOR

I dread SPSS data analysis. Ways to make it 10% more fun:
- Make a special coffee ONLY during SPSS sessions
- Create a dedicated upbeat playlist for analysis work
- Gamify it: "Can I complete this analysis in under 45 minutes?"
- Reward myself with 20 minutes of something enjoyable after

Language reframe: Instead of "I have to do my data analysis" I now say "I get to analyse real data from real people — this is what psychology researchers do."

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MY 3 CORE COMMITMENTS FROM THIS COURSE:

1. Daily Pilot Time (10 min every morning): Plan my top 3 priorities before opening email or social media
2. Eliminate "I don't have time": Replace with "I'm choosing to prioritise X over Y" and own that choice
3. Action before motivation: Start with the smallest possible step, every day, regardless of how I feel

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FINAL REFLECTION:

This course gave me a powerful insight: I already know most of these principles from my psychology training — behavioural activation, habit loops, flow theory, environmental design. But I hadn't applied them to my own life.

As someone building a counselling business and content platform alongside my MSc, I need all three components of the productivity equation — working on the right things, using my time wisely, and making the process enjoyable enough to sustain long-term.

This class didn't just teach me productivity. It reminded me to be my own client — and to apply the same psychology I offer others, to myself.

By: Piriyan — MSc Psychology, University of East London

Jeyabalan Piriyanthan

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