It always feels a little funny to focus too hard on productivity. As Christians, we know that being productive itself is not our goal. Fulfilling our vocations is the goal; knowing, loving, and serving God and others is the goal. Far from keeping us on a hamster wheel of activity, our faith calls us to set aside a day each week to rest.
But at the right time, productivity can be an important means to the end of fulfilling our vocations. We aren’t called to be productive all the time, but we are called to make the best use of the time God has given us. Writer H. Jackson Brown Jr. put it so well when he said,
“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.”
Of course, we don’t all have the talents these people had! But it’s still a good idea to pause and assess how we spend our time. Are we making good use of the hours in our days? Are we using the brief time we have on earth as well as we can?
When it’s time to rest, let’s really rest and enjoy the gift of leisure. And when it’s time to work, let’s work with our whole hearts and give our best efforts. Our work can be our offering to God.
When it’s time to work, productivity hacks can make such a difference. They help us to “work smarter, not harder” and excel at our work with greater efficiency.
Social media is full of clever life hacks (just try searching “hacks” on any platform!). TikTok in particular is a goldmine of ideas for productivity hacks, thanks to its mostly young users who’ve found ways to use technology to save time. And we can all benefit from their advice!
Here are 3 of the best productivity hacks on TikTok that can help you make the best use of the time God has given you.
1Time blocking
Time blocking involves dividing up your to-do list for the day or week into separate blocks of time. Similar activities are grouped together, so you can give your full attention to them during their block, and then move on to the next thing when their time is up. This TikTok video explains the system:
For those of us who prefer an article to a short video, you can find a more detailed explanation here, along with a free template for creating your own time-blocked schedule!
2Use audio to multi-task
This hack is my personal favorite, and I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to start doing it! Need to read a book for class, book club, or just for your own enjoyment? Pop in your earbuds and listen to it while you do something else (cook, clean, commute, walk to class … the options are endless). It’s amazing how much faster folding laundry or washing dishes goes when you’ve got something thought-provoking to listen to!
You can take it a step farther by using a text to speech app to listen to articles or work materials while doing other things. There are a few apps to choose from. This TikTok video shows how it’s done.
3Use a focus app
There are a number of great apps to help you focus, and this TikTok video explains the Forest app:
The concept is simple but somehow works really well! Here’s a perfect description, and check out these other focus apps too.
You plant a tree and set a timer for how long you want to be productive. As long as you don’t use your phone (or go on certain sites, if you’re using the Chrome extension), your tree continues to grow. But if you use your phone or banned sites before the timer goes off, your tree withers. Over time—through lots of focused productivity sessions—you grow a beautiful, lush forest, and honestly, it’s hard not to get attached.
Hopefully these strategies help you to make better use of your work time so that you can more fully enjoy your times of rest. Together, this combination of productive work and real, rejuvenating rest makes a life of real flourishing and happiness.
And today we celebrate...