Productivity is doing more (work & other leisurely things) by spending less time & energy.
How can you as a parent ensure your child is productive while not enforcing things onto them?
There are a few direct & other indirect means of making your child productive.
Wake up to catch the sun every day, because early birds get the worm-
Studies have shown that waking up early & having a morning routine (that doesn’t involve screen time) gives people a head start on the day & makes young ones proactive.
Keep yourself physically active & have a sound sleep
One follows the other, if a child tends to have an early morning exercise routine their system will force them to sleep early & deeply. These in turn promote mental well-being, which is as important as physical well-being, if not more for being consistently productive.
We suggest that you have a workout planned for the week in advance, this in itself is a huge driving force to exercise daily. Make your child a workout card with a list of exercises. You can curate exercises using free websites like Musclewiki. Or just go on a swim, walk, run, cycle, or play a sport you and your child love.
Sustained motivation
Back in the old days (screen-free times) people used wall posters of their heroes to inspire them to work towards a goal. We think that still works, you should do it for your child too!
They’ve sure got idols, be it Ironman from the Avengers or Steve Jobs, any & all motivation helps.
Have a physical calendar & write a list of things to do
This has been a practice for so many generations, having priority tasks written on a calendar puts you on a path of high accountability. With this plan already in place, young ones know exactly what they have to do – a bird’s eye view.
But if you are the kind who wants the convenience of being able to edit/move schedules with a click & also get reminders, then a free calendar app like Google calendar is what you need.
Keep a realistic to-do list
The urge for you as a parent to fill your child’s day with the most productive tasks possible is understandable. But, do not forget that even for an average adult there are only 4-5 peak productive hours in a day, which obviously would be less for young ones.
So, having a very realistic-achievable to-do list is critical to keep your child going consistently.
You could use Google calendar, Google docs, or something more advanced like Notion to make yourself a to-do list.
Avoid multitasking
Until there is skill mastery, multitasking only makes one less productive & inefficient. Ensure you leave 15-30 minute windows between their demanding tasks as a buffer to avoid having to multitask.
Use skilling platforms to make your life easier.
You as a parent cannot always be tracking progress, or tweaking your child’s schedules & at times may even run out of things to do.
Take this weight off your shoulder & leave this to the experts. Use services like Duolingo to teach young ones a new language & Ulipsu the learning app to make sure young ones keep skilling anytime-anywhere.
Have sticky notes bookmarks, and highlighters & make mind maps of important things.
When they read/study, most young ones can’t retain or grasp a concept in one go. To avoid them having to go through everything (the unwanted filler content) we suggest three tried and tested hacks,
– Use sticky notes to mark important pages/sections.
– Use a highlighter/pencil to mark important points within a page.
– Use mind-mapping techniques to create a visual layout of the whole concept for quicker revisions. If – putting a pen to paper isn’t your child’s jam, use simple tools like Google slides to make your mind maps.
Some concepts like Math involve memorizing. In such cases make cheat sheets with all formulae & theorems in one place for you to quickly revise (remind young ones that these aren’t copy chits, chits in exams might get them a few extra grades but it won’t help them excel in life).
Have a pocket-size notebook on you at all times because you never know when creativity strikes. Refer to these notes during your weekly planning.
Clear all clutter around them & remove all distractions from their table. Clean their surroundings, to clean their mind space.
Meditate & journal before going to bed.
Two very powerful tools to grow your child’s mindset.
Journals could be as simple as
How was your day?
What did you dream of today?
If your child is someone who predominantly learns by listening, then you should try guided meditation using free apps like Medito.
Caution for parents
Don’t force young ones to follow a defined pattern, planning for productivity is very subjective, and needs to be tailor-made by trial and error.
If it weren’t already evident, hard work alone doesn’t make one productive.
The best part is you could use these hacks to make your life productive too.
Make productivity fun!