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The Writing Center * University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Tips & Tools - The Writing Center * University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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We welcome feedback about these handouts and suggestions for additional handouts. Please email us or call us with your ideas.

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Source: Tumblr: studylou

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Takeaway: It's worth keeping a Weekly Accomplishments List, so you can become aware of the results that investing in your productivity leads to. The list is surprisingly motivating.

Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes, 19s.

I'm a big fan of maintaining an Accomplishments List throughout the year, and adding to it whenever I accomplish something awesome. On mine, I keep all kinds of milestones:

Relationship milestones, like anniversaries with my girlfriend

Milestones related to my book

Financial milestones, like in paying off my student debt

Milestones related to my body composition

Website traffic milestones for my site

Every week or so, I review the list-and this ritual lets me reflect on the results that investing in my productivity has led to over time.

But lately, while I crossed dozens of big tasks and projects off of my to-do list, I haven't always felt productive-even though I knew I usually accomplished quite a bit in a given day.

Thankfully, a few weeks ago I started maintaining a list that changed this.

To capture all of the tasks I have to get done, and weigh them against one another, I have a giant whiteboard that takes up an entire wall of my office. Even though the whiteboard is massive, since there's limited space on it-unlike with digital equivalents-after I finished a big task, I simply erased it. While that felt good, once I erased the task there was often no evidence that I ever spent time on it in the first place

Then I started doing something simple: maintaining a list of all of my weekly accomplishments. I don't put everything I do on this list, but over the week, I add my larger accomplishments to it. For the last few weeks, my list has included things like articles I've written for this site, speaking engagements I've been proud of, and interviews about my book that have gone well. While my general Accomplishments List contains my big, yearly accomplishments, my Weekly Accomplishments List keeps track of all the smaller things I achieve over the week-things that are easy to forget about once they're done. The list usually contains about 15-20 items by Sunday.

As I've settled into a habit of adding to this this list, I've noticed many benefits:

The list lets me think in terms of how much I accomplish, and not simply how much I do. This pushes me to do less busywork, and focus more on my important tasks that actually lead me to accomplish something.

The list is surprisingly motivating, especially for when I find myself slacking off or doing pointless busywork-just glancing at the list motivates me to add bigger items to it. Even if I got a lot done today, I'm still motivated the next day to grow the list further.

The list keeps me accountable. Since I keep it adjacent to my list of daily and weekly intentions, I'm uber-aware of whether I accomplish what I set out to. This lets me reflect on how realistic my intentions are, so I can lower them or increase them going forward.

If you've followed my blog for a while, you may have already noticed that I'm a pretty big fan of lists-including the Mindless List, Waiting For List, and Hotspot List. While lists aren't for everyone, and it's easy to go overboard with them, I think a Weekly Accomplishments List is one that's worth keeping. It's incredible how motivating it can be. This week I intended to write five articles for this blog-it's Friday as I write this post and it's the tenth article I've written. I intended to read one book this week-and so far I've read three. I've been maintaining a Weekly Accomplishments List for a few weeks now, and this extra motivation hasn't died off.

Over a week, it can be all too easy to lose sight of what accomplishments investing in your productivity brings about. Keeping a running list of everything you accomplish over the past seven days-whether on your whiteboard, an index card attached to your computer monitor, or in your notes app, is worth it.

And if you're anything like me, you'll feel amazing both while keeping the list, and while reflecting on it once the week is over.

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Why you should keep a weekly accomplishments list | A Life of Productivity

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I'm a big fan of maintaining an Accomplishments List throughout the year, and adding to it whenever I accomplish something awesome. On mine, I keep all kinds of milestones: Relationship milestones, like anniversaries with my girlfriend Milestones related to my book Financial milestones, like in paying off my student debt ...

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Source: Alex Vermeer

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Source: Super Copy Editors

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11 Tips To Help With Depression in School

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I consider myself an overachieving procrastinator. What's that? It's somebody who, while they are procrastinating from doing something, ends up completing everything else!

From cleaning the bathroom sink, to starting a blog ( yes that's right, I started Dani Dearest while procrastinating!), I will gladly do anything besides what I am actually supposed to do.
This covers up my procrastination, and makes it productive!

Want to try this out?

Chances are, if you're reading this post that means that you are procrastinating from something. So let's get to making it more productive!

Things you can do to turn your procrastination into productive procrastination:
1. Clean your room
2. Organize your desk
3. Write your to-do list out
4. Go to the gym
5. Organize your planner
6. Wash laundry
7. Try a new hairstyle
8. Do homework for another class
9. Get ahead on homework for another class
10. Run errands
11. Paint your nails
12. Write a blog post
13. Re-write or type up class notes
14. Make a post-it note calendar for your tasks
15. Find a good Do-it-Yourself craft to try out

Now that you have completed a couple of these, don't you feel well achieved and completed? Your urges to procrastinate are gone and you've taken a break from the work you didn't want to do.

Now go and do the thing you've been procrastinating from! (Yes, I mean it!)

Do you consider yourself a productive procrastinator?

If you like this, you might like:

Productive Procrastination

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I consider myself an overachieving procrastinator . What's that? It's somebody who, while they are procrastinating from doing something, ends up completing everything else! From cleaning the bathroom sink, to starting a blog ( yes that's right, I started Dani Dearest while procrastinating!), I will gladly do anything besides what I am actually supposed to do.

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A suggestion from the E-Learning Specialist. Useful for drafting essays and retyping notes.

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You can use your voice to type and edit your document in Google Docs and your speaker notes and captions in Google Slides.

This feature works with the latest versions of:

When you turn on voice typing or captions, your web browser controls the speech-to-text service. It determines how your speech is processed and then sends the text to Google Docs or Google Slides.

Tip: If this feature is not enabled in your organization, it may have been turned off by your administrator.

Step 1: Turn on your microphone

To use voice typing or voice commands, your computer microphone needs to be on and working.

Devices and microphones vary, so check your computer manual for instructions. Microphone settings are typically in the System Preferences on a Mac, or the Control Panel on a PC.

Step 2: Use voice typing

Type with your voice

Start voice typing in a document

1. Check that your microphone works.

2. Open a document in Google Docs with a Chrome browser.

3. Click Tools Voice typing. A microphone box appears.

4. When you're ready to speak, click the microphone.

5. Speak clearly, at a normal volume and pace (see below for more information on using punctuation).

6. When you're done, click the microphone again.

Start voice typing in Slides speaker notes

1. Check that your microphone works.

2. Open a presentation in Google Slides with a Chrome browser.

3. Click Tools Voice type speaker notes. The speaker notes open, and a microphone box appears.

4. When you're ready to speak, click the microphone.

5. Speak clearly, at a normal volume and pace (see below for more information on using punctuation).

6. When you're done, click the microphone again.

Correct mistakes while voice typing

If you make a mistake while you're typing with your voice, you can move your cursor to the mistake and fix it without turning off the microphone.

After you correct the mistake, move the cursor back to where you want to continue.

To see a list of suggestions, right-click words underlined in gray.

Languages that work with voice typing

Voice typing works in these languages and accents:

Afrikaans, Amharic, Arabic, Arabic (Algeria), Arabic (Bahrain), Arabic (Egypt), Arabic (Israel), Arabic (Jordan), Arabic (Kuwait), Arabic (Lebanon), Arabic (Morocco), Arabic (Oman), Arabic (Palestine), Arabic (Qatar), Arabic (Saudi Arabia), Arabic (Tunisia), Arabic (United Arab Emirates), Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bahasa Indonesia, Basque, Bengali (Bangladesh), Bengali (India), Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Chinese (Hong Kong), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (Australia), English (Canada), English (Ghana), English (India), English (Ireland), English (Kenya), English (New Zealand), English (Nigeria), English (Philippines), English (South Africa), English (Tanzania), English (UK), English (US), Farsi, Filipino, Finnish, French, Galician, Georgian, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Italian (Italy), Italian (Switzerland), Japanese, Javanese, Kannada, Khmer, Korean, Laotian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malayalam, Malaysian, Marathi, Nepali, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Serbian, Sinhala, Spanish, Spanish (Argentina), Spanish (Bolivia), Spanish (Chile), Spanish (Colombia), Spanish (Costa Rica), Spanish (Ecuador), Spanish (El Salvador), Spanish (Spain), Spanish (US), Spanish (Guatemala), Spanish (Honduras), Spanish (Latin America), Spanish (Mexico), Spanish (Nicaragua), Spanish (Panama), Spanish (Paraguay), Spanish (Peru), Spanish (Puerto Rico), Spanish (Uruguay), Spanish (Venezuela), Sundanese, Swahili (Kenya), Swahili (Tanzania), Swedish, Tamil (India), Tamil (Malaysia), Tamil (Singapore), Tamil (Sri Lanka), Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu (India), Urdu (Pakistan), Vietnamese, Zulu.

Add punctuation

You can use different phrases to add punctuation to your text. Punctuation might not be available in every language:

Period

Comma

Exclamation point

Question mark

New line

New paragraph

Step 3: Use voice commands

After you start voice typing, you can use commands to edit and format your document. For example, "Select paragraph," "italics," or "Go to the end of the line."

Tips:

Voice commands are available only in English. The account language and document language must both be English.

Voice commands are not available in Slides speaker notes.

Select text

To select text, say these commands:

Select [word or phrase]

Select all

Select all matching text

Select list item

Select list items at current level

Select next character

Select next [number] characters

Select last character

Select last [number] characters

Select line

Select next line

Select next [number] lines

Select last line

Select last [number] lines

Select paragraph

Select next paragraph

Select next [number] paragraphs

Select last paragraph

Select last [number] paragraphs

Select word

Select next word

Select next [number] words

Select last word

Select last [number] words

Deselect

Unselect

Select none

Format your document

To format your document, say these commands:

Text formatting

Apply heading [1-6]

Apply normal text

Apply subtitle

Apply title

Bold

Italicize

Italics

Strikethrough

Subscript

Superscript

Underline

Uppercase

Title case

Lowercase

Text color and highlighting

Text color [color]

Highlight

Highlight [color]

Background color [color]

Remove highlight

Remove background color

Tip: The colors available are: red, red berry, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, cornflower blue, purple, magenta, black, white, and gray. For all colors except black and white, you can add "light" or "dark" along with numbers 1-3 (for gray, 1-4), such as "dark purple 3." If you say "highlight" by itself, the highlighting color is yellow.

Font size

Decrease font size

Increase font size

Font size [6-400]

Make bigger

Make smaller

Paragraph formatting

Decrease indent

Increase indent

Line spacing [1-100]

Line spacing double

Line spacing single

Alignment

Align center

Align justified

Align left

Align right

Center align

Left align

Right align

Columns

Apply 1 column

Apply 2 columns

Apply 3 columns

Column options

Insert column break

Lists

Create bulleted list

Create numbered list

Insert bullet

Insert number

Remove formatting

Clear formatting

Remove formatting

Remove bold

Remove italics

Remove strikethrough

Remove underline

Edit your document

To edit your document, say these commands:

Copy

Cut

Paste

Delete

Delete last word

Delete [word or phrase]

Insert link [then say the URL you want to use]

Copy link

Delete link

Insert table of contents

Delete table of contents

Update table of contents

Insert comment [then say your comment]

Insert bookmark

Insert equation

Insert footer

Insert footnote

Insert header

Insert horizontal line

Insert page break

Tips:

If you say "Delete" by itself, you delete the word before the cursor.

If you select the text of a URL and say "Insert link," the selected text becomes a hyperlink.

Add and edit tables

To add and edit tables, say these commands:

Insert table

Insert table [1-20] rows by [1-20] columns

Insert row

Insert column

Insert new column

Insert new column on the left

Insert new row

Insert new row above

Insert new row below

Delete column

Delete row

Delete table

Remove column

Remove row

Remove table

Exit table

Move around your document

To move around your document, say these commands:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Example:
Go to end of paragraph

Go to

Move to

end of

start of

paragraph

column

line

row

table

document

Go to

Move to

next

previous

character

column

footnote

formatting change

heading

heading [1-6]

image

line

link

list

list item

misspelling

paragraph

row

table

word

page

Go

Move

forward

backward

[number] characters

[number] words

Go

Move

up

down

[number] lines

[number] paragraphs

Scroll

Stop voice typing

To stop voice typing, say "Stop listening."

Resume voice typing

To move the cursor to the end of the paragraph and start voice typing again, say "Resume."

To move the cursor to the end of a particular word or phrase, say "Resume with [word or phrase]."

Here are all the commands you can say to resume voice typing:

Resume

Resume with [word or phrase]

Go to the end of the paragraph

Move to the end of the paragraph

Go to the end of the line

Move to the end of the line

Go to [word]

Commands to open help

To open a list of voice commands in your document, say these commands:

Voice typing help

Voice commands list

See all voice commands

Speak (for accessibility)

To use these commands, turn on screen reader support. It's best to wear headphones so the screen reader feedback isn't typed into your document.

Speak cursor location

Speak from cursor location

Speak selection

Speak selection formatting

Speak table row and column headers

Speak table cell location

Speak table column header

Speak table row header

Troubleshoot

If voice typing isn't working, try these steps.

"We're having trouble hearing you"

If you see an error message that says "We're having trouble hearing you," try the following:

Move to a quiet room.

Plug in an external microphone.

Adjust the input volume on your microphone.

The microphone isn't working

If you can't get the microphone to work on your computer, try the following:

Make sure that the microphone isn't broken.

Check your microphone settings in your computer system preferences.

Check that your microphone is plugged in and is not being used by another application.

Move to a quiet room.

Restart your computer.

Voice commands aren't working

If voice commands aren't working, try the following:

Speak more slowly and clearly

Pause before and after each command. The text of your command might show in the document for a moment. For example, if you say "select all," the words "select all" show up before your text is selected.

The microphone shows a bubble containing the most recent command. Verify that Docs or Slides heard the right command. If not, you can simply say "Undo."

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You can use your voice to type and edit your document in Google Docs and your speaker notes and captions in Google Slides. This feature works with the latest versions of: Chrome Edge Safari

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Source: The Balanced Writer

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Jay Mandel
Jay is an Entrepreneur and the Founder of Your Brand Coach Read full profile

Have you observed the behavior of children as they carry out daily tasks? They may naturally be inclined towards playing games with friends but would need a push to do their homework. Children may enjoy eating junk food by themselves but need adult monitoring while reluctantly having vegetables.

As these kids grow up, the behavior remains the same. There are many reasons we do certain things. Sometimes, we're internally motivated to make something happen, and other times we're driven externally. Such a dichotomy involves contrasting intrinsic motivation versus extrinsic motivation:

"When intrinsically motivated, people engage in an activity because they find it interesting and inherently satisfying. By contrast, when extrinsically motivated, people engage in an activity to obtain some instrumentally separable consequence, such as the attainment of a reward, the avoidance of punishment, or the achievement of some valued outcome."

Read on to learn more about intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation and find out how reward-oriented behavior influences our productivity and how we can regulate it!

What Is Intrinsic Motivation?

All the theories that describe what classifies as intrinsic motivation talk about a natural drive from within to pursue an activity because it gives us pleasure.

Some psychology researchers have associated intrinsic behavior with basic human needs, creativity, performance enhancement, and contentment. When we carry out a task that fulfills our natural urges, such as hunger, thirst, and sleep, we are better equipped with the drive to complete a task. Other times, we might simply do something because it stimulates the aesthetic experience of being in that state of activity, such as hobbies.

Simply put, activities that bring us satisfaction and joy are powered by intrinsic motivation because an internal reward system fuels them.

Studying because you enjoy the process of gaining knowledge and not simply because you want good grades

Helping out a friend/family member with something out of love without expecting anything in return from them

Standing in the kitchen for hours to prepare your favorite meal because the end product satiates your hunger and gives you joy

Pursuing a hobby, such as gardening, trekking, camping, and playing sports, among others, to experience an aesthetic pleasure

Running a marathon to feel physically rejuvenated instead of seeking the prize money

Taking up extra responsibility at work/school to improve your skills without the intention of gaining recognition or earning someone's favor

Examples of Intrinsic Motivation

What Is Extrinsic Motivation?

When we are not inherently motivated to perform a task because it does not bring about a sense of satisfaction, we are extrinsically motivated. Such motivation facilitates our desire to attain a reward or avoid punishment.

Not all the work we do brings us joy, owing to its repetitive nature, urgency, necessity, frequency, duration, or monotony. Whether it is dragging ourselves to work/school every morning or working on weekends, we tend to undertake tasks that might not inherently please or satisfy us. Usually, an external force or ulterior motive drives us to complete such tasks. Rewards like money, praise, and fame drive our motivation extrinsically.

However, extrinsic motivation does not necessarily mean that we are unwilling to do something. We just seek an external reward from it. For example, a person might like writing but goes the extra mile to make money out of it.

Point to be noted: Offering external rewards for something that already rewards inherently can decrease motivation, known as the overjustification effect.

Working a part-time job to make extra money while still being a student

Participating in competitions to win prizes and earn fame

Attending classes regularly not because the lecture is exciting but to maintain the attendance record

Going to the office on lazy days to avoid pay-cut

Completing a task well before time to earn praise and recognition

Doing something you don't like just to avoid public judgment

Doing chores to flatter parents before requesting something from them

Examples of Extrinsic Motivation

The 3 Regulators of Productivity

As social beings, we interact with our surroundings to tend to our satisfaction and gain. Despite being interlinked with various social factors, we still act independently as individually identifiable beings with preferences and opinions.

Autonomy refers to the amount of creativity and control we hold over individual expression without any external influence. It determines our independence in making choices and deciding the course of future actions.

Mastery or competence is our capacity to execute a task to the best of our ability without any external help. Our competency level governs how well we can perform when tasked with something.

Purpose alludes to the yearning within individuals to contribute to humankind's more meaningful existence beyond the self.

Daniel H. Pink, in his book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, talks about the evolving state of the digital economy and leaders can adopt more effective methods of motivation. He proposes three principles of increasing productivity: autonomy, mastery (alternatively, competence), and purpose. Detaching his propositions from the workplace context to universalize it, I shall discuss the impact of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on these three principles.

Productivity is a cumulative result of the above three that motivation regulates. In the following section, we shall explore the differing impacts of the two kinds of motivation on individual performance: intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation.

Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Motivation: Is There a Third Option?

In a psychological study, Richard M. Ryan and Edward L. Deci found out that "conditions supportive of autonomy and competence reliably facilitated this vital expression of the human growth tendency, whereas conditions that controlled behavior and hindered perceived reflectance undermined its expression."

In other words, whether a task is intrinsically or extrinsically motivated, it should not negatively impact our natural abilities.

They also concluded that "Excessive control, nonoptimal challenges, and lack of connectedness...disrupt the inherent actualizing and organizational tendencies endowed by nature, and thus such factors result not only in the lack of initiative and responsibility but also in distress." Simply put, unachievable challenges and emotional detachment can diminish individuals' natural abilities and negatively impact performance.

Hence, it is safe to conclude that positive motivation is the key to performance enhancement without mentally, physically, or emotionally tiring out an individual. Whether it is at school, work, or social circles, superiors must ensure that an assigned task must be positively motivated in a way that warrants commitment, interest, and productivity. Hence, the type of motivation is not significant to performance as long as it does not hinder the three principles of productivity.

How Can You Positively Motivate Others?

Set attainable goals: Asking too much from people negatively impacts performance as it does not respect their abilities. It can also be severely discouraging as it prevents individuals from giving their best, thinking that it is unattainable.

Challenge them by gradually increasing the level: Once you have gauged a person's skill level, you can slowly give them more significant tasks to expand their abilities.

Inspire them: Setting an example is the best way to motivate others. You could perform your best to let people know what you expect from them.

Establish a trust relationship: Trust is the key to maintaining any human relationship, whether personal or professional. Ensuring the existence of this emotion comforts and inspires them to do better.

Maintain a healthy reward system: Humans cannot resist rewards, whether intrinsic or extrinsic. Maintaining a healthy reward system can propel others to work harder and productively.

Seek feedback from them: Finally, seeking feedback is just as important as giving it. Don't forget to ask people's opinions on the changes you can make to your approach!

Provide regular feedback: Individuals putting in efforts to make something happen, like hearing about their strengths and weaknesses. But before doing that, you must establish feedback-giving as a positive and encouraging process towards development within the social setup!

Final Thoughts

Looking at your life with a bird's eye view isn't always easy. You sometimes need external motivators who see your potential and help you pave a path to success. But even when you have external motivators backing you up, paying close attention to your internal dialogue will help you cross the roadblocks.

And do not forget, motivation isn't the goal in itself-it's the pathway to a long journey where you achieve more milestones, and looking at the bird's eye view of your life becomes easier. Have a happy journey!

More About Motivation

Featured photo credit: Stephen Leonardi via unsplash.com

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8 Steps to Continuous Self Motivation Even During the Difficult Times

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Jay Mandel Jay is an Entrepreneur and the Founder of Your Brand Coach Read full profile Have you observed the behavior of children as they carry out daily tasks? They may naturally be inclined towards playing games with friends but would need a push to do their homework.

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Source: Sheridan College Library LibGuide