Looking for a way to be more productive?

Whether you're still working from home and struggling to work productively in a new set up, or working on your personal goals during this period. We're all trying to stay productive in one way or another during this moment of pause worldwide. For that reason, LCC Short Courses tutor Kalina Pulit has put together a power-pack we'll be sharing over the coming weeks – kick starting with a three-step thought process, helping you think clearly about what you can do in this moment. Kalina is a creative practitioner and leads our short courses in – Multimedia Storytelling, Creative Direction for Digital Media amongst many others.

Noting the words of Nick Cave, The Red Hand Files...

My response to a crisis has always been to create... As an artist, it feels inapt to miss this extraordinary moment. Suddenly, the acts of writing a novel, or a screenplay or a series of songs seem like indulgences from a bygone era. For me, this is not a time to be buried in the business of creating. It is a time to take a backseat and use this opportunity to reflect on exactly what our function is — what we, as artists, are for. -

Step 1: the past

Now you finally have time to do those things that you kept on re-scheduling for much unspecified ‘later’. The ‘later’ has arrived. Organise, edit, archive your work. Go through your workload (or your wardrobe) and do a spring clean. Folders, emails, drives, back-ups, contact sheets, polaroids, work backlog. My list includes commissioned work, personal work, photos of my friends. Everything and anything, see what you feel like approaching. Nothing? That’s cool too, no pressure.

Step 2: the present

Reflection – use the brain space that you might have now and that you normally wouldn’t have, busy focused on meeting piling up deadlines. Journaling, reflecting, sorting out your diary, looking back at what you’ve done so far. What worked well, what didn’t work. Analyse, synthesise, write it down (as that makes it more real), discuss with a friend or colleague.

Step 3: the future

This will come to an end. We don’t know when and what that will look like but there’s no harm in getting ready for it. Visualise your ideal future – now that everything is uncertain you have a unique opportunity to dream big. Using your imagination and projecting into the future is still allowed. Set goals, identify resources you’d need and plan it all out. You might come out of it with much clearer focus as a result. Whether you get to realise it or not, it doesn’t matter, it’s the process that counts the most.

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