Hi friends, this is Ting from @positivethoughts.ca on Instagram, here to show you how to set up a few productivity spreads that will help you better manage your time and maximize your efficiency and effectiveness as you head back to work/school. 

As people are getting fully vaccinated and physically going back to work or school, your schedule might become different than when you were working/studying from home. Hopefully these spreads will be helpful when you are planning your work/school weeks ahead. 

Recommended Supplies:

• Archer and Olive Journal - it can be any journal, I picked the undated planner because going back to work or school means you may be too busy to set up all the monthly and weekly spreads. The undated planner has all the monthly and weekly spreads already created - all you have to do is date them and decorate as much or as little as you prefer.
• Dot Grid Notepads - I chose to use these because they are very convenient to bring around when you don’t want to bring your journal with you all the time. You can rip out the spread you created and insert them into your journal, have it pinned on your wall, or have it on your desk as gentle reminders.
• Acrylograph Pens and Washi Tapes - I used washi tapes for most of my spreads, but you can easily write or doodle instead using acrylograph pens. I also included an example of one where I used my acrylograph pens.

If you want anything at Archer and Olive, don’t forget to use my affiliate code POSITIVETHOUGHTS to receive 10% off your A&O purchases!

Materials Used:

Spread 1: Ideal Daily Routine

To be productive, the best method I’ve found is to establish your ideal daily routine and protect your bookends - which are your morning and evening routines. Once you have good habits established for these time slots, it becomes a lot easier to organize the rest of your day. 

I created two examples of this spread, one is with washi tapes and the other is with acrylograph pens. You can have this spread easily accessible while you are trying to establish these habits. Once it becomes second nature, then you can store it away in your journal. This was the main reason why I created these in the A&O notepad. 

Spread 2: Time Blocking

Once you have established your bookends, it is time to block your days off according to what is expected to happen that week. A weekly spread would be perfect for this and allows you to plan ahead and stay on top of important meetings or allocate sufficient focus/productivity time. I believe that blocking time for work and focus/productivity is important, but so is blocking time for social activities with family and friends. As you can see from the spread, as an example, I have allocated Sunday to just focus time and social activities. This will help you create a work life balance that everyone needs to stay mentally and physically healthy. 

Spread 3: Productivity Log

The first two spreads are more for planning whereas this last spread is more for tracking what actually happened. I like to use the productivity log to track on a daily basis throughout the month where my time went. You can have different types of productivity logs to track different items. The example I present is more for work as it allows you to track how your working hours were consumed based on the projects you had to work on. You can easily turn this log into tracking the same items as your time blocking spread to see where you spent your time in the same categories: personal, work, focus time and social/break. This log allows you to be productive, efficient and also stay on track to what you are committed to. It is most beneficial for someone like me who may experience some procrastination from time to time. 

I hope these spreads will be helpful as you head back to school/work after the summer break!

Video: 

Here’s a quick video of me creating all of these spreads. You can also find me on YouTube at www.youtube.com/positivethoughtsca Don’t forget to tag us @positivethoughts.ca and @archerandolive in your recreations!

Free Printables:

Here are some free printables that will help get you started! You can either write directly on these or incorporate them into your bujo.