Cut Out The Unproductive Branches To Be More Productive

July 5, 2022

Fruit trees are pruned to produce more fruit. Dead and unhealthy branches are cut off so that more nutrients are distributed to the healthier and fruit-bearing branches. Another reason is, that trees with overcrowded branches block the sun from reaching the inner branches and fruits. Fruits and branches with less sun exposure are unhealthy. Thus, trimming or pruning the tree will allow more sunlight to reach the inner part of the tree.

This process of cutting the unproductive branches and pruning was even mentioned in the Bible.

"He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that I will be even more fruitful."

-John 15:2

Greetings once again my dear readers. This article was supposed to post last Sunday. However, something came up that I was not able to write more than the first paragraph.

In June I was able to earn a total of about 0.9 BCH but spent at least 0.4 BCH. Sure, it looks like I was productive. However, in the past couple of weeks, I felt my productivity started to decline, just as the price of Bitcoin Cash continues to slide down. I believe that I could have done and earned much more if only I spent my time more wisely. Why? June was the start of our school break. Thus, we don't have any classes. That means I have a lot of free time on my hand. However, I wasted those new free time.

I realized that I have been spending so much time on several unproductive activities. I realized that if I want to be as productive as I can be, I need to do something.

Identify The Non-Producing and Unhealthy Branches

Just like a good gardener, the first thing to do is to identify the branches that do not bear fruit and those branches that are unhealthy.

In my case, I spend most of my day on my tablet. Aside from my extended daytime sleep. So how did I waste so much of my time using my tablet?

Thankfully I have been using Screen Time. Screen Time is a built-in application in Huawei and other Android devices. Checking the data, you will see that I spend so much time using Brave browser and GSpace.

I know that it seems a bit unclear since there are lots of things that one can do in the browser, including my activities in read-cash and noise-cash.

However, I know that I have been spending so much watching several episodes of various TV shows online.

The data shows that I spent 32 hours of the 73 h rs the Brave browser (I restarted my tablet three days ago). That's an average of 10 hours a day in the last three days.

About two to three hours (sometimes even four) of that are spent on watching TV shows. Last Sunday, I spent more than two hours watching the last episode of Stranger Things alone.

About GSpace

For those who are not familiar with this app, GSpace is an Android Emulator (sort of) for mobile operating systems like the Harmony OS for Huawei devices.

Since Huawei devices are blacklisted from accessing Google Mobile Services (GMS) thus Huawei can not access Google Play Store. Also, a lot of Android apps will not run without access to GMS.

I am using GSpace to run apps that I need but will not run on my Huawei tablet. But I also installed some apps that cause some distractions.

The record shows I spent 18 hours in 3 days using GSpace. that's about 6 hours a day. In that 6 hours, I admit I spent most of playing the games Art of War and Chess. Also, I think I spend about an hour a day scrolling through Instagram. Although I watch some short tutorials on Instagram, especially things that are related to logo design and graphics designs.

What I Need To Do.

The only logical thing to do is to follow what the gardeners do with unproductive branches. Cut them off and prune the tree.

Though, I still recognize the need to be entertained from time to time. It's one way to relieve some stress. However, I need to cut down on the time I spend on entertainment.

As for playing games, I have already cut down my playing time. As of today, out of the 7 hours that my tablet has been running, I spent only 1 hour and 6 minutes on GSpace. Half of that is playing the game which I did after lunch.

As for watching my favorite shows, I can limit it as well. Or I can watch some while writing my article, just like what I am doing now. Thanks to my tab's split-screen feature.

Focus on Productive Activities.

To be more productive we need to stay focused on the things that we NEED to do.

• Daily Plan:

  Make a plan every day. I admit I am weak in this department. I mean, I tried to be organized many times. I used different methods and tools. But after making a plan for a week or two, I will gradually stop making it.

  
  So this post serves as a reminder for me too.

• Make a to-do list every day

  Part of planning is to make a to-do list every day. It's the only to keep my focus on what I need to do every day.

• Keep Track of Your Progress.

  Setting your goals and planning are the activities you need to get started. However, if we fail to monitor our progress (sadly, like I always do), we don't know how far we went and how far are we in reaching our goals. Moreover, we make adjustments to our plans when needed.

In Closing.

A good gardener keeps watch of the fruit tree regularly, we need to keep watch of ourselves too. Pruning is done whenever necessary to keep the tree healthy and productive. Just like us. We need to keep watch of ourselves and stay focused on productive activities.

Especially in this digital age, a simple "click" or "tap" can lead to time-wasting activities even before we know it.

Lastly, it's not just the unproductive activities that we need to cut off. There are other aspects of our lives that make us unproductive.

Stay productive and thanks for reading.