All work and no play is never a good thing. Being that this is a guest post at “Work N Play” and not “Work N More Work”, I thought I’d offer some advice on how you can better do your work so that you still have time to play. I hear many complaints from friends, family, and colleagues that there are not enough hours in the day to accomplish what they want. One reason for this is because we are not very efficient with our time. Other times, we just don’t know how to go about solving problems or how to ask for help.
This post is aimed at helping you make the most out of your limited time. These tips alone are a major reason why I was able to get through college and graduate school. I’m sure that they will prove helpful to you throughout your daily life as they can be applied to almost everything we do, especially blogging! So without further ado, here are the four things to keep in mind to help you learn more efficiently and to increase productivity:
1. Don’t be Afraid to ask Questions!
There’s the classic saying that “There are no dumb questions . . . only questions that are not asked”. Most of the time, when you have what you might think is a “dumb question”, the odds are good that someone else probably has the same question on their mind. In one of my undergraduate classes, there was this fellow who had no shame when it came to asking questions. While some of his questions sounded pretty dumb indeed, the majority of them were questions that I also had lingering in my mind. Of course, I was too embarrassed to ask them myself, so I always gave him my silent gratitude. I could always count on this guy to ask the question that I was too afraid to ask. Unfortunately, not everyone will be as lucky as me. Sometimes, questions that need to be asked are never asked and everyone is worse off.
So don’t be embarrassed and ask whatever question comes to mind; chances are good that someone else will be silently thanking you for asking that question. In addition, you’ll find that your productivity will benefit by asking more questions because you’ll have a better idea on what needs to be done.
2. Collaborate with Others!
Collaboration is a powerful tool that only gets better when more people are involved. I always try to make a conscious effort to collaborate as much as possible on each one of my own projects. Back when I was still in college, I always tried to get my friends to sign up for courses with me. Being able to share ideas, work on homework sets together, and study for tests together made these classes much easier than if I were taking the class solo. By sharing knowledge amongst ourselves, my friends and I were much more efficient and productive as a collective whole. Everyone benefited. If I didn’t know how to do one of the problems in a particular problem set, the chances were good that one of my friends knew how to do it. By developing a network of people you can collaborate with, you can effectively tap into their strengths and potential and use them to your advantage.
If you’re used to working alone, you should really expand your horizons. This day and age, its extremely difficult to do anything by yourself. The sooner you start cooperating and working with others, the sooner your productivity will soar. Learning was meant to be interactive, so make friends and make connections so that everything will be easier in the long run. [Read more →]
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We all strive to find the right balance. Sometimes we work too much. Sometimes we play too much. Sometimes we sleep too much.
). Go ahead and find somebody to work with you, two minds are better than one and four eyes will certainly see better than two. 
