Plan Your Week (& Feel Productive) While Watching Netflix!
- T.
- Jun 29, 2024
- 4 min read
I love watching my favourite TV show or movie in my down time, but when I'm 10 shows deep into my trashy, drama, rom-com, Sci-Fi, superhero marathon I do start to feel a little guilty about being unproductive. To make myself feel just that little bit accomplished for the day I do some of these super productivity tasks; try them out while watching your next TV show or movie & let me know how you felt after doing them!
Hi & welcome back to the simply productive blog!
Blog Snapshot
📲 Plan Your Week With To Do Apps 📲
Sometimes my best thoughts come to me when my brain is 'switched off' watching a tv show or a movie. Having a To Do app to note down important details as they flash into my head really helps. I use the Microsoft To Do app as it's free & super simple to use.
Let me set the scene: you see the main character in your rom-com make a delicious meal for their partner & you think, crap I need to buy potatoes for one of the dinners this week! Take 30 seconds to open your To Do app on your mobile, tablet or laptop & add it to your groceries list - then continue watching the rom-com... because you know the juicy part is coming up right after their dinner & you don't want to miss that!
If you want to know more about how I use my to do app to stay productive, read my previous blog post on how to boost your productivity with Microsoft To Do 😄
🔎 Bargain Hunting From Your Couch 🔍
When there is a super long action scene or boring monologue, quickly jump online & see if there are any specials on non-perishable items this week.
Groceries Shopping
If there are a few items on your monthly stock up list that are on special at once, that's your sign to stock up (if you can afford it). You'll be much better off in the long run grabbing that bargain now - getting the most bang for your buck!
You could also:
Subscribe to your local grocery provider to keep an eye on specials
Download apps like Frugl Grocery to find & compare grocery specials
Cashback Websites/Apps
Did you know you can use cashback websites to get money back on online (& sometimes in store) purchases? The cashback providers get a kickback from advertising the websites you buy from & when you buy things after searching for them on their website/app you get a percentage back as a 'thank you' from the cashback sites for proving their advertising works.
My favourite cashback websites/apps are ShopBack & CashRewards. As of today's date, I have received over $1,000 cashback on ShopBack & the same on CashRewards (free money)!
Back Story: About a year ago at a party, a friend showed me their cashback app & was raving about the "free money" they were getting. They sent me a link with their sign-up code to use & the next day I signed up (if I'm completely honest, still a little concerned if 'free' would actually be free, or if I would be slapped with some sort of registration fee or monthly fee) but as it turned out, it was indeed free to sign up &:
When I made my first purchase via the website/app they gave my friend some cashback (a sign-up kickback) for sending me their way (around $10-$40)
I also got an extra cashback (around $10-$40) on top of the normal cashback amount for the website I made my first purchase through their website/app; it really was a win-win situation!
What's the catch you say? If you don't have good self-control when making purchases online, then I would not recommend you signing up for cashback sites.
Things you need to know:
You need to open the cashback providers app/website first & then search for the website you want to purchase something online from (Amazon, ebay, Shein, Temu, Target, Temple & Webster, Booking.com, etc. - there are literally thousands of websites to choose from) this way they can 'track' your purchase, so they know to give you the cashback.
The percentage of cashback you get depends on the sale/deal on that day for the website you are shopping on - I check both ShopBack & CashRewards before I purchase anything & pick the best cashback deal as they usually have different cashback amounts, it takes me maybe a minute or two to check both & ensure I get as much 'free money' as I possibly can - totally worth doing 😄
You don't get the cashback amount instantly (disappointing I know) - it can take months - but it does eventually pop into your cashback account ready for you to either save up to purchase something with it through the website/app or for you to deposit into a bank account to use.
It can be verrryyy tempting to spend for the sake of spending, especially when you have their sales notifications flashing at you every day - in fact this is exactly what they rely on & exactly why I turned my notifications OFF when I downloaded their apps - to avoid the temptation.
It's only worthwhile for you to use the cashback website/apps when you are purchasing things you would have already purchased because you needed them, otherwise you are just spending for the sake of sending when you could be saving or investing that money.
Discounted Gift Cards
Buy discounted gift cards to use on your future purchases, you can find these on sale at your local shops, online or you can purchase the discounted gift cards via cashback websites/apps - doing this means you can win three times:
WIN: Buy the gift card on sale (saving money)
WIN: Buy it via a cashback provider app on sale & you also get cashback for buying it via them
WIN: If you buy something via a cashback provider & pay using that gift card you then get another cashback on that purchase!
😄
📧 Email Organising 📧
Plan your week by sorting your emails & unsubscribing from emails you don't ever read or don't want to be tempted with.
Ideas on what to organise:
Create Email Folders for Major Areas- Newsletters, Finance: Bank statements etc., Bills/Invoices.
Add Extra Descriptions or Actions With CategoriesE.g. electricity bill, water bill, real estate/rent, groceries, do today, do this week
Email Inbox SortingUse the focused inbox option in Outlook or sort by category
Set Up Email Inbox Rules (set up automations)
If you want to know more about how I use Outlook features to organise & automate my emails read my simple email sorting guide blog post 😄
🫧 House Chores (hear me out) 🫧
While you are sitting on your lounge watching Bridgerton, The Boys, House of the Dragon or Fallout why not grab that basket of washing that has needed folding for, oh say a week (that's being generous), & fold a few things as you watch them, once you get on a roll it will all be gone before you know it & you have just multi-tasked like a boss!
Other chores you could do from the couch are:
Sort out all the odd socks - & if you can't find their pair, throw the odd ones away, or even better, you could use them as rags for cleaning!
Grab that pile of paper from your office & sort through it: what you need to scan & save, shred, put into categories, note down due dates for bills.
Wipe down the surfaces in the room you are in
Pack away the dozens of toys that are no doubt in every room of your house because your child loves to test your patience (but just do the room you are in - we don't wan to get carried away)
Plan the week's meals out.
📅 Plan Your Week in Your Calendar 📅
Add reminders for the standard things like meetings, appointments, social engagements (birthdays etc.) in your calendar.
You could also add in things like:
Time to do your grocery shopping
Time to do your laundry - plan it now so you don't end up going commando at the end of the week, & save water & electricity by not doing multiple small loads throughout the week!
Add a reoccurring calendar entry for things you need to do daily like taking your vitamins &/or medication, walking the dog, even drinking water (if you are like me & you are particularly bad at remembering this)
Days/Times for exercise or physical activity - having this booked out in your calendar could have a surprising effect on your motivation to actually do it
Add reminders for any bills or payments due in the upcoming week
Reserve time at the end of the week for a review & planning for the next one
Block out time for focused work sessions on high-priority tasks
Plan time for your breaks & relax time too - you will feel accomplished just for taking a break because it was 'in your calendar' to do, how great is that!
🎵 Make a playlist for the week 🎵
Now this one is just for fun! I have a reasonable commute to my full-time job & having the perfect playlist to get me in the right frame of mind makes all the difference.
You could make a playlist for when you:
Commute to & from work
Clean during the week
Cook dinner
When you are getting ready for your dinner date night
While writing your monthly blog (me right now vibing to my edgy pop playlist I made a week ago 😉).
Final Thoughts
It's super simple to do a few productive things while still watching your favourite show or a movie, you just need to change your mindset a little.
I hope these ideas inspire you to give multi-tasking while you watch TV a go! Try them out, you'll feel accomplished while still being able enjoy your down time.
Thank you so much for supporting my blog, make sure you checkout my related posts for more ideas on being Simply Productive💡
Sending productive vibes your way,
T💜
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