 This video is sponsored by Mellow Light. One thing to think about when it comes to productivity is when you are most productive. And in this video, you're probably gonna see me working a lot when it's dark outside or later on at night because I get my best ideas and I just get really inspired and motivated to work more at night for some odd reason. I'm definitely not like a midday person. I'm definitely more of a at night kind of guy, like literally like two in the morning. I try to get as much rest as I can so I try not to stay up that late, but that's just me. What is up, fam? My name is Jocelyn Jay for those who are new here but just call me Jocelyn, especially if you see me in person because really no one calls me Jocelyn Jay. But I like to make tech and lifestyle videos at least once a week. And today I'm gonna be talking about how I like to stay productive. I'm actually really excited about this video because I get a chance to really just sit back and talk to you all about my productive or my creative process. So earlier I talked about the time where I'm most productive. So it's super important to know when you work the best, what time is best for you, whether it's morning, midday, or the evening. I also wanna talk a little bit about my setting. So I'm gonna talk about some of the tech that I use. So some of you all know that I work as a full time, full stack developer. So that takes out 40 hours of each week. But I also love spending time with my girl. I love playing basketball on the weekends. I love working out, spending time with family, and just doing other creative work outside of making YouTube videos. But if you include all those things, YouTube videos and videography, a lot of people are always like, how do you find the time to do everything? I like to edit my videos at night because that's when I feel the most creative. But also I've noticed that if I get up early enough in the morning, I can get to work earlier and clock out earlier because I'm getting my eight hours done at a lot earlier time frame. So if I can get into the office at 7.45 a.m., that means I'm gonna be leaving at 3.45 p.m. So then I'll have more time to shoot, more time for daylight. But videos like this, it doesn't have to be daylight outside, but you get what I'm saying. Since we talked a little bit about how I stay productive, I thought it'd be a good time to hear a word from our sponsor. MailerLite allows users to become email marketing experts with advanced features and 24-7 customer service. A very important aspect of email marketing is an email list. So I know some of you are probably asking why it's important to have an email list. Well, an email list is important because it allows your audience, consumers, and or users to stay up to date with blog posts, products, services, and promotions. 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Build your next email list with MailerLite today. I also just got the new iPhone 11. I got the Pro Max, it's a mouthful. I got the Pro Max and the military green colorway. And this camera is insane. So if you wanna learn more about the iPhone, about this camera, just comment down below, Pro Max. Another thing I like to do is I like to plan ahead, especially now that I've been working with more brands, I've had more deadlines, but it can be really hard with having a full-time job and just a life in general and not having YouTube as my like full-time job. And I'm gonna get better at that. But if you plan ahead, so let's say you wanna start doing video work or maybe you wanna build an app, take a little bit amount of time each day to work towards whatever end goal you have for whatever you're working on. So if you're working on an app, maybe do like 30 minutes a day where you're learning or researching or doing some programming. If you wanna create a YouTube channel or create videos, maybe shoot for 30 minutes each day, you'd be surprised how much footage you get. One thing I've noticed is when I don't procrastinate and I go out and start shooting for a video that I know isn't due or I know I don't need to get done for like a week, I just have so much more footage and I have better quality videos because I'm able to start editing maybe the intro two days before I start working on the body instead of trying to cram everything in one. Keep in mind, there's no formula for productivity, at least not when it comes to a lifestyle or towards your own goals. Everyone has their own way of being productive that is beneficial to them. I know some people, they may need a whole month to do a video, some people may only need a couple of days, some people may only need a week, but I've noticed that you're more productive when you actually just do something instead of just planning for everything that you wanna do, I'm kind of a more go with the flow type of person, more of a, okay, I'm having this idea, I'm having this thought, I need to start putting action to my ideas. Putting action to your ideas is the start of being more productive. You can plan all you want and do, you know, formulate ideas and all that, which is great, but you have to put some action to your plans. I'm also not gonna lie, gear helps a lot. So just for an example, when I didn't have this box light, I wouldn't be able to shoot videos at night. So as it's becoming, well, it's already fall, I was about to say, as it's becoming closer to fall, well, it's already fall and it gets dark now at like 7.30, 7.45, which means my daylight window is really small, especially because I don't get off from work till like 4.45 most days. So since I have this box light, I'm able to be more productive with my videos because I don't care what time it is, as long as I'm not out here looking crazy in front of the camera, I can put a video out. Another thing that's helped me a ton is getting that on microphone that I have back there. But that microphone has helped me a ton. It's helped me a lot with my voiceovers. So instead of trying to film voiceovers in camera, they may be taking the memory card out and listening to what the audio sounds like, I can just use my Blue Yeti, for example. So I will say the tech that you have plays a huge role. I have a tripod that is way better than my older tripod. One, it's not broken. Two, it's just so much more configurable. I can move the tripod head a lot easier. It has a release clip, which allows me to remove the camera from the tripod a lot quicker. I also got a new monitor. And believe it or not, a monitor has done a ton for me. It's a 27 inch Dell UltraSharp monitor. I mentioned it, I think, a little bit in some other videos, but this has made a huge difference in my productivity. And the reason being is because now I can have like three screens. I can open up my laptop and this monitor is wide enough that I can actually display like two windows side by side without them looking too small. And another thing, of course, is the camera. I'm shooting with the Sony a7 III and it is a great camera in low light. I also have a Tamron 17 to 28 millimeter lens, which allows me to create videos that have a wider angle. So I like to shoot with 17 millimeters to give you a better idea as to what my environment looks like. I think I shot with 17 millimeters earlier in a video, but you don't have to have crazy gear. It took me some time to get to this point. Get whatever gear helps you. Also can't forget how important it is to exercise. When I don't feel motivated and I don't feel really inspired, just plugging in my headphones into my phone and listening to some music, it inspires me because I go out and I like maybe take a walk, I'm going to run with Lee, or maybe I'll go to the gym and work out or play a little basketball and that inspiration starts ticking again. I'll maybe get an idea when I'm playing basketball or while I'm working out, where I just feel very creative at that point. I think it's because I'm getting the blood flowing and I'm moving my body and doing something that I enjoy, even if it isn't creative for an example or for example, but that helps a ton. You gotta exercise. So yeah, that's my, I guess, rant on productivity. Like I said, no formula really to it. I also didn't write a skit for this video, which I actually feel really good about. I like just having an honest, kind of conversation with you all, with my audience talking about my life or things that have made me become more successful or more productive for example. I didn't get into too much of the technicalities besides, you know, talking about some of the gear that I have that's helped me and just talking about how I balance YouTube and software development. But if you're more interested in learning about some of the apps that I use that helped me be productive, I have the car linked above, you can check that out. So that really concludes this video. Thank you for watching it. If you're still here, give it a thumbs up. Share it with someone who you think might find it beneficial. Comment below some of your thoughts or some video recommendations and subscribe to become a part of the family if you haven't already. And hit that notification bell to become part of the notification squad. I don't know why that's so hard for me to say. With that being said, I'll see you all later. As always have a blessed rest of your week. Peace.