How to Be Productive on an Army Deployment

Imagine one day being told you’re deploying overseas for a year and have to leave everything behind. You feel bummed because you planned on graduating from college and finishing your final year out strong. Instead, you’ve got to pack your 100 pounds worth of gear and hit the road. This was my reality in the middle of 2019.

One part of me says “Jordan! This is going to be an incredible experience for you.” Meanwhile, the other side is telling me, “this is going to set you back on a lot of your current goals you worked on with momentum.

After nearly 9 months away from America (crazy to say that), I have to say that the entire experience has been worth it. My productivity is through the roof.

Do you remember the scene from Bohemian Rhapsody where the band goes out to a home in the middle of nowhere? They end up creating sensational music. That’s exactly what’s happening for me, in other ways besides music.

I have Written 94 articles

Never did I think that I would break 100 articles in the time I was gone. I believed that I was going to spend my free-time editing YouTube videos and working on that journey instead. Nope, I committed to blogging full-time in my free-time.

In the beginning, I wrote an article once every week or two. I didn’t find my footing for a while so I gave up for about a month. My laptop charger popped since I am overseas and didn’t recognize the wattage difference. I was without a laptop for 3 months, but after those 3 months is what’s so special.

I began writing an article every single day. It’s just routine for me now and everyone in my unit knows I do it. Three particular soldiers have approached me to either read my pieces and or get started writing, themselves! Spreading the awareness of a great platform like Medium fills me with joy.

I Run Every Other Day

Life back at home always presented new obstacles and distractions (fun ones) that would make me fall off my workout schedule so my progress wouldn’t last long sometimes.

Thanks to the military paying special attention on exercising to pass our PT (physical training) tests. My two mile run is a sub-13 minute, pushups damn near the maximum, and situps neck and neck.

I love the area I am currently in right now. Certain aspects of it remind me of running back at home. There’s also a fairly large running community of people I meet up with and it’s so nice to see other people taking care of themselves too.

I Read So Much

At the beginning of deployment, I didn’t do as much reading as I would have liked, but that’s mainly because I hadn’t figured out my system yet.

Once I had a strong grasp of the type of lifestyle I would be living, I was set free. The list of books I’ve read so far include:

• Crushing It! — Gary Vaynerchuk
• Rich Dad, Poor Dad — Robert Kiyosaki
• 92 Ways to Talk to Anyone — Leil Lowndes

Each and every one of these books has taught me so much about creativity, managing your money, and socializing. I am grateful for free electronic books on the internet that allow me to consume all of the information I’ve consumed.

We can’t forget about Vocal!

My oh my, I have read so many articles since I’ve been out here. From how to start a blog all the way to learning how to invest in the stocks, I’ve read it. There’s so many good stories throughout the platform. Inspiration is at every corner. There hasn’t been one day where I haven’t been able to find something that spoke dearly to me.

Medium’s algorithm has definitely stepped their game up and they know the exact type of reader I am because my reading list pertains to everything I’m interested in!

To wrap things up, I’m not saying you have to join the Army and get deployed to achieve maximum motivation. What I am saying is that no matter what passion projects you have requires you to isolate yourself.

Live life to the fullest, but when it comes down to working on your passion projects, go into your special work area. This could be your bedroom, an office, or study room at a public library. Wherever your special productivity place is, be there and be there often.

Being deployed has its ups and downs, but once you find your system, time flies and before you know it….

You’re home.