Hello friends, As a fresh college grad, I thought I would share with you how I managed to get everything done and stay motivated, but I think these tips can also be helpful in general productivity even if you are no longer in school.
- Block out a schedule: I am dedicated to my planner. This is the backbone of my organization and productivity before I plan out specific weeks or months in the calendar. I design a weekly overview for myself. This is essentially what a typical week would look like for me during the school year or just in my everyday today. I like to use my dairy for my monthly, weekly, and daily to-do list because I want to write down the things in my plan, but you can use notion, google planner, and mobile notepad if that works best for you.
Once complete, it gives me a visual breakdown of what my weeks will regularly look like. This serves as a point of reference for planning future weeks, but it also shows me where I have extra free time that can later be filled with other activities.
- Create a sleep schedule: Once I have the week schedule laid out, I will devise a schedule. I am the most productive when I follow a strict routine. I recognize that this might not be for everyone, but setting a sleep schedule provides me with a much-needed structure that allows me to stick to my daily routine. I have to be most productive in the morning, so I set my wake-up time a few hours before my first classes or before my first scheduled events, so I have time to get a few things done before that happens. I set my alarm for the same time every morning, even on days where I don't have early things scheduled, just so that my body can get into the habit of waking up at that time and I won't have to readjust every day constantly.
- I also set a bedtime for myself. It is usually not as strict because frequently, I will find myself having to stay up a litter later finishing work and stuff but having a goal time of being in bed serves as a great motivation. Productivity comes from energy and as someone who doesn't drink coffee. Sleep is the primary source of energy. I know I feel best when I get at least eight hours of sleep, so I use that as a motivation to get my work done. If I know that I have to wake up by a specific time every morning, I am more determined to stay focused on my job to go to sleep and avoid sleep.
- Make daily to-do lists: after I determined my regular schedule, I have a great starting place for figuring out what I need to do each day. I identify which tasks need to get done by the end of the week and write down a daily to-do list. At the beginning of a school semester, I will go through all my syllabus and determine what can be done immediately to get the start as soon as possible. Usually, things like reading can be done well in advance, so I use my schedules to determine what windows of time can be used for completing such tasks. I try to give a rough time estimate of how long each task will take me to plan accordingly. As a college student, the thing that really helped me get my work done quickly and efficiently was my daily to-do lists themselves.
- Break down large tasks: Sometimes, significant assignments or exams can be pretty daunting. You see them looming in the distance and put them out of thought for the time being until it's suddenly knocking at your door, and you feel a little unprepared. To avoid these feelings of stress and anxiety, I try to start these assignments ASAP. Sometimes I would start working on essential papers over a month in advance so that it gave me more time than I needed to complete the project so that I never felt rushed. I know some people work better under time pressure, but personally, it gives me a lot of anxiety and stress. I feel like my work is probably not good as it could be if I were to take my time on it, so I tend to break down these more significant tasks into sections and work on different parts every day or every week. If I encounter any difficulties, there is still plenty of time for me to reach out to professors or other resources for that particular problem.
- Work more brilliant, not more complex: the truth of the matter is there is a lot of busywork in life, things that are given to us to complete but ultimately are not very important. I know people who are perfectionists about every homework assignment, and we will stay up until the early hours of the morning reworking problems over and over to scrape up a few extra points that couldn't be me. Look at your tasks and work, and prioritize the most important things. Not everything deserves your most excellent effort. I am not saying to do these works, but maybe just a time limit to don't expand too much unnecessary energy. For me, I rather sleep than rework a math problem.
- Take care of your health: at the end of the day, I am most productive when I am in good health, not when I am struggling to keep my eyes open after a sleepless night or dealing with a hunger headache because of skipping a meal. If you only care about work, then you will certainly burn out. Make sure to schedule in time for meals, exercise, and sleep, and if you have time, make a nutritious meal for yourself. Once again, productivity comes from energy, so it's essential to keep your mind and body strong and replenish your energy so that you can stay focused later.
- Take breaks and get outside of your work environment: speaking of holidays and health, I try taking little breaks here and there to get out of the work environment. It is easy to get absorbed into whatever you are working on your desk. I try going outside and walking around for at least 10 minutes a day. The key is to make these breaks actual breaks. I try to be present and take my mind off my work for a bit; allow yourself to de-stress 10 minutes away from your work, and your work will still be there when you return.
- Cut out unnecessary distractions: cutting out distractions is a huge part of staying focused. For me, not just in school or work but in life in general, keeping my phone on do not disturb mode while working and try to limit my use of social media as much as I possibly can. Using social media and seeing other posts mostly distract me from my present, which may harm my future and make me dull for the period, which causes me to get away from my studies. I am trying to limit my use of those things to serve my mental health better and help me focus on the more essential things in life.
- Motivation: plan for fun: I find I work well under a reward system, so I use these planned fun days for my reason for getting things done during the week. I know I haven't finished my tasks by the time those things so roll around, my mind will be on everything that I need to get done, and I will be stressed instead of having fun which doesn't make for a good time for me or the hanging out with planning fun activities.
- Set a big picture: My last tip is to identify why you are doing what you are doing? What is the ultimate goal in all of this, and what do you want to achieve? Having a big picture idea or plan helps me around myself and reignites my motivation whenever I fall into a slump. I know the only way I can reach my goal is if I stay focused and take care of my work and myself and my well-being in the present so that I can get into my desired future.
Once again, I want to remind you that these tips simply derive from things that I do to stay productive and motivated. Different methods work better for other people. I happen to be someone who thrives off on strict schedules and intense planning. I also happen to work better by putting in a steady amount of effort over a more extended period than working spontaneously or under time pressure.
I wish you all the best with the new school year or those of us who are no longer in school. I hope this still gave you some ideas for making your daily life a little more productive, and remember to be gentle with yourself.
Take care, friend.
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