Minimal Productivity System for Struggling Students
Students face large amounts of pressure in university. We who struggle outside of school have an even harder time. One aspect is organising yourself. Indeed, a lack of structure can leave us feeling overwhelmed by the smallest duties. With how many productivity systems there are, why do we still feel unable to concentrate in the moment? To help propose a solution, here
Hey Matthew, I love productivity lists. I find them necessary to organize my time since I'm a student as well as a parent. I've included an example of a typical to-do list for me from earlier this year. I think the top part with the daily tasks is average and similar to what you suggested with the lists. An important part for me however is the bottom half where I write down any major time-consuming projects or events that happened that week, such as my test scores, shopping trips, or the fact that myself or a family member was sick that day. Taking note of these events helps me understand my time better when I look back on the week and feel like I've not been able to get as much done, I'll look at the extra notes and see why.
I think it makes the to-do lists seem more positive. Write down things you accomplished, not just empty marks beside the things you failed to accomplish :)
@KatSubjective
Hi Kat. Thanks for the response! Our systems do indeed share a few similarities, although I see you've taken a different approach. Your list includes tasks what I deem are responsbilities, because they reoccur on a daily basis. In that sense, this system is like a habit table. There are actions to fulfill daily, and so you check them off after each day.
I like the idea that you add some input at the bottom of the table. I think there's opportunity to self-reflect there, as mentioned you can highlight want went right and why things may of slipped away. It contextualises the week when you later look back. In future iterations of my system, I'll also experiment with ways to stay motivated while searching for ways to improve. A light feedback loop, so to speak, in tagent with my lists.
If you'd like, keep me updated with your productvity evolves later down the line. : )
I'm finding it frustrating that I posted all this useful information and now the thread seems to have become a magnet for third party advertisements. I'm contemplating removing my post and reposting it as an initial thread. The OP here seems to have deleted their account anyway.
@KatSubjective
Hi Kat, I enjoyed this post and the sharing of your own productivity system. It actually inspired me to give a variant of yours a try. The spam on here is really bad... X_X; Though it looks like this thread got cleared up. Anyway, since the OP left I'd really appreciate a post like this with tips and different systems. I tend to struggle with my studies and productivity stuff a lot due to my disassociation and such- not to mention anxiety and depression. Hopefully, others would find this useful as well.
@CaloenasNicobarica Thanks for the reply. The spam on here is gross. I obviously fell for the trap here and posted an elaborate reply to the OP... Anyway I still use the same system that I featured in the picture, but with a different notepad. And slightly different daily priorities. I could make a new post with new examples?
@KatSubjective
Blarg. You can spend an entire evening hunting spam on here to report. X_X; It's really bad, think they had a captcha thing for a very short while but users didn't like it as a way to combat the spam.
Anyway, that sounds good! I'd like to see what you've got so far. Mine is still very rudimentary. Other examples and such are quite welcome. So far, I'm liking the way this is working out. Strangely enough, have started doing surveys for money on the side lately, as well. Look forward to the fresh post when you get the time for it. <3
@CaloenasNicobarica Ahh. That's so funny. Yes admittedly I take surveys sometimes when the chats are fizzling out, and the other person stops responding. I don't put it on the list anymore, though. Maybe once something truly becomes a daily habit, you can take it off the list? I'll add that to the list of notes about lists.
Hey there!
Thanks for the sharing
Thanks for these tips! I was a good student in high school, but I strongly hated writing assignments. By accident, I was lucky to have found a great service that always helped me out (edited by Anomalia to remove advertising link). There are lots of things I really miss about being a student.
Great thread!
Thanks for sharing :)