Tips on how to be productive

I wanted to share four tips on how to be productive each week. Doing the following things helps me remain balanced and not feel overwhelmed. It may not work for everyone but if you find these appealing it may work for you.

1. Set yourself some monthly goals. Base these goals around your due dates, and other assignments. From these goals I break them up into daily lists of what must be done for the day. This allows me to look at big tasks in a smaller and more doable way so I don't feel overwhelemed by the task and then panic or procastinate.

2. Set aside how much time each task will take. When we encounter those hectic deadlines where we have 2 tests and 3 assignments due in the same week, we often feel there is not enough time to get it all done. I find that if I set time to simply write 3 paragahs of one assignment for one day followed by the introduction to another assignemnt and then start making notes for a test. It helps ease my workload. Often we set ourselves goals to complete tasks like a day for one essay but realistically for large amounts of work it often needs to be broken down further in order for the days to be more productive. Psychology also says that you shouldnt study for the same subject for more than two hours. So I take that principle and apply it for when I set aside time for tasks to be completed.

3. Plan ahead. By setting monthly goals you are able to project on what needs to be done for the month. This is always beneficial but can at times be miscalulated as life can get in the way. Don't be afraid to adapt and reshedule things. Flexibility is important to remain productive.

4. Use your time between lectures or classes wisely. If you have lots of time in between classes try to stay productive. Catch up on work, do some printing, go see your lecturers if you have questions, or go to the gym. By being productive in my breaks I often at the end of my day would find myself with less work to do which would then allow me to do other more enjoyable activities.