Regardless if you’re in college, just launched your own business, work from the comfort of your home, or have a 9-to-5 gig, productivity is an uphill battle for everyone. That’s why we’ve put together this rundown of 34 productivity hacks for students to help manage your time and get more done — no matter where you are in life.
We will start with the 10 best productivity hacks for students.
College is exciting, fun and sometimes a little frightening. Even though this is your first taste of independence, handling all of these assignments, homework, term papers, and studying on your own. All this work along with fitting in social life — is no easy task. But, it’s possible if you use the following ten productivity hacks — for students.
1. Use actions, information, and visualization.
Francesco D’Alessio recommended the suggestions of using things like actions, information, and visualization over at Lifehack.org.
Francesco uses a three-part system to keep organized, which includes:
- Actions. These are your most important tasks, like an upcoming English assignment. Focus on one task at a time and set achievable actions to get them done. Apps like Todolist can help you manage your tasks.
- Information. Information means everything you need for your classes, meetings, and events. Keep this in one convenient location so that it’s easily accessible. Evernote is the perfect app for storing and creating information.
- Visualization. When you use visualization, it means adding essential events and details into an online calendar, such as Google Calendar, so that you can see what you have coming up in your life.
2. Make the plan — work the plan — plan everything.
Jumping out of bed and rushing to class every day is stressful and not productive. The reason? You’re not in control and are always scrambling around. That’s why you should plan everything in advance. It’s not fun. But, if you want to maintain control of your college life, and get more done, you kind of have to.
Start by taking everything you have to do and break these tasks down in smaller bits. For example, if you had to write a paper, then you could plan out your week as follows:
- Monday — 9:00 am — 9:50 am class. 10:30 am — 12:00 pm — essay research.
- Tuesday — 8:30 am — 10:00 am essay plan and introduction. 11:00 am — 12 pm class.
- Wednesday — 9:00 am — 12 pm class. 1:00 pm — 6:00 pm, complete first draft.
Again, make sure that you only set achievable goals. And, don’t forget to plan time for socializing and breaks.
3. Turn off notifications.
Get over your FOMO and limit your social media usage. There has been evidence that excessive social media use is terrible you — particularly increasing stress and interrupting your sleep. It’s also distracting when you’re trying to focus.
Turn off all notifications on your phone and laptop when working on a project, studying, reading, or writing. You could also put your phone in airplane mode or download an app like RescueTime to block distracting sites.
4. Set an earlier deadline.
Instead of waiting until the last minute, shorten your deadline-due-dates — even if it’s just by one day.
If you always have assignments prepared ahead an extra day, you’ll have spare time to check, proofread, and evaluate your work before submitting it. But, the main reason you set your deadline for a day ahead is that everything takes twice as long as you think it will.
5. Find the right environment.
You need to work in a quiet space that is organized and free of clutter. If you have your own room, just shut the door making sure your desk doesn’t have too much junk on it. The clutter is distracting. If you have a roommate or live in a dorm or apartment that’s noisy, you may have to relocate to the library or coffee sho p.
6. Master the art of note-taking and skimming.
Taking notes is a surefire to ensure that you don’t forget what you learned in class. You can also use them for reference when you need to recall a piece of information.
There’s no wrong way to take notes. Just find a technique that works for you. However, you need to make sure that you have the right materials at hand, like pen and paper. Take time to develop your listening skills. Learn to pay special attention to content, and review and edit your notes.
Also, learn how to skim the text. This way, you can get the essence of the material without reading every single word.
7. Kick-off your homework sessions by completing your most challenging subject first.
If you struggle with Statistics, then knock that homework out first while you have the energy. Save the homework for classes that you find easy or enjoy for later when you’re running out of steam. Sometimes you can summon a bit more enthusiasm to get the work done.
8. Make the most of your study time.
Here’s five tips you can use to make the most out of your study time courtesy of the Studocu Blog:
- Study for 25 minutes and then take a five-minute break. These study blocks of time and breaks will help you.
- Work with a partner or small group. This keeps you motivated and you can hold each other accountable.
- Stop pulling all-nighters.
- Don’t memorize material, understand it.
- Practice what you learned.
9. Backup your work.
My best friend spilled a cup of coffee on his MacBook. Of course, he never got around to backing everything up. If you don’t back-up — you’ll regret it sometime. But, my for my friend it meant he had to start several papers all over again from scratch.
He learned his lesson. Going forward, not only did he make sure that all of his data was automatically synced to his iCloud, but he also bought an external hard drive. He began a habit of backing-up his files every night while asleep.
Most programs will automatically sync your files to the cloud. But, you want to be 100 percent sure about this. It may take you a couple of minutes to set up, but it’s better to spend those couple of minutes instead of hours retyping a paper.
10. Stay calm.
Easier said than done, right? But, when you’re stressed out, it’s almost impossible to focus. One of my top productivity hacks for students is to stay calm. Here’s a couple of ways to remain calm — even during finals.
- Take a break from work. It improves concentration and keeps you energized.
- Again, stop with the all-nighters and get plenty of sleep.
- Hang out with friends you make you laugh.
- Don’t overdo it on the caffeine — it will make you more anxious.
- Unplug and go for a walk.
- Breathe.
- Remember. Remember to think: this too shall pass.
Originally published at https://www.calendar.com on August 23, 2019.
