Welcome back to my blog for day 12 of the 30-day blog challenge, and if this is your first time here

Hello!! Thanks for stopping by!!!

Today I am going to be talking…writing… about tips be more PRODUCTIVE!

This was requested on my Instagram to blog about, so shout out to the two people who actually responded with what they wanted me to write.

1. Make a list

I know I’ve talked about this in some of my other posts.

(See: Time Management.  Effective Studying.)

But I honestly can not recommend this enough. Making a list is the best way to get organized and know what needs to be done. I like to organize my lists by two specific characteristics, most important and due date. By categorizing my lists I can better get a sense of what I need to spend more time on and what I have to really be sure not to leave till the last minute.

2. Get up earlier

I know what you are thinking. Alexandra no, why would I want to wake up early when I could sleep for an extra 30 minutes and snooze my alarm 7 times. I hear you I am not a fan of getting up early but I have found when I get up a bit earlier I have more time to get work done without feeling rushed. Start small, you don’t have to get up at 5 in the morning all of a sudden. Even just set your alarm 30 minutes earlier and even if you snooze it that 7 times you should be getting up when you normally set your alarm thereby giving yourself at least an extra 30 minutes of your day.

3. Put away distractions!

This is important. You can not get productive if your phone is buzzing at you every 3 seconds for social media notifications or you have a Youtube video or Netflix show playing. It may be hard but turn off your phone, exit out of all of your fun tabs and get to work. Without the distractions, you will be able to get work done much faster and then have all that free time to goof off. There are even apps you can download onto your laptop to block yourself from certain websites you find distracting until you finish your work. A great option if you find you get side tracked easily.

4. Schedule time to get work done

Instead of saying maybe you will start work later tonight, actually schedule out a block of time for you to work. If you have a free two hours between your classes instead of sitting around take that time to try and plow through some work. Find your free blocks of time in the day and devote it to studying. Put it in your calendar and set a reminder. When something is scheduled in my Google Calendar I am MUCH more likely to actually do it. You will be glad you scheduled the time out later when your friend wants to hang out at night and you already spent time earlier doing homework.

5. Have a routine

A routine is really helpful to be more productive. Whether it be a weekly routine or daily, having a constant in your life will increase your work drive. This will help to minimize the worry about how to get everything done. For me, my routine includes trying to eat at the same time everyday and schedule that around when I can get started on my homework. During the week I also try to be finished with homework every day by 10:30pm which makes it easier for me to stick to my homework times and not put it off.

6. Prioritize

Priority and productivity go hand in hand. With how packed college days can get it is important to prioritize what you spend your time on. If you have an 8 page paper worth 100 points due tomorrow and a homework assignment that is worth 10 points but your teacher will accept late work, do the paper and take the late grade on the homework. Priority also corresponds to your social life. If some of your friends want to hang out and you know you will be out past midnight but you have an exam at 8am the next day you may have to make the hard choice of telling your friends you can’t go out that night. There will always be more time to hang out with your friends, but getting a bad grade because you didn’t study enough AND came to the exam exhausted isn’t going to help later in the semester when grades are about to be due.

7. Take breaks

Productivity isn’t about studying and working at all hours of the day only to have a few hours to sleep and repeat. Humans aren’t meant to be go-go-go all the time.

There is no way to be productive if you don’t take some time for yourself. If you have been diligently working during your work blocks then you will be able to take a day off and go out or watch a movie to refresh yourself. Even small breaks will be extremely helpful to your overall productivity. If you work for an hour take a 20 minute break. Eat a snack, scroll on social media, or watch an episode of Friends and then get back to work.

8. Don’t procrastinate

The #1 way to be more productive is to not procrastinate. Easier said than done. I have been an epic procrastinator in the past. Leaving things to the last minute because I assume they will be easy to finish. Procrastination kills your productive drive. Procrastination is never worth it and once you take up the mindset that you want to stop doing it you take the first step to actually stopping.

9. Just do it.

Nothing is going to get done if you just sit around and wait for the right time to start it. When it comes to being productive you have to silence the voice in your head that tells you to wait until tomorrow and actually get started on it.

Like Shia Lebouf says  “Just DO IT!”

Or you know… Nike.

10. Give yourself incentives

Something I have found that has really helped me with productivity is to give myself incentives for actually working. Like “If I finish this page of homework I can eat the ice cream I have in the freezer” or “Once I write at least 4 pages of this paper I can watch the new episode I’ve been waiting for.” When you have a tangible reason to get things done it feels simpler.

11. Get enough sleep

As a college student, it seems sleep is the one of the last things on my mind. There is so much to do. Whether it be homework, going out, or binge watching, sleep slips onto the backburner. The problem with this is no one can expect to function well doing everything they have/want to do when they are exhausted. So why do us as college things think we are invulnerable to overexhaustion by our lack of sleep? When a small child is grumpy and irritable they are put down for a nap because they need it and it helps them be able to have fun and accomplish things later. Everyone accepts this. Now as a college aged kid a great way to stop accepting the overexhaustion we need to treat ourselves a bit like toddlers. If you know you haven’t been sleeping well enough skip that party or that extra episode of Netflix and go to bed early or take a nap. When you wake up refreshed and with some energy, you will be grateful in your decision.

You will never be able to be more productive unless you work at it. Like anything, it takes practice but I assure you if you by utilizing these tips you will begin to feel a difference in your weekly productivity.

What are some things you do to be productive?

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Until Tomorrow!