The Secret to Productivity in University
10:14:00
As post-secondary students, life can get crazy. Especially in the first year, there are endless events and homework assignments that can take up all your time. However, there are tricks that help keep you productive and have a successful year, no matter the obstacles in your way.
1. Use a planner
You have probably heard this a million times, but it is completely essential. Using either a physical agenda or a digital calendar will work for this. There will be so many meetings, different class times, and events that it will be impossible to keep track of. So use your planning system and use it well. Try colour coding to make it even easier to read (I highly recommend if you are a visual learner like me)!
2. Prioritize
Priorities take different forms for everyone, but there are a few things you always have to assess where to prioritize them: school, family, friends, work, and your health (varies from person to person but those are generally the categories). You have to decide what is most important and where to focus your energy on. It is beneficial to write them all out and decide what amount of time you will allow to each. This will change weekly and can be circumstantial.
3. Self-Care
I'm sure you have heard this term many times because it is something that is always stressed, especially in university, but for good reason. I personally know how easy it is to forget about your mental health and then end up in such a bad state, you can't even leave your bed. Everything piles up and it gets very stressful and as silly as it may sound, your health is still more important than any event or assignment. Set a time for yourself every day to spend time with yourself and take a few minutes or an hour to do something for you. This could be something like watching a tv show or I personally love to take walks by the water since our school is right along the shore. There are amazing apps that can help track this too like What's Up (shown above) or Moods which is my personal favourite.
4. Take care of your physical health (meal prep)
It is easy to slip into eating unhealthy in university (freshman 15 is very real) or even skipping meals altogether. Most students will fall into one or both of those habits which is incredibly harsh on your body. Being a busy student who is constantly on the go requires fuel. In order to stay up late to write those long essays or wake up for those early lectures, your body needs the right food to keep you going. At my university, the menus for the dining halls are posted weekly so I look at those and plan out my meals accordingly which keeps me accountable to what I am eating and I know what to get rather than getting distracted and choosing just what is unhealthy. It is okay to treat yourself once in a while, but especially during this time, it is very important to be eating healthy and drinking an abundance of water.
5. Break up the big tasks into smaller, manageable ones
Setting big goals for each day is going to be overwhelming and create unnecessary stress since you will likely not finish those tasks. This will happen often but the best way to combat that is to take those big tasks and make smaller ones that help move the process along. You will feel more accomplished and organized and will finish the assignment or whatever it may be quicker and more effectively since you won't be under added stress.
6. Take breaks
This is critical when studying or when constantly working. Putting too much pressure on your brain can easily create an "overload" effect and you will find it more difficult to study or finish something effectively. Taking 10-15 minute breaks will give your mind a rest so that you can study longer without burning out or becoming too stressed. This one is scientifically proven so if science says it's beneficial, then why aren't you doing it already?
7. Have somewhere you can quickly take notes (agenda, laptop, phone, etc.)
There will constantly be assignments, events, important dates, etc. thrown at you all the time and there is no way to remember it all. I highly recommend having something with you at all times to track these things. Phones are the easiest as you can put things in your calendar right there and it is so easy to carry around on you at all times (which I'm sure you do already). I even have notes open on my laptop so any extra information I get in class, I can write there and deal with after. Then, you take those small notes and put them in your agenda or another planning system later!
Good luck this school year!
If you want to check out my dorm tour, you can watch it here:
Good luck this school year!
If you want to check out my dorm tour, you can watch it here:
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