Let's start this year right shall we? Productivity Alert! Here are the top 8 tips that have helped me have a productive day during the semester!
Honestly, sometimes you just don't feel like doing work and that's completely okay! If you really don't feel like it, maybe these tips won't work (but maybe they will - just depends on you!).
However, if you are ready to conquer your school year/your daily life then keep on reading!
Productivity is very important to me. My mood is always better when I have a productive day and when I get work done I'm the happiest. Sometimes, I will admit, I do need a break and just a whole day of binge-watching an entire season of my at-the-moment favorite TV Show but if that one day turns into two or more, I notice I do get a little (= a lot) grumpy.
This semester in college I'm taking 16 credits, I work over 20 hours per week, and have an internship thrice a week at a Preventative Health Clinic for animals/pets. As you can see, my semester is very busy - in fact on 3 out of the 5 weekdays, my day starts at 8 am and ends at 7 pm! Crazy, right? Therefore, I cannot do without having more productive days than unproductive days in a week or I risk affecting my academics.
I've been very successful at having long productive days on the weekend or doing tasks in between classes (whatever it takes to remain sane during this insanely busy semester) and I've noted down a few things that help me boost my productivity and will to be productive.
Disclosure: Some of the links in this article are affiliate links, which means that I get a commission if you choose to purchase after clicking a link. This doesn’t cost you anything, and I only recommend products I love! Thank you for supporting the work I put into this site!
Want to skip the article? See the video below!
Of course, everyone has a different environment they prefer - you could set up candles if that helps you relax (especially if you have an overwhelming amount of work to do), you may want music (I suggest music with no lyrics so you can focus on the important stuff rather than getting distracted), you may want it to be dimly-lit or brightly-lit - it just depends on you.
If you get up a million times from your workplace to get things you forgot to bring with you in the first place, it's going to be really hard to get in the "zone" because you will be constantly distracted.
So be prepared and have everything close by so you can have a nice flow of uninterrupted productivity.
Being hungry or your stomach growling while you're trying to get work done, again, is very distracting. Either have some brain food so you can begin working right or have some (preferably healthy) snacks around in case you aren't hungry at the moment (you never know when you might get hungry!). My go-to snack or breakfast food for a productive day is a smoothie bowl! Coming soon: The 3 easiest smoothie bowls I make all the time!
Also, stay hydrated! Drink water or fill a water bottle and keep it on your desk so you can stay hydrated while you're checking tasks off for the day! It's important not to forget about your bodily needs and coming from someone who only has one kidney - it's very important to not forget to drink water often! Also, having a reusable eco-friendly water bottle is great to have to reduce plastic waste! I recommend getting a steel or glass one like this one: Bamboo Lid Glass Water Bottle
I usually go on YouTube and search something like "Study With Me with Music" or "Study Inspiration" or "Note Taking/Study Session" depending on what I'm in the mood for on a particular day. Now, you have to be cautious with this because YouTube will try to throw a random video in your face...or rather at the side of the screen that says "Suggested for You". Maybe the title is clickbait-y enough (lol just kidding) to spark your curiosity and at that moment, you will be distracted! My advice would be, only do this if you think you have enough self-control. Maybe allow only 5 or 10 minutes to watch a study-inspiration or productivity-inspiration video and then close the tab once you feel motivated enough. Then you could study in silence or with a productivity playlist going on in the background. My favorite productivity playlist is this one - P R O D U C T I V E By Jasmin Faith
It's important to try to find your peak or optimum time for getting work done. Some people prefer to get work done in the evening or at night but some people like me prefer to get work done first thing in the morning or before sunset. It depends on you but I think getting work done before other work/commitments drain you is a good idea!
Have a simple planner or to-do list notepad to quickly write down what you need to do without wasting much time. My Minimal Planner Printable Set is perfect to plan your day/week/month without wasting much time and if you are in school or college I would highly recommend my College/School Planner Bundle or my Minimal Planner Printables! These planner sets are very effective in helping you stay on top of it and track your days and best of all they're super inexpensive. I also rrecently added planner stickers to my shop! Click here to go to my Etsy! ALSO - if you visit my Etsy from this article, just send me a message on Etsy saying "I'm from your blog!" and I'll give you an additional discount on certain products on my shop!
Done being productive and need something fun to do?
Read Next:
Honestly, sometimes you just don't feel like doing work and that's completely okay! If you really don't feel like it, maybe these tips won't work (but maybe they will - just depends on you!).
However, if you are ready to conquer your school year/your daily life then keep on reading!
This semester in college I'm taking 16 credits, I work over 20 hours per week, and have an internship thrice a week at a Preventative Health Clinic for animals/pets. As you can see, my semester is very busy - in fact on 3 out of the 5 weekdays, my day starts at 8 am and ends at 7 pm! Crazy, right? Therefore, I cannot do without having more productive days than unproductive days in a week or I risk affecting my academics.
I've been very successful at having long productive days on the weekend or doing tasks in between classes (whatever it takes to remain sane during this insanely busy semester) and I've noted down a few things that help me boost my productivity and will to be productive.
Disclosure: Some of the links in this article are affiliate links, which means that I get a commission if you choose to purchase after clicking a link. This doesn’t cost you anything, and I only recommend products I love! Thank you for supporting the work I put into this site!
Want to skip the article? See the video below!
1 | Set the environment
To me, if my room is messy, I just cannot concentrate on studying or getting work done. I need at least my desk to be clean and organized if I don't have time to clean my entire room or I won't get work done. I like to have only papers/books that I need, my laptop (if necessary), and pens/pencils. Everything else either gets pushed to the other side or simply just stays off my desk. My optimum environment is when I'm not distracted by messes in my room/when everything around me is clean.
Photo byBen Kolde
2 | Be prepared
You want to make sure you have everything you need at an arm's distance where you are planning to work. Make sure you have the devices you will need, chargers, books, handouts, files open on your computer, food, water, and so on.So be prepared and have everything close by so you can have a nice flow of uninterrupted productivity.
3 | Eat and drink enough water
Also, stay hydrated! Drink water or fill a water bottle and keep it on your desk so you can stay hydrated while you're checking tasks off for the day! It's important not to forget about your bodily needs and coming from someone who only has one kidney - it's very important to not forget to drink water often! Also, having a reusable eco-friendly water bottle is great to have to reduce plastic waste! I recommend getting a steel or glass one like this one: Bamboo Lid Glass Water Bottle
4 | Get external inspiration
Sometimes, you need to watch someone else be productive or get inspiration from the world wide web (you speeder......okay I'm sorry please don't leave).I usually go on YouTube and search something like "Study With Me with Music" or "Study Inspiration" or "Note Taking/Study Session" depending on what I'm in the mood for on a particular day. Now, you have to be cautious with this because YouTube will try to throw a random video in your face...or rather at the side of the screen that says "Suggested for You". Maybe the title is clickbait-y enough (lol just kidding) to spark your curiosity and at that moment, you will be distracted! My advice would be, only do this if you think you have enough self-control. Maybe allow only 5 or 10 minutes to watch a study-inspiration or productivity-inspiration video and then close the tab once you feel motivated enough. Then you could study in silence or with a productivity playlist going on in the background. My favorite productivity playlist is this one - P R O D U C T I V E By Jasmin Faith
5 | Find your peak hours/time of day
It's important to try to find your peak or optimum time for getting work done. Some people prefer to get work done in the evening or at night but some people like me prefer to get work done first thing in the morning or before sunset. It depends on you but I think getting work done before other work/commitments drain you is a good idea!
6 | Wake up early
Whether you like to get work done in the evening or in the morning, it's a good idea to wake up early and sleep early. Not only will you feel like you have more time in the day to get work done but it will feel really nice to know your sleep schedule is right on time even after completing what felt like a million tasks. I used to be terrible at waking up. My sleep was completely messed up. I would sleep at 3 or 4 in the morning and wake up in the afternoon. Then I would obviously not get much done because most of my day is gone. When I began University I knew I wanted to make a big-time change to my sleep schedule. Coming soon: How I completely transformed my sleep schedule.7 | Prepare the night before
When you feel like you have too much to do, it's human nature to push it off until last minute - a.k.a procrastination. One way to avoid this is by preparing the night before. Making sure little things are in order and you have everything you need for the next day. Whether that means cleaning your room so you don't have to do it the next day before you start working, keeping your outfit ready, or meal prepping so you have more time for other things - anything and everything you do will help you feel less grumpy when you look at your to-do list the next morning.8 | Time block
I absolutely love time blocking because of so many reasons. The short version is that it helps me visually see my day and helps me stay organized and get everything done. I will be posting a long version on how and why I use the method of time-blocking. Coming soon: Time-blocking 101.9 | Plan
Have a simple planner or to-do list notepad to quickly write down what you need to do without wasting much time. My Minimal Planner Printable Set is perfect to plan your day/week/month without wasting much time and if you are in school or college I would highly recommend my College/School Planner Bundle or my Minimal Planner Printables! These planner sets are very effective in helping you stay on top of it and track your days and best of all they're super inexpensive. I also rrecently added planner stickers to my shop! Click here to go to my Etsy! ALSO - if you visit my Etsy from this article, just send me a message on Etsy saying "I'm from your blog!" and I'll give you an additional discount on certain products on my shop!
Done being productive and need something fun to do?
Read Next:
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