Top 12 Productivity Tips For College Students
INTRODUCTION
Have you ever struggled with being productive? You want to achieve soo much but you just don’t feel like it?? You constantly feel the urge to check your mobile or watch TV or do anything that distracts you from what you’re supposed to be doing. It’s almost as if you want to be distracted. And then you feel guilty for not reaching your targets.
Does this sound relatable to you? Don’t worry, this is more common than you might think. With the increased usage of social media and digital consumption, college students are constantly riding on the “dopamine high.” Needless to say, this has an adverse impact on productivity
But this is not the sole reason for decreased levels of productivity. There can be other things that result in decreased focus and productivity. But the great thing is that there are plenty of productivity hacks that can help you gain more control of your time and boost your productivity.
In this post, you will find some productivity tips for college students that have helped me a lot. I hope you find them useful as well!
PRODUCTIVITY TIPS
1) track your time
This is the first step toward increasing your productivity. All of us have only 24 hours in a day. And if we want to make the best possible use of that time, we need to know how we are spending it.
You don’t need anything fancy to be able to do this. A simple journal or a time tracking app is enough. If you don’t have these things, make a new notebook and record your time. If you start studying, write down the time when you started and when you stopped. Every time you take a break, write it down.
That way, you can visually see how you’re spending your time. Are you watching too much TV? Or using too much social media? You can consciously decide to utilize that time for a better purpose. Are you spending a lot of time on the commute on a daily basis? You can choose to make the best use of that time.
Now keep in mind “best use” means what’s best for YOU. If you need rest, utilize that time to take a quick nap. If you want to learn something new, you can listen to podcasts.
Just because we’re talking about ways to be productive does NOT mean you need to spend every second of your time being productive. You are allowed to rest and relax without feeling guilty Listen to and respect your mind and body and do what works the best for you :))
Unless you know how you’re spending your time, it’s very difficult to utilize it in a proper way. So this is very important time management and productivity tip.
2) Understand when you're most productive
This again comes with self-awareness. It should come as no surprise that your productivity waxes and wanes throughout the day. Some people are the most productive in the morning while others are night owls. When you understand your body rhythm and working pattern, you’ll be able to divide your time in the most efficient way.
For example, if you feel sleepy and bored in the afternoons, you can do college homework of subjects that don’t require a lot of your brainpower, or something that you’re already good at. Whereas if you want to learn new, difficult things, you might want to do that in the time period when you feel refreshed and productive.
But this is something that everyone needs to assess for themselves. Self-awareness is a very useful skill and it’s extremely useful when it comes to creating a routine that works the best for you and boosts your productivity.
3) Start your day right
Even if you’re not a morning person, it is still important to start your day right. The way you start your day plays a major role in how the rest of your day will go.
According to some studies, student productivity statistics show that having Math or English classes in the morning instead of in the afternoon increases a student’s GPA by a significant amount.
Do some light exercise, set your intentions for the day and if you’re into journaling, you can spend a bit of time doing that. Basically, do anything that makes you feel happy and fresh. Avoid looking at social media or youtube the first thing in the morning as it is sure to kill your productivity.
4) Use the Pomodoro technique to avoid procrastination
I probably don’t need to tell you that procrastination is a huge problem when it comes to being productive, There are many different ways and methods to conquer procrastination in order to be productive but this is a very popular and my favorite technique.
The Pomodoro technique is a simple and easy to understand and implement technique used to increase your productivity. In short, it is based on working in short and intense timed intervals (called “Pomodoros”), spaced out by short, frequent breaks. This trains your brain to focus for short periods and the short breaks allow your brain to recharge itself.
If you want to know more about it, you can check out the detailed post here: The Pomodoro Technique for studying: The Ultimate Guide for college students. I find this technique very helpful.
The “Pomodoros” create a sense of urgency and help you beat procrastination. This technique has multiple benefits such as increased efficiency, improved concentration and attention span and decreased procrastination. So this is definitely one of the best productivity tips for college students.
5) Develop a productivity routine
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”
I love this quote because it perfectly summarises the importance of habits and creating a routine. When you’re a student, you’re juggling a lot of things, right from studying to extracurriculars to hanging out with your friends. And when things become too overwhelming, you are bound to neglect the hardest tasks, that require a lot of your effort. And you can imagine what this does to your productivity.
Instead of this, if you have a fixed time when you read your class notes, do your assignments, or study or exercise, you’re less likely to miss out on doing these things just because you become so used to doing them every day. Again, I’d encourage you to find out what works the best for you. Maybe you need a quiet place to work, maybe you have a favorite spot in the library, or a yummy beverage that you like to drink alongside studying.
6) plan your week properly
It’s very important to plan your week properly as a student. By planning your week in advance, you’re setting yourself up to be very productive throughout the week.
On the other hand, if you don’t plan your week properly your productivity can suffer because of a number of reasons; you might overcommit and feel stressed and burnt out as a result of that. If you don’t have a proper plan in a place you’re also more likely to procrastinate and get distracted. That is why weekly planning is an important productivity tip for college students.
7) Use the right apps and organizational tools
Not all screen time is bad screen time. In this digital age, plenty of useful apps exists that can help maximize your productivity. You can use digital planners to keep everything organized. Note-taking apps are also available that can be used for taking class notes, capturing photos, and creating to-do lists. Because all this information is stored digitally, it is completely searchable.
My personal favorite is an all-in-one productivity platform called “Notion”. It is a great productivity and organization tool and because of its flexibility and an array of useful features, it has gained massive popularity in recent times. I have an entire post on How to use Notion for students so you can check that out. In Notion, you get plenty of useful and readymade templates which can save you a lot of time. Using these apps and organizational tools in the right way can surely boost your productivity.
8) reduce the distractions around you
Cmon, you can do this! Our brain knows that distractions are productivity killers, even then we get easily distracted. Don’t worry, you’re not crazy! In fact, there’s science-backed reasoning behind this. You intend to spend only a few minutes on Instagram, and the next thing you know you’ve spent an hour mindlessly scrolling through your feed. This has happened to the best of us!
The only way to conquer this is to try and remove distractions around you. Keep your mobile, iPad, and other gadgets outside your room. Or keep them hidden inside your cupboard. I’ve found that as long as these things are in sight, my temptation to “quickly” use them increases!
If you’re studying on your phone or your laptop do the next best thing – set limits on your apps and turn off all notifications.
But you cant stay away from social media forever.. so when should you check out hundreds of notifications? This brings us to the next point.
9) Block your time
Time blocking is a method wherein you divide your day into different blocks of time. You can use a time-blocking spread to do this. It’s very easy to use and if you use digital apps, you can easily recreate it there,
In time blocking, you essentially divide your day into different blocks of time. This productivity tip for students is a bit underrated, but trust me, it can do wonders for your daily time utilization.
Make sure you’re blocking out the time for rest, having meals, exercising and sleeping. Once you’ve created the time blocks, you can then use the Pomodoro technique to help make the most of the “productive” time slots.
This method works because you can visually see how much time you have available and the things you need to do in that time. It also ensures that you have time for other important things like sleep and exercise
10) exercise regularly
This is a major productivity hack. Scientific studies have shown that regular exercise provides students with important cognitive benefits that have positive effects on their scholarly efforts. This means that you’ll be able to reduce your learning time by exercising regularly.
Cardiovascular exercises increase the amount of oxygen that reaches your brain. As a result, the brain works better, resulting in increased productivity. Exercise also helps you combat stress, allows you to sleep well and keeps you mentally and physically fit.
When you combine all the above factors. it is clear that exercise is sure to boost your productivity levels. Try it out for yourself and see!
11) prioritize your mental health
Stress levels have an adverse impact on productivity. Practicing mindfulness, meditation can help reduce your stress levels. Unless you feel are mentally in a good shape, it will be difficult, if not impossible for you to be productive.
It’s very important that you sleep well and take a break when needed, and have a good diet. It is extremely important that you eat healthily and pay attention to what you consume, focus on the positive side of life, celebrate every win, and compete, but do not let the competition take your heart.
12) get proper sleep
Sleep is a very important factor that affects your productivity. Student productivity research shows that the GPAS of students receiving 9+ hours of sleep per night were significantly higher (3.24) than those of students receiving 6 or fewer hours of sleep per night.
Moreover, getting the right amount and quality of sleep is important to stay physically and mentally healthy. If you don’t get proper sleep you’ll feel drowsy and lazy the entire day, which is sure to adversely impact your productivity.
Getting the right amount of sleep ensures that your brain functions in a healthy way. I feel that this is a productivity tip that often gets overlooked, especially among students. Try to relax and wind down at the end of each day so that you’ll feel calm and relaxed.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Everyone is different so it’s important to understand what works well for you. And the best way to do this is by simply trying out different things.
I also want to add an important thing here: Just because we’re talking about ways to be productive does NOT mean you need to spend every second of your time being productive. You are allowed to rest and relax without feeling guilty Listen to and respect your mind and body and again, do what works the best for you 😀
Hope this post helps you a bit! Have you ever struggled with productivity? If you have any more tips for staying productive that work for you, do let me know in the comments below!
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The Pomodoro Technique For Studying: The Ultimate Guide For Students
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Very helpful article 💯
I personally struggle with productivity. The worst thing is when you realise at the end of the day that your output is very little as compared to the time given for the task. It leads to dissatisfaction and then affects your sleep and mental health. Techniques like pomodoro, exercising regularly and meditating help a long way!
Hi Sai, thank you for the comment. You’re exactly right and glad you found it helpful!
Thanks for your blog, nice to read. Do not stop.
Hey Mark! Thanks a lot, I really appreciate it 🙂 Have a great day.