5 Tips to be a highly productive student
The novelty of being a student quickly wears off after you find yourself juggling demanding workloads, putting in hours of study and pumping out killer assignments at all hours.
Some students look like they're sailing through and others hyped up on a cocktail of EnergyX and caffeine. What's the difference? Those that have it together are working smarter not harder. They have productivity tools enabled that see them maximising their time and keeping focused.
If you find yourself submitting an assignment without a minute to spare or cramming before an exam, take a look at these tips to help you become a productive student.
Design your environment
Your bed or sofa might look like a comfortable place to work, but it will negatively affect your productivity (not to mention leave you with back and shoulder pain).
Set yourself up with a clean working environment. Ideally, position this in a space with plenty of natural light.
Style your workspace with items that can help with organisation, a plant and some inspirational images.
Consider whether music is a distraction or helps you remain focused. If you function better in a quiet zone, investing in noise-cancelling headphones could be a godsend long term.
Establish a routine
Establishing a routine is paramount for studying success. If you're in lockdown where the days all roll into one, this could not be more the case.
Start with your basics:
Set your ideal wake up
Identify where you want to add movement into your day
Establish your meal times
Plan breaks
Set your ideal bedtime
Now, look at the positive habits you want to include in your day like mindfulness, journaling, socialising, cooking etc.
If these are ideal habits yet to be implemented, start with one or two you'd like as part of your everyday routine so you can gain momentum without creating overwhelm. A habit tracker on your phone like this one can be helpful or you might go old school with a planner, like this simple download from Passion Planner.
Start time blocking
Time blocking helps you become productive in small amounts of time. The idea is that you break up mammoth tasks such as an assignment into bite-sized tasks.
For example, you might set yourself 1 hour to research a particular topic or 45 mins to dot point your essay structure.
You can time block using a planner to structure your day. Online tools such as Promofocus or TrackingTime can help you stay on track, working smarter not harder.
Schedule screen breaks
Schedule breaks into your study or work sessions. Not the kind of breaks that see you stop watching an online lecture and take up scrolling aimlessly through Facebook!
We're talking actual, get up and move around away from a screen kind of break. Go for a walk around the block, practise grounding in your backyard, sit down and have a cup of herbal tea.
Use this time to do something totally unrelated to your studies that feel your energy up and refresh your headspace. Not only does this help you be a more productive student, but it also gives you clarity. You'll turn back to your assignment or study session with fresh eyes and with the ability to make improvements.
Switch off your socials
Find yourself sitting in an online lecture bored and disinterested? Maybe you are trying to prep for an upcoming exam, but struggling to stay present.
Procrastination, loss of focus and boredom are all the real feels of studying, especially if you're studying online. Nine times out of ten, you'll be turning to Instagram or Facebook to feel in the gaps or give you a "just 5 mins" break.
Deep down you know your social media feed is a massive distraction more than a relaxing tool. To increase your productivity while studying, log out of your social accounts.
If you're coming up to the pointy end of your studies with exams on the radar and assignments due, consider temporarily disabling your accounts altogether (don't worry you can be back online after the hard stuff is done). At the very least, disable your push notifications.
Have any productivity tips that have helped you during your studies? Feel free to share below so other students can benefit!
