The amount of work given to college students can be incredibly overwhelming for them, and those feelings of stress are only exacerbated when students try to get all their assignments done in the eleventh hour. It can be challenging to form good habits and unlearn years of procrastination, but our Nerdify reviews experts have some advice that can help you be a more organized and productive worker.
1. Make a Schedule
While it may seem inconvenient to need to do this well in advance of upcoming projects, taking the time to make a weekly schedule for yourself will help you stay on track and ensure you don’t have any surprise projects that pop up the day before a deadline. Reddit users say that if they don’t have the time to make a schedule, they will instead set notification reminders on their phone to let them know a few days before a minor assignment is due to ensure that they start working on it with ample time to complete it.
2. Set Deadlines
Going hand-in-hand with making a weekly schedule, you can also plan out your day in detail. You’d give yourself time slots in the day for each of your specific assignments, telling yourself that you’ll only work on the projects within that framework — and sticking to that. The goal is not to work faster, but to maximize productivity. As such, the time limit should be reasonable and not shorter than it typically takes for you to complete that task. Instead, say Nerdify reviews experts, having a specific time in your schedule to complete your work will incentivize you to focus in that period, rather than feeling like you need to study the whole day and procrastinating out of stress. Even if you procrastinate during a timeslot, you should move on with your day. It will help lift a weight off your shoulders for the rest of the day and motivate you to try to be more productive tomorrow.
3. Anticipate and Prevent Distractions
Even with the best intentions to start your work on a reasonable schedule, you might make time to do an assignment, only to find hours later that you haven’t actually accomplished anything. Many distractions can prevent you from being productive, with Reddit users saying the most common ones holding them back include social media, texting, watching videos, and talking to “study” friends. While you should absolutely take breaks while working, it’s essential to make sure your “breaks” aren’t significantly longer than the amount of time you spend doing your assignments. If you need to use your phone or laptop for work — but it’s all too easy to mindlessly scroll through social media instead — some apps can regulate the screen time you spend online. For iPhones, this can simply be done in settings, allowing you to either require your passcode for more time on an application or completely lock yourself out of an app. For web browsers like Google Chrome, Reddit recommends looking at the Chrome Extension StayFocused, which enables you to add a list of websites for the extension to block after a set period.
4. Split Work Up
One of the biggest deterrents to you beginning your work is being overwhelmed by the amount you need to do at once. Instead, you’ll procrastinate, setting yourself up for more struggle to get your work done in the future. Instead, if you break apart the amount of work you need to do into chunks, you’ll be motivated to stay on track. Training your brain to feel accomplished after working on small tasks is highly beneficial. You’ll feel rewarded for completing smaller tasks, propelling you forward, and giving you a healthy approach to productivity.
5. Get Sleep
You can set aside time in your day to get work done, but without the proper sleep, you’ll likely not have accomplished nearly all you had hoped. It’s probably not surprising to hear that many scientific studies have shown that our brains do not function properly when sleep deprived, which leads to lower brain function, concentration, memory, and more — all things essential to completing assignments.
6. Find Where You Work Best
Everyone has different preferences for where they like to study and to be as productive as possible, you should find the location that suits you best. It might take some trial and error, but you can make it a fun little adventure to find spots around your college campus or city to do your work. Some need complete silence to focus and prefer studying in locations like a library, while others focus better with the white noise of others talking and will opt to study in places like coffee shops. Whichever spot you find, you should dedicate that specific spot to doing work, and not go there just to hang out. That way, you’ll train your brain to know you need to work when you’re in that location, say Nerdify reviews experts.
