6 Easy Steps to Become a More Productive Student

How’s your school-life balance? Intact? Obliterated by a barrage of assignments, essays, and midterms? Don’t worry, we’ve all been there.

It can get pretty hectic for us students at times. Fortunately, getting a grip on your studies and managing your time effectively isn’t as hard as you make it out to be, it’s actually pretty simple.

Whether you’re acing it or just holding on, here are six steps to help you avoid school-induced burnout and become an overall more productive student.

1. Set daily goals

What’s the plan, doc?

When we talk about goals, we’re usually referring to long-term goals. And while setting long-term goals is important, it’s equally as important to set daily goals. One way to do this is to start each morning by outlining the things you want to accomplish by the day’s end — these should be realistic and achievable. 

If you want to take things a step further, Cal Newport — author of How to Win at College — suggests keeping a work-progress journal:

Every night, follow the very simple habit of jotting down the day’s date, the […] work you had scheduled for the day, and the work that you actually accomplished. These entries should be very brief, no more than a line each.

Why it works:

“This little act of recording any discrepancy between work scheduled and work accomplished is amazingly effective in keeping your mind in the game. […]

[T]he thought of having to record in your journal that you “accomplished none of the day’s scheduled work,” introduces a degree of accountability into your life. No one wants a permanent record of their temporary laziness.“

Keeping a work-progress journal is a simple way to hold yourself accountable, and in turn, has a positive effect on your productivity throughout the day.

2. Prioritize difficult tasks

“If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” — Mark Twain

Eat the frog? …first thing in the morning?

Natural conclusion: make fried frog legs for breakfast. Mmm. Okay, maybe not.

Actual translation: identify the most difficult item on your to-do list, and then do that, ideally before you do anything else. Why?

The morning is when we’re most energized, and well-rested from the previous night of sleep. It only makes sense to take advantage of this period of time to tackle your day’s most important work.

By doing (and finishing) the hard stuff first, you’ll feel accomplished — like, “that large ol’ thing? Done and done.” Think of it as a mining operation. You start by smashing the 10-foot-high boulder (in school terms: writing 1-2 pages of an essay), and what’s left are the tiny rocks and pebbles, aka. the easy and mindless tasks.

Eat the frog.

Just eat it.

3. Optimize your environment

Where you study matters and makes a huge difference in your focus levels and ability to get stuff done quickly.

(Yes, this does also imply ditching your comfy bed for a desk and chair.)

Aim to study in distraction-free environments, like in an empty classroom, or a library (bonus tip: if you’re staying at any of the SFU libraries, you can take out noise-canceling headphones for up to four hours, just ask the front desk). 

Avoid noisy and chatty settings like the plague, they’re admittedly not the best place to settle down for a work session. Make sure to alert family or any roommates staying with you when you’re “heads down” and don’t want to be disturbed.

Lastly, if group study is your thing, choose study buddies that respect and motivate you rather than distract you and engage in gossip.

4. Choke the social media mania

*DING* a new message arrived. Should you check it? It couldn’t hurt, could it? *BWAHH* Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong. Don’t. touch. the phone. In fact, get it out of here. *chucks it out the window*

*a cat screams in the distance*

Researchers have conclusive evidence showing that this type of task switching we engage in — whether it be checking messages, social media, or email — negatively affects our ability to focus on the task at hand:

[P]eople need to stop thinking about one task in order to fully transition their attention and perform well on another. Yet, results indicate it is difficult for people to transition their attention away from an unfinished task and their subsequent task performance suffers. — [Source]

If you think you can multitask, you probably can to some degree. But you probably aren’t working with the intensity that’s required to reach peak productivity performance.

Here are some simple solutions to combat the *dings* and *dongs*:

• Mute notifications and turn on ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode
• Use app blockers (like OFFTIME or Flipd) to restrict phone usage
• Keep devices away from your place of study
• Log off social media accounts and set long passwords to prevent sporadic checking

Cutting social media might be the most difficult step to adhere to, but it’s one of the most effective measures to eliminate distraction and increase productivity. 

5. Remember to take breaks

To break, or not to break, that is the question.

Actually, there should be no question about it. All work and no play curtails or reduces proper mental and physical functions. Taking breaks between study/work sessions gives the brain a breather and helps it to reboot. 

Having shorter, but multiple study sessions are much better for memory and information retention than longer, more drawn-out ones. Physicians specifically point towards the 25-5 minute rule — work intensively for 25 minutes followed by a quick 5-minute break. 

Also, don’t forget to reward yourself for working so hard. Whenever you reach a milestone (no matter how small), treat yourself with a healthy snack! You deserve it. 

A note on breaks:

We’ve covered in a previous blog post the importance of “task contrasting” in helping you find balance in life. The important thing to take away is that you should use your breaks as time blocks to escape doing the type of activity you’ve been engaged in. 

For example, if you’ve been studying, go for a walk. Get some fresh air. Do something that isn’t cerebrally related — definitely no email, and especially not YouTube. It would also probably be best if you get off any devices if you’ve been on them for a while.

Do take breaks, because once that break timer goes off, you’ll be seated in the same hunched position, staring at that same damn monitor.

6. Take care of yourself

It goes without saying: healthy body, healthy mind.

Getting proper sleep and having a balanced and healthy diet is quintessential to get done work efficiently. Sleep-deprived, junk eaters can’t be productive. Human machinery needs rest and fuel too! 

Summary

While you may never become a productivity god who can put procrastination to death by mere sight, any effort you make will be well worth the try. Have patience, act with consistency, and don’t worry if you mess up. You got this!

The 6 steps to becoming a more productive student:

1. Set daily targets. Get clear on your intentions for the day.
2. Prioritize difficult tasks. Eat the frog. Win the day.
3. Optimize your environment. Take a trip to your local library.
4. Choke the social media mania. Study with your phone off.
5. Remember to take breaks. Give your brain some time to relax.
6. Take care of yourself. Treat your body well.

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Written & co-authored by Pranjali Mann and Milton.

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