Maximize your studying potential with these 10 productivity tips for students, including time management strategies, goal setting, and more.
Have you ever spent hours studying at the library, dorm, or in your room? I have. You may think this is a good thing, but it’s not, so I’m sharing these productivity tips for students.
Studying for hours is daunting and can decrease productivity levels, cause mental burnout and stress, and reduce motivation for homework. Studying for exams, working, and doing homework are essential for surviving the academic year. However, it’s equally important to socialize and support your physical, emotional, and mental health needs.
If you’re returning to virtual or in-person classes this Fall, it’s time to review your daily schedule and make some changes. Today, I’m discussing the best productivity tips for students to help them balance their academic, professional, and personal lives without overwhelming themselves.
10 Productivity Tips For Students
Establish and Maintain a Successful Morning Routine
A successful morning routine is essential in any productive student schedule. Maintaining a consistent schedule will help you keep a specific structure to alleviate the stress associated with planning on the spot. In addition, having a routine allows you to practice excellent time management skills and keeps your daily to-do list on schedule.
As students, you have a lot on your plate. So, it’s crucial to balance your everyday tasks accordingly so you won’t suffer from mental health issues, breakdowns, get overwhelmed, or lose the motivation to continue your studies.
Set Reasonable Goals
As students, learning how to set reasonable goals is one of the best productivity tips you can get. Setting goals is a great way to motivate yourself and measure your progress. However, unrealistic goals such as making a million dollars a week can make you feel defeated and ultimately ruin your productivity. The key to a productive schedule is to set reasonable and achievable goals that you can easily measure and track.
You can create these goals using the SMART method. SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. In a productive routine, you set attainable goals that you know you can hit. If you need help to stick to your goals, start small and work your way up.
For example, if you have a paper due Sunday night and want a draft finished on Friday, then set a goal for each day to complete at least one page instead of trying to do the entire assignment in one day. This will make the task more manageable and easier for you to complete.
Maximize your studying potential with these 10 productivity tips for students, including time management strategies, goal setting, and more. #productivity #goalsetting Share on XUse The Pomodoro Technique
As mentioned previously, spending hours on end studying could be better. So, instead, you must take breaks and give yourself and your brain time to digest the information you’re learning. The best way to do this is with the Pomodoro Technique.
A Pomodoro is a focused work session where you do not take a break. During this time, you get as much work done as possible before the break. Under this technique, you:
- Set a timer for 25 minutes, and start your task.
- If a distraction pops your head, write it on paper and return to your job.
- When the buzzer rings, put a checkmark on your paper. You’ve completed one increment, also known as a Pomodoro.
- Take a five-minute break. Then, you can check the distractions that popped into your head, stretch, grab a cup of tea, etc.
- After four Pomodoro’s, take a thirty-minute break.
- Repeat!
This is one of my favorite productivity tips for students because it helps you manage time and break down tasks. If you’re a student struggling with productivity and time management, I thoroughly recommend trying this technique. It will improve your work ethic.
Prioritize Your Work
Learning how to prioritize your work is essential throughout your academic career. When prioritizing your homework, classwork, or other tasks, organizing them from least significant to most important is vital. In addition, organizing your work and prioritizing tasks teaches you time management skills and helps you be more responsible.
Prioritization helps you stay on top of what needs to be done and save time. As students, you must stay caught up when completing assignments. Learning how to do this now will benefit you in the future.
Avoid Going On Social Media While Working
This is one of the best productivity tips for students of the modern age. Social media is embedded into our daily lives and is highly time-consuming. So, when trying to be more productive and complete your schoolwork, turn off your phone and avoid using social media during that time.
Social media, while you work, is distracting and can cause you to lose track of time. For example, have you ever downloaded TikTok? If so, you’ve probably spent hours accidentally in bed watching cute or funny videos from entertaining teenagers. If so, that is more of a reason you avoid using social media while working. In addition, studying and working on social media makes it more difficult for you.
- To retain information
- To comprehend information
- To complete work promptly
- To get good grades
You can also consider doing a digital detox and minimalizing your social media usage until the end of the school year. This will help you to avoid these pesky distractions and maintain a healthy relationship with the apps.
Drink Plenty Of Healthy Fluids
The following are my favorite productivity tips for students. Drinking water is essential to any production schedule. Nourishing your body with water or other healthy drinks, such as fruit smoothies or protein shakes, can help you be more productive throughout the day or night. Everything we do starts with the brain, so staying hydrated is crucial. The brain uses water and other drinks to function correctly and provides nutrients to the organs.
Staying hydrated improves alertness, attentiveness, energy, memory, and mood. So, if you’re trying to be more productive or increase your creativity, try drinking water and watch how much of a difference it makes.
Find A Good Workplace
Have you ever worked in a library with loud teenagers in the background? You become annoyed and distracted and lose all motivation to continue working. Am I right? Finding a good workplace that suits your educational and productivity needs is vital for avoiding distractions. You can work somewhere quiet, like a library or study room.
An ideal workplace is conducive to learning, working, and focusing. For some people, this is a tranquil place like the library. However, for others, it’s in the dining hall or the center of the commotion. Finding a suitable workplace will be the key to increasing productivity regardless of how you study.
Study With Friends
Yes, you read that correctly. Make sure to study with your friends. I know what you’re probably thinking: Aren’t they a distraction? In some ways, this is true. However, learning with friends is a great way to stay motivated and hold yourself accountable for completing the assigned work. Being a part of a study group with friends can help you avoid procrastination.
I enjoy study groups because it allows me to work with like-minded people. Study groups encourage members to think outside the box, get creative, build strong relationships, and improve communication skills. Studying with friends will motivate you to continue working and seek help because comforting people surround you.
Rest
How many times should I mention this? But, working several hours daily is unsuitable for your overall health or productivity. Time away from working and studying is essential to rest and recollect your thoughts. Resting allows you to digest the hours of information you consumed adequately.
Without proper rest, you risk burning out, suffering from memory loss, mental health illnesses, and losing the motivation to continue working. Restorative rest increases productivity by giving your brain time to find solutions to your problems. Also, resting allows you to see the bigger picture when problem-solving.
Take Care Of Your Health
How do you expect to complete your work if you feel sick, tired, or overwhelmed? Taking care of your health is the most critical productivity tip I’m leaving you. In general, healthier people tend to be more productive than unhealthy people. Before you start working, you must address any health concerns you have.
You will only perform or work at your best if you feel well. So, taking time throughout your day is essential to tend to your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual needs. Some ways to care for your health include eating a healthy meal, journaling, going to the gym, walking, and meditating.
Why Is It Important For Students To Learn How To Be Productive
Students must learn how to be more productive throughout their day. As students, you’re faced with many tasks, challenges, and things due within a few hours or days. Therefore, being productive is vital to a student’s overall well-being. This means that students must learn how to balance their professional, social, and academic selves to achieve their goals.
You can achieve your goals more efficiently if you’re more productive as a student. Learning how to be effective is challenging. It requires time, patience, and the ability to recognize which habits you have that are unproductive. However, with these best productivity tips for students, I’m sure you’ll make it through the school year just fine.
What do you think of these productivity tips for students? Let me know in the comments.
Anika says
Great tips, thanks for sharing your ideas for students!
Lo says
I plan to try some of these techniques to get some work done! I’m really exited to work on my blog this week applying the Pomodoro technique!
Seriah Sargenton says
Please tell me how it goes!
Cassie says
These are all great tips for students! When I was a student, I was juggling a full-time academic schedule with a full-time job. I had to study on the bus, during work breaks, whenever I could. I felt like I was always on the go from one place to another. Maintaining a schedule helps bring order to chaos. Without it, something would definitely have been missed. Incidentally, several of these ideas can also be applied to blogging or other work in general as well.
~Cassie | letsgrowmom.com
Seriah Sargenton says
Cassie,
I remember how hard it was for me to balance, school, work, and life because I had such bad time management skills. This could definitely be applied to other areas of life outside of work too.