Student life can get very busy sometimes, especially if you have a part-time job alongside lectures and assignments. And it’s so easy to fall into the trap of procrastination until you end up feeling like you’re getting snowed under, both figuratively and literally.
But don’t you worry, here’s a generic guide to staying productive when you want nothing more than to just stay indoors and slouch in front of a TV or laptop all day!
I am sure that everyone reading this functions differently, and I’m sure these tips won’t work for all, but hopefully, some of these can come in handy!
Find A Place You Enjoy Working
For many of you, ‘enjoy’ and ‘working’ in the same sentence may be a bit of a stretch, but the environment you work in really is key!
Whether it’s at home locked in your room with some headphones on, on a long train journey, or in one of the University’s designated workspaces, find somewhere where you feel your most productive, where you won’t be easily distracted, and where you feel you’re most relaxed for long periods!
For me, the Peirson and The Hive work an absolute treat for this. If I can find a quiet table in either to space out my notebooks and laptops, then I can work for hours on end and feel really productive!
Find a Study Buddy
Oh Hell no, he did not just say study buddy?!
Oh yeah, I did.
And I meant it too! Since my first year at Uni, I have lived with Tipa, and we have constantly gone to The Hive together in order to get our work done.
It works really well because not only do we have each other’s company on the journey over, but we have each other there to bounce ideas off and motivate each other to keep working throughout the time we are there as well.
It also makes it far easier to take the breaks you need to keep focus for long periods, as it’s far more entertaining chatting to someone in between workloads than sitting by yourself!
Make a To-Do List
You will feel a lot more productive if you can actually physically see how much work you are getting done, especially on days where it feels like you’re putting in a lot of effort and getting next-to-nothing done.
By knowing what you need to do at the start of the day’s work, and seeing your progress throughout as you tick off items, you can really feel more positive about your efforts.
And, if you’re very much a member of the ‘Smartphone Generation’, and would like to use your phone to keep track of all this instead of taking a written list everywhere with you, there is an app called Errands which makes it incredibly easy to do so.
Reward Yourself
Operant Conditioning may be decades old now as a theory, and used more regularly than it is recognised, but it is still valid!
If you set yourself a target to reach a reward, such as a thirty-minute TV break or a few sweets or something similar for every 700 words you write, it will break the process of work apart nicely and make it feel far less of a chore.
Don’t be afraid to treat yourself!
Just a few easy points there, and I’m sure many of you have others, such as listening to music or something similar, which you are welcome to put below!
Worcester Student Life 