Ways to Feel Productive in 30 Minutes or Less!

You know those moments during your week where you have an awkward period of time between two obligations? Thirty minutes never seems long enough to get a paper done, study for a test, or do any of those other crucial weekly tasks that are forever ingrained into your planner. This week, don’t use that time to read through every single one of your new follower’s tweets, or stalk the cute guy in your lit class for the fifteenth time, but try out a few things on this list and feel more productive by the second. The more successful you feel during the week, even if it is over something like putting new sheets on your bed, the more you will actually accomplish before the long-awaited weekend…
 

• Make breakfast instead of eating a granola bar (or nothing). Fried egg with cheese on a toasted English muffin takes way less time than you’d expect. And it’s tastier and more filling than those Nature Valley bars that explode into crumbs when you try to take a bite.
• Vacuum your room. And don’t forget to use the little wand to vacuum your bathroom floor too!
• Go through your fridge and throw away all of the old/expired stuff. If you second guess it, then it’s probably old.
• Floss. And tweeze.
• Waterproof your rain jacket. If it doesn’t need it now, it will soon. Also, if you buy the spray, it won’t hurt to give flats or boots a coat as well, especially if they are suede. Just don’t subject them to the sidewalks once campus becomes covered in salt!
• Come to terms with the inescapable convenience charges and finally take all of your change to Coinstar. Then buy your favorite Ben and Jerry’s flavor since you have to go to a register to cash your receipt anyway (you can’t go wrong with Brownie Batter).
• Paint your nails/toenails. Recommended: Sinful Colors Professional in “Ruby Ruby.” Seriously, the perfect red and no touch-ups needed.
• Make your bed. Something as simple as pulling up the covers and straightening pillows can make you feel productive before you even leave home in the morning.
• Return the Redbox that’s been sitting on top of your DVD player for a few days. Sure, it’s only $3, but you could get a salted caramel latte for that much.
• Use a deep conditioning treatment on your hair. Recommended: Neutrogena Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Hair Mask.
• Start something for class that’s due next Monday so you have one less thing to do Sunday night.

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• Buy or make cards for the next three birthdays on your calendar. It saves you the panic of wondering if you remembered someone’s special day on time and shows your friends and family how much they really mean to you. Thoughtfulness only takes a minute but can pay off for a lifetime.
• Take out all the trash in your dorm room, apartment, or house.
• Go running/jogging/walking for half an hour. It gets you sweating on the days you don’t have time to fit the gym into your schedule, and gives you time to catch up with a friend you may not see much during the week.
• Download and print adorable, free to-do lists from Baca Creative. It feels so much more motivating to cross something off a cleverly designed list than a post-it note. Make separate lists for short-term and long term-goals to keep you from getting overwhelmed or unorganized. Download at: http://bacacreative.blogspot.com/search?q=le+blahg
• Pick one article in one of your current magazine issues and read it all the way through.
• Buy boxes of baking soda for your fridge/car/closet. It’s cheap and keeps odors away.
• Drink a glass of water: Important for your body’s health and curbs hunger to prevent unnecessary snacking.
• Create a Pandora playlist specifically for when you want to get things accomplished. It saves you the time of skipping through songs later and a consistent station will automatically remind you to get in the productive mindset.
• Have a few emails that aren’t exactly time sensitive, but you’ll still need to send eventually? Take ten minutes to knock them out, and then all that’s left to do is wait for a response.
• Even if you don’t have time to actually do your laundry, go ahead and sort all your dirty clothes. It will be so much easier just to throw a pile in the wash next time you have a chance.
• Put fresh sheets on your bed. As we all know, it takes way longer than a simple task really should and usually results in you sweating and wrestling with your mattress, but it’s so worth it when it comes time to get under the covers.
• If you have the convenience of cooking your own meals, brainstorm some dinner ideas for the rest of the week. If you have recipes in mind, your grocery trips will be faster and you’ll end up spending less money than if you wander aimlessly through each aisle.
• Read this article again…just to be safe!

C’mon, get going! It’s time to be productive!