Do you ever feel like your life is spiraling out of control? That has been me on too many occasions this term. I’ve been embarrassed at my lack of productivity and motivation so decided to make a change. I was going to stop being lazy and become this superhuman that could do no wrong. It didn’t work. I was cramming and ignoring all of my work until I realized that what I need is a balance. I managed to keep my life in order with small changes in my routine. Here are four ways that I got my life together this term.
1. Purge your apps
My lack of motivation and increase in stress has been caused in part by being glued to my phone. I found myself using my phone just out of pure boredom or as a subconscious distraction from my work. I fixed this by deleting all of my apps that I found myself overusing, like 2048 and other games. Apps such as Pinterest, Buzzfeed, and VSCO Cam are now stored in a separate folder away from the rest of my apps, so I don’t see them. To prevent further distraction, I also turned notifications off. Out of sight, out of mind.
2. Set daily goals
It’s easy to get caught up in doing the bare minimum amount of work every day, which is how we end up with three weeks of laundry sitting in our baskets or tons of dishes in the sink.What I did to counteract this is making a to-do list every morning. This sounds simple and obvious but checking off a small task like cleaning my room is super rewarding and helps me keep track of what I’ve done that day.
3. Use a planner
Last quarter I would strictly use my planner for writing down homework assignments. I felt unorganized and overwhelmed with tackling school, a social life, and clubs. Planning your entire week ahead of time is one of the best ways to get your life together. Every Sunday I look at my calendars and write down my class schedule, what assignments are due, and what social events I am going to so I know exactly what I have planned. A lot of professors put what assignments are due and when on their syllabus, so I pull that up for every class and write the due date the day before as a reminder.
4. Separate work and play
Time management has been one of the hardest skills for me to master. I found myself skipping English to write an essay I had due that day because I went to the gym with my friends the night before. I would often try to mix work and play but quickly realized this was very unproductive. Rectifying this was as easy as doing homework by me sometimes instead of with getting distracted with a friend. At times, I’ve had major FOMO. I realized, though, that Saxby’s coffee runs and frat parties aren’t going anywhere and that focusing school is much more rewarding in the long run.
While school should be top priority, don’t forget to take some time for yourself. Managing your time can also include scheduling a few hours to recharge, watch a movie or hang with friends. These tips can help you become more productive, but they will work best if you are happy and healthy.