As the season of finals approaches, you can practically hear the buzz of stressed-out students all around campus. From heinous group projects to terrifying papers, the college student workload can be so large that some of us (most of us) feel overwhelmed and put off the work in favor of relaxing and having fun. This happens over and over until, suddenly, that paper is due tomorrow, or your group schedules a meeting later that day, and you are completely unprepared. What results is a furious race against time to complete your work, usually resulting in extreme levels of stress and sleep deprivation, and BS so prominent it can be spotted from a mile away. You promise yourself that you will never ever do this again. Except then, the cycle starts over…
Collegiettes, this is no way to be treating ourselves! These kinds of extremes are terrible for our health and, let’s face it, our schoolwork. To combat this cycle, time management is critical. There are several different methods on managing time. Here are four that can help you not only accomplish your work, but lower those stress levels too!
1. The Pomodoro Technique
This is a method that is easy to start. The basic premise is that you focus intensely on one task for 25 minutes, then take a mandatory 5 minute break. This not only prevents burnout, but keeps you focused and chipping away at that massive paper! After four of these cycles, a 30 minute break is permitted before continuing. To up the organization, a “To Do Today” list can be constructed and interruptions documented. You can find information on all of this while you procrastinate on your project. By the end of the article you will be ready to start working!
2. Challenge Accepted
If you like checking off lists, winning points and leveling up, you are going to want to visit this website! The designers of this unique site said that they wanted a “to-do list app for people who like the mechanics of roleplaying games.” This is the perfect thing for those of you who love video games or creating lists of things to do! The promise of leveling up as you complete activities is a great way to stay motivated through the long hours of studying. Grab your sword and accept the challenge!
3. Habit RPG
This is another game-like site, but it’s more directed towards habits and studying. If you know you learn best when you review flashcards for a few minutes every day, but struggle to make yourself do it, then this site could be for you! The main motivator here is if you don’t check something off of your daily to-do list, you lose points and prizes that you win in the game. Plus, every time you complete one of those little tasks, you gain points and have the chance of winning an in-game animal. It all comes down to some extra motivation to cross those little things off of your daily list.
4. Written? Kitten! and Writer: the Internet Typewriter
These two sites are designed to help keep you motivated as you write that 12-pager. Written? Kitten! shows you a new picture of a cute kitten for every 100 words you write, while Writer incorporates the fun sounds of a typewriter to keep you happily typing away. Hopefully, these sites will help make the dreary task of writing just a little bit more fun.
Have you tried any of these sites before? Have any other ideas on how to stop procrastinating? Tell us in the comments!
Photo Credits:
pomodorotechnique.com/get-started/
getyedone.com/index.php
habitrpg.com/static/front
writtenkitten.net/
writer.bighugelabs.com/