Now that we’ve finished half of the semester, focusing on assignments can feel increasingly difficult. With midterms behind us and Thanksgiving break fast approaching, it’s no surprise that many students are struggling to use their time efficiently. Although there may not be a perfect solution, a variety of productivity methods and apps can help you stay on task while completing homework.
- the Pomodoro method
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The Pomodoro method allows you to break up your study time into more manageable time chunks. For every thirty minutes that you work or study, you spend twenty-five minutes working and then take a five-minute break. After three to five thirty-minute increments, you can take a longer break from your work. This may be less effective for longer tasks; you probably don’t want to be interrupted by an alarm in the middle of writing. Overall, this method helps build your focus, as you spend a concentrated amount of time working and have built-in time for a break.
- the Personal Kanban method
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The Personal Kanban method is especially useful for visual learners. Try splitting your to-do list into three categories: tasks that must be completed soon, tasks that you are currently working on, and tasks that you have already completed. Visualizing your tasks allows you to track your progress as you work. Reading a long list of tasks can feel overwhelming, as smaller and larger projects are shuffled together to create a never-ending, impossible list of to-do’s. If you find yourself with a long list of tasks, this is the perfect method to feel on-top of your tasks and visualize the amount of work you’ve completed.
- Time Blocking
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Time blocking is a productivity method that divides your work sessions into several concentrated blocks of time, with specific tasks assigned to each block. This method helps your days become more productive and structured, as you dedicate specific time throughout the day to different to-do items. It also can create more free time, especially if you tend to feel unproductive despite working on something all day. It can be difficult to work new tasks into this method, and may feel overly rigid for some. That being said, time blocking is a great method for those who require a clear-cute schedule and want to divide their day up into sections to do work or other extracurriculars.
- the Remember the Milk app
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Remember the Milk is a time management app that helps you categorize your to-do list by various factors, including aspects like the due date and perceived importance. You can also neatly organize and color code your tasks. Remember the Milk can sync across devices and connect to various other programs including Evernote, Dropbox, and Google Drive.
- The Flora app
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Flora, a productivity app, helps you stay off your phone as you complete your homework. The app enables you to set timers that dedicate your time to studying. As the timer dwindles, a digital plant grows from a sapling to a mature tree, with the risk of dying if you switch out to another app on your phone. You can also create to-do lists and track your daily routine. This app can encourage you to stay focused and off of your phone while you work, and it comes with a built-in reward system as you grow an in-app garden over time.
Hopefully, these productivity methods help you use your time more effectively for the rest of the semester, and in other areas of your life. Personally, I like to use a combination of the Pomodoro method and the Flora app to keep track of my time and stay off of my phone; that said, we all work differently, so try each method out to see what works best for you.