I think I’ve spent every day this school year running around like a crazy woman. I suppose you could say I’m a bit over-involved: I’m a full-time student, an officer in six different organizations, and I also need time to do things like eat and sleep. I’m also in an arts degree program, which consistently involves budgeting time for things like rehearsals.
You might be tempted to think that’s impressive. Maybe you’re even thinking about the incredible time management skills I must possess. The craziest part of my insane schedule is actually my lack of time management skills. I’d argue I’m never put together, and I’ve never let that stop me.
In honor of that, these are my top productivity tips. There are only 24 hours in a day, and somehow I make all of them count. Here’s how I do it!
- start your day
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No one hates to hear this as much as I do, but the only way to have a productive day is to get out of bed. Listen, I get it. I’m perpetually sleepy and a nightmare to drag out of bed, but I promise you’ll never accomplish the things you need to do if you let yourself live there. Get up and get going — you’ll thank me later!
- get a calendar
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Listen, if something isn’t in my calendar, it’s not happening. I put every class, club meeting, and hangout with friends directly into my color-coded Google Calendar, and let that be my guidebook to everything that I have going on in a week.
If I were someone who was capable of building a routine, I’d tell you at this point to build yours around your availability, and to build time to plan your days into it. Alas, I’ve never met a routine that liked me, so I sort of function without one. If you’re like me, a digital calendar that you can check whenever and set to send you notifications might give you the structure you need without feeling suffocated.
- task stack
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This is my holy grail. The only way I have enough hours in the day for everything I need to do. Doing one thing? Do another too! I know some people say we shouldn’t be multitasking, but, personally, I think they’re wrong.
For instance, I love to work on homework when I’m tabling for organizations. Outside of the involvement fair, most tabling is pretty calm, and I work on my assignments in between conversations with students. You could do something similar if you work any kind of desk assistant job, where the main goal is to be there if someone needs you.
I’ve just started listening to audio recordings while I’m doing otherwise unimportant tasks. This has been really great for me to get through both my laundry and my lecture videos.
I also love to use small breaks between classes to answer mentally taxing but otherwise easy tasks, like responding to emails. I’ll get to class a little early, get settled, chat with classmates as they arrive, and be productive! This has the bonus of putting me in the headspace of productivity before class starts, which makes the transition to learning less jarring.
- productive procrastination
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I’m not going to lie and say I’m not a procrastinator; it’s part of my charm. My new favorite way to procrastinate is by doing other things I need to get done. Don’t want to do that homework assignment right now? Don’t! But instead of killing my momentum by doomscrolling on TikTok or reading another chapter of my book, I’ll pick up another task I’ve been putting off.
Sometimes I’ll start working on tasks for the organizations I’m involved in, sometimes I’ll start a load of laundry, or sometimes I’ll put away all the dishes that are on the drying mat in my apartment. What truly matters is that I’m not letting myself do nothing or stagnate. This consistent productivity is what’s going to help me finish my assignment once I get myself back on track.
- rot time
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If you take anything from this article, let it be this: you need time to rest. None of us is a machine; we’re people who feel the impact of using all of our energy consistently. It’s important to take care of our bodies and our minds in whatever way we need to. I love kidnapping my friends for a sweet treat after a long day of commitments. I also love lying in bed and doing next to nothing. These are both things that allow me to recharge my battery so I’m not running on empty.
The concept of scheduling breaks used to sound really horrifying to me. I could never plan for when I would actually need a break. If you can plan for that, go for it, but I don’t possess that kind of mind-reading ability. Instead, I try to give myself more breaks than I might need and build in breaks before I desperately need them.
If you’re also perpetually busy or seeking to be, trust me when I say that you don’t need to have it all figured out just yet. Don’t let that stop you from chasing the things you want. I hope this article has given you the confidence to know that you can do it. Trust me, if I can manage it, you definitely can too.
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