Picture this. It’s near the end of the term and everyone is rushing to make-up their missing assignments. If you don’t make honor roll your parents will freak! Everyday you come home, grab a snack, and head straight to your desk. An endless amount of work is awaiting you. It’s already dark, you’ve barely started and time isn’t going to slow down. What are you going to do? Skip dinner? Stay up for hours? Stop doing things that make you happy?! WRONG!! Here are some tips to relax your mind, and give you time to take a breath. 

Are you struggling to find ways to stay productive? You’re not alone. It can be hard to focus on our day-to-day tasks and goals, but luckily there are some tips and tricks to help you stay on track. Here are some of my favorite productivity advice to help you stay organized and motivated.

Pomodoro Technique
How many minutes can you study before scrolling through TikTok or streaming Netflix? Nowadays, most of your homework is probably online which is not improving the situation. Using this technique, you will be able to focus and have an allotted time to do whatever you please. The Pomodoro Technique is a time-management strategy that increases both your productivity and happiness. Pomodoro means tomato in Italian, and refers to the tomato shaped kitchen timers used in the kitchens.

The Pomodoro Technique uses a few different tools, a timer and a to-do list. The first step is to plan out what you want to accomplish and what your top priority is. The second part is knowing when to take breaks. Just set a timer for 25-50 minutes and focus one task. When time’s up set another one for 5-10 minutes for your break. This way instead of getting distracted during study time, you can take a couple minutes to do that in between. Some useful websites are: pomofocus.io and pomotodo.com/intl/en/, which both include a to-do list and a timer. Make sure that during breaks, you take your eyes off the screen. Sometimes it’s hard to study alone, so it’s a good idea to have a study buddy or group. Make sure you are getting work done and having fun. A great resource that incorporates the Pomodoro Technique, and the idea of a study group is studytogether.com.

Time Blocking
Now that you know your life saving study technique, you are all set. Right? Nope! While taking breaks and staying organized during study time is very effective, you have a life outside of school and studies and it’s just as important. If you want to keep your day together, time blocking is the way to go.  Time blocking is basically planning out everyday, and making time for every task. So for example, If I had to study for 1 hour, do something else for 30 minutes, and get some laundry done for 30 minutes then I would assign a certain time frame for each task. Time blocking is sort of like making a schedule. You can approach this method in a few ways. Just plain old paper and pencil or an app. The first step to time blocking either way is to identify what tasks you need to accomplish and prioritize them based on importance. Next, estimate how much time you spend doing each task. It’s important to leave time in between each task because you might have some interferences. Let your time-blocked schedule change over time, you are human and will have some changes throughout the year. It’s okay to change your schedule, take a break. The easiest way to time block is using the app TimeBloc for a mobile device: timebloc.app or Google Calendar. Hopefully these tips make your life a little easier and stress-free.

Here’s an example of how the time blocking method looks like using Google Calendar. It should look pretty much the same on paper or any other app.

“The Pomodoro Technique.” disability.illinois.edu/sites/default/files/Pomodoro%20Technique.pdf. Accessed 9 Dec. 2022.

 “How to boost your productivity with time blocking.” 4 Sep. 2022, monday.com/blog/productivity/increase-your-productivity-with-time-blocking-a-step-by-step-guide/. Accessed 26 Dec. 2022.

This article is not sponsored.