How To Be Super Productive

This entire day has been extremely unproductive. I usually spend my entire day on campus, but today I had no other obligations (work, SI sessions, class) after 1:30pm. I came home, worked out and showered, and everything went downhill from there. I feel so lousy... like I wasted an entire day doing nothing. I know I don't like feeling like this, and hopefully you don't either. Life is too short to waste another day. So here are my tips in having a super productive day.

#1. Plan

      ▸ Make sure you plan what needs to be done by making a list or writing in your agenda. How can you be productive when you don't know where to begin or what you have to complete? It's all about time management and getting things done! This is how much I need to do in this amount of time. Having a goal set and keeping track of time is important in productivity. I write in my planner to remind myself how much I have to get done in a day's work - it really helps motivate me to get started now or get behind. 

#2. Prepare

      ▸ I know I got myself in the situation where I had written in my planner to do practice problems for math, and I did not bring my class notes so I had no references on how to attack these set of problems. I had to go through the textbook or google the processes which was not convenient or effective in understanding the material. So refer back to your list or planner and get everything ready in order to be productive and efficient that day.

#3. Focus

      ▸Try to stay on track. Don't open Facebook or Tumblr or Twitter. Avoid all Social Media! You won't be focused in your work, and you'll end up spending hours on useless, insignificant material that merely entertains you a quarter of the time you're browsing. So think of it like this: Once you finish your work, reward yourself with that hour of browsing, not in between studying or working.

#4. Find your Study Spot

      ▸ I find that your chosen study spot is more effective than you think. I can be super productive in the quiet areas of the library, and semi-productive by the "free-to-talk" area of the library. Sure, I get things done with people talking around me, but I find myself more focused in quiet areas. So find your "super productive study spot" and log in a couple of hours there. I like to study 4-6 hours a day - I feel very unproductive if I don't get at least four hours of studying. 

#5. Be Persistent 

      ▸ Can't understand a problem? Too "bored?" Keep working! If you feel like giving up, you're only going to stop yourself from having the most productive day you've ever had. If you take the time to understand a problem, you're going to feel so much more prepared and relieved, and you'll thank yourself later. If you find yourself getting bored of the material, make it fun! I am not much of a reader (especially when the chapters are 20 pages long!), so instead I work on practice problems. If I get stuck, then I go over class notes or skim through the material. I find that working problems are more effective than reading about them. 

I am usually really good about being productive, but today was something else... So hopefully these tips help you, and try to stay focused this year! We can do this! For me, today is just a day closer to graduating. Stay positive and get ahead of the game!

Good luck!