Hey so sorry to do this!! Can we do next weekend? This coming week is really hectic for me and I haven’t been v productive 🙁
I did work, then worked out, and now back to doing work but I’m honestly so tired it’s hard to be productive
Above are just a couple of my friends’ texts from the past weekend. While I am salty that I couldn’t see their beautiful faces on FaceTime after eons because they decided to leave all their studying to the last minute, they got me thinking about what it means to be productive amidst a global pandemic. Everyone is trying to navigate the world as-we-knew-it turned upside down, many seeing political and social upheavals for the very first time in their lives. On top of that, many are studying for a degree that will promise a higher return on investment twenty or thirty years down the line.
If anything above resonated with you — I am so proud of you! You’re onto something AMAZING and never quit on yourself or your journey!
Also, I thought this was the perfect week to talk about productivity. Many of us are diving head first into our first midterm season completely based on Zoom lectures. I wanted to talk about some of my own ‘successful’ methods of being more productive and whether or not being unproductive is as bad an idea as it sounds. Let’s get to it!
To be Productive…
Plan and break down all your tasks into extremely *fancy* bite-sized pieces.
I don’t know if any of you have ever had dinner etiquette lessons when you were a kid. But I did have an extremely weird etiquette lecture when I was in the third grade. Or maybe it was a lesson in 19th century royal meal practices? I don’t remember, but I do remember being told that taking extremely small pieces of your food allows you to cherish every bite of your plate, while also giving the time for your body to digest all the nutrients.
Now, I am not just taking trips down memory lane. Deciding to focus on only one task in its entirety at a time is not the best way to study for college classes, nor for anything else you want to do in life. You will feel unnecessarily overwhelmed to complete a task that can be completed over the course of a few days.
Working on a major paper in bite-sized portions every day is a much better approach to getting a job well done, while maintaining your sanity.
Try this. Plan out how you’re going to work on the paper for the next five days before it’s due. Tomorrow you are going to re-read your first three sources and write down key quotes that you think will be useful. Saturday you are going to read the remaining three sources and write down key quotes. Sunday you will only focus on your introduction and thesis. On Monday you will work on the body of the paper. Tuesday morning you will make the conclusion to bring a solid ending. After a well-deserved break from the paper, you edit the paper Wednesday morning and submit it Wednesday afternoon. As you can see, breaking down the assignment in manageable pieces over a couple of days allows you to produce a quality product while also getting your well-deserved mental rest.
It doesn’t matter, put the phone away — Applying the Pomodoro Technique
Sorry, for the song. I got a bit carried away writing this.
Sometimes, the best way for me to be focused on studying for a class or completing an assignment is to reward myself with something for working diligently for the past half hour or so. It could be five minutes of mindless scrolling across Instagram after writing my discussion post, or helping myself to a bowl of fresh cut fruits after taking notes on a cool case study.
For example, I would be 100% focused and determined on my Marketing class for about half hour with no distractions and complete an assignment. Then I might treat myself to a walk along the pier for 30 minutes or so. Feeling rewarded for my diligent work ethic, I would be ready to give my 100% again to take notes for International Business for the next hour or so. Again, I would deter myself from distractions like my phone or whatever TV drama show my family is watching in the living room. After a successful hour of note taking, I might let myself binge on the drama unfolding between the evil sister and the amiable sister-in-law for the next 10-15 minutes, then come back to work on another homework.
When you try this routine this midterm season, you will find yourself feeling more reinvigorated to complete tedious class work, over and over. When simple social media and online shopping distractions become more pronounced in a virtual learning setting, forcing yourself to follow a discipline like this builds your willpower to accomplish many of your challenging goals in life.
Study with your friends: Virtual Edition!
One of my most recent strategies — and one my favorite methods that wonderfully complements the above strategies — is studying with your friends via Zoom! Sitting at the round table on the third floor of Babbio with a study buddy, or relaxing in one of the extra-large comfy chairs in Gateway North hearing the light chatter of friends in the background, helped me get my homework done before I commute back home for the night. While not possible in reality for many of the upperclassmen students, do not lose hope!
Even if you and your friends are miles apart from each other, studying together without distractions is possible and might help you manage your study time better! Ask your favorite study buddy if they would be willing to have a 30-60 minute Zoom call with you so both of you guys can study for your respective classes. Just having the presence of someone looking at you (while not in a creepy way) allows you to be more accountable and appreciative of your study time. Many of us are in households with a lot of distractions and sometimes it’s hard to realize you’re working on schoolwork in the comfort of your home. If you were like me, I strictly followed a ‘school work at school, house work at home’ regime for classes until last semester. Having the presence of someone from school in the background while you grind through assignments can make you feel less nostalgic about having a virtual semester.
If you’re on a Zoom call, chances are no one in your family is going to barge into your space to distract you. Second, you would be motivated to complete your work because your hardworking friend on the opposite end of the screen is breezing through their assignments as well. Furthermore, having 30 minute or hour long Zoom calls allows you to schedule your tasks better and forces you to be 100% determined to complete the task because you have an ‘appointment’ now to complete your schoolwork.
Or Not to be Productive…
I have been unproductive across the board but I’m good…
While I hope the techniques above help you become a productivity queen or king this midterm season, I want to take the time to say it’s ok to be unproductive. It is ok and sometimes necessary to not be hustling every waking hour. Your mental health comes first before any material accomplishment like a job title or an ‘A’ grade in class. Maybe you had a rough emotional roller coaster week, and you cannot do 100 tasks today. That’s fine. Do 10 or 20 and take a well-deserved nap! Treat yourself to mindlessly staring at your ceiling or write a short story. Maybe you ate something the past week making you feel lethargic — change your grocery shopping list for the coming week! But don’t bash yourself over a lazy week.
Having an unproductive week amidst months of productive effort is a reward within itself on a grander scale. While they might seem unproductive, these types of weeks can help you realize the bigger picture of your goals and aspirations. I know for myself that having a week of mindless pondering allowed me to realize my true career passions and the meaning of my relationships with whom I love.
Wishing more power to you in being more productive and letting your soul breathe with a few lazy days!
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