How to be productive, + school tips and tricks!

Hi everyone!

I have not posted in so long! Things here have been absolute insanity, so I've just been thinking for the past days and days I NEED to write a blog post, but I haven't gotten to it until right now! Plus, also, I haven't known what to write about, so let me know what you want to see on this blog in the comments! I find myself procrastinating a LOT with school, so I thought I would share some tips on how to help with that! So yeah, let's get into it.

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1. Make it fun if possible - A lot of times, school to me is just so BORING and not fun at all, and I just want to sit and watch tv. So if you have something that doesn't really require thinking, but is just tedious like writing down definitions, do something to clear your mind while you do it so you're prepared to do what IS boring and requires thought. My favorite thing is to turn on Netflix and watch an episode of something 30-45 minutes long and get all of my tedious work done during that time, then I can focus when I have to do my other work.

2. Put your phone AWAY - One of my biggest distractions is definitely my phone. I find myself looking at it every two seconds to see if i have a text or an Instagram notification. Then, my mind completely goes away from school and forgets everything I was doing. To help with this, put your phone OUT OF SIGHT. You can put it in a different room, or just somewhere else in the room, and always face down so that you can't see the screen light up. I've found myself telling myself that if I do school then, I can look at my phone later, and have more notifications than when I just look at the clear screen over and over again.

3. Matching games - I've tried to use Quizlet in the past, but I've found that it doesn't help me as much as this tactic does. I just did this this morning for my Biology test. If you're like me and struggle with memorizing definitions, this will help you so much. Basically, just get paper and cut out little squares of paper, and on one of them write the definition, and on one just write the name of the definition. Then, set them all on the floor face down and play a matching game with them. Every time you turn one over, say it out loud to get it registered in your mind. I'm not joking, this works so well. From a person who is TERRIBLE at definitions, if you go do your test immediately after this, it goes great. I got every single definition, and I'm never able to do that.

4. Do NOT listen to music unless it helps you - I find when I listen to music while trying to do school, I end up jamming out to music for hours and getting NOTHING done. So I definitely wouldn't recommend doing this, unless it helps you, then go right ahead.

5. Stay focused - I really struggle with choosing to watch Netflix or do something else instead of just doing my assigned school that I NEED to get done. When I start a Netflix show or something instead of doing school, I remind myself that I would be much more relaxed if I did school and THEN watched Netflix, because that way, I'm not thinking about what I need to do the whole time, and I don't feel guilty.

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So yeah! I don't know if any of these will help you, but I hope they do! Let me know what your tips are, and let me know what posts you want to see, I need inspiration!

-Izzy

4 comments

Nicole DustMarch 10, 2020 at 8:10 PM
OOF, that music point is too true. I’ve stopped listening to music entirely while studying, and I’m still getting used to the silence that follows, but I thiiiiiink it’s helped my concentration???? XD

Great post, Isabella! I’ll have to try these out - especially the matching games!
Grace MarieMarch 11, 2020 at 4:13 PM
These are all so helpful! I also can't listen to music while working, but documentaries and podcasts help me because they become background noise that tunes other distractions (a.k.a. my loud siblings or people in coffee shops and libraries out). :))