There are a lot of suggestions out there to increase your productivity, but so many of them ask you to completely change everything you're doing, which is really hard to do mid-year.
Here are some easy changes to make (that you'll actually enjoy doing) that will help you increase your productivity without having to make tough changes to your schedule.
Take Breaks
If you're some kind of superhuman who can focus for 8 hours straight without stopping, then you do you. For the rest of us, take breaks!
I typically work for 25-30 minutes, then take a 5-10 minute break. I just can't focus for longer than that. Also, when I know its only 25 minutes, I can work on a task without stopping instead of just staring at my computer screen miserably.
Treat Yo Self
I like this one. Reward yourself for each task you complete or each increment of 25-30 minutes you work. Girl Scout cookies or Reese's cups are great options. Take it one step further and reward yourself for completing bigger things like turning in a paper or doing an MCAT practice test with bigger rewards like a cupcake or a milkshake (I clearly prefer to reward myself with food).
Students don't celebrate enough. We often just finish an assignment and move right onto the next one without stopping and congratulating ourselves for doing something. So go get those Reese's cups, and when you finish taking the MCAT, you'd better throw a damn party.
Set Timers
This one is good to keep you on track with your 30/5 rule from above, but this is also to make sure you don't spend too long on one task. I know those days when I need to be writing a paper, but I'm not coming up with anything.
If there's a task, like writing a paragraph of that paper, that shouldn't take you longer than a half-hour or an hour, then don't spend 2 hours on it. This keeps you from being able to spend adequate time on other things.
Set a timer for only the time you need to complete that task, and if you don't finish it in that time, move on and come back to it later.
Check Your Email Twice a Day
There is no need to check your email thirty times daily. That's a huge time-waster.
Check it once at the beginning at the day, once about an hour before the end of the workday, and maybe once before the end of your day do deal with anything that needs to be done before the morning.
Checking your email more frequently than this isn't necessary, and you'll just get caught up with the one or two unimportant emails you received since ten minutes ago when you last checked it.
Don't worry about being a slow responder to emails. If someone needs something from you quickly, they should have called you; that is not what email is for.
Sleep
This seems like a simple suggestion, but it is one that students don't pay attention to much. Getting a full night's sleep is essential to performance in just about everything you do during the day.
So many pre meds sleep too little and study to much but you wouldn't have to study so much if you slept more. Getting a full night's sleep helps with memory retention, so if you stay up all night studying, you'll have a hard time remembering it anyway. Also, all-nighters suck, so don't do it.
If you're still not convinced you should stop settling for 5 hours a night, read these effects of sleep deprivation.
So hopefully these are ways to help you be more productive by working smarter. What are some ways you help yourself be more productive? Comment below!
