Plan Smart

In the beginning of each new studying year, you are full of enthusiasm and ready to do what it takes to get the best results. But eventually you find yourself in a clutter of business and it turns out you have no spark of wish to do anything. Students repeatedly lose their motivation not because of a frightening amount of work, but because of not planning how to work properly. Are simple planning and organizing so effective? They are, if you can clearly identify and see your wished results. But, these are few more simple points to keep in mind on your road to complete your studies successfully.

Thinking about organizing, the first thing you need to do is to find out the part of the day when you are the most productive. Let the cognitivist scientists say that morning hours are the best to work, but find the rhythm that will be the less stressful for you. This way you can plan your work ahead, knowing the exact hours when you are able to do your best and succeed on your projects and work productively. Despite that, give morning magic a try to see if you can wake up earlier to complete some of your tasks in peace and calm. Even if you do not feel productive during morning hours, you can still benefit from them by using this time to slowly wake up your body and your mind, to concentrate on what you want to complete. Use these couple of extra hours to clear your thoughts and to listen carefully to yourself.

There is an opinion that long-lasting breaks decrease your productivity as well as the number of completed tasks during the day. However, short breaks (up to 10 minutes) are your magic wand that helps you get through various tasks and switch your brains to the next activity or subject gradually. Planning your breaks helps you to be fully concentrated during precise periods on your task and get the best out of it! But do not get caught into procrastinating and fooling around. Do not multitask during breaks. If you decided to have coffee – have it without revising the papers or without responding to texts. Indeed, just concentrate on the taste of your favorite beverage, exhale and get ready for the next round of high productivity.

Did you know that you can ALWAYS use your time effectively? The plans may not work out and you may find yourself bored waiting for time to pass. But you can prevent these flashes of spontaneous procrastination. Got your class canceled? Got stuck in traffic? Have some extra time during lunch? Use this time to get your hands free out of small irritating tasks like checking e-mails, revising your presentation, summarizing your notes, checking voicemails etc. Spend this time doing everything you won’t have desire for doing in the evening. You may also use this time to go through flashcards on your phone if you’re studying a foreign language or listen to educational podcasts. The variety of productive time spending is endless.

Be realistic about your goals at this very moment. There is no need to fill every single line of your planner with different tasks. Learn to prioritize and pay attention to what helps you move on, and dedicate precious time to those tasks that make you closer to defined goals. Do not let any of the big projects or ideas scare you. Divide them into comprehensible pieces, set the deadline and work on it.

The effectiveness of organizing your day and plan it ahead is now seemingly pretty much proved. Get a planner and always have your plans and tasks in front of you, so you won’t be captured into the procrastination web. Use time smart and know your goals, however, don’t be afraid to be open to some changes and let something good and unexpected break your plans sometimes.