The secret to getting work done consistently as a student
Almost every one of us have gotten into rut, which is this hazy, feeble feeling that says," I just can't seem to do this work,". It's not quite procrastination, but this aimless, unfocused feeling only motivates you to do one thing: keep scrolling on that damn phone. Sounds familiar? I will call this feeling a rut. This arises usually when we feel lazy, or too comfortable, directionless. What causes this? Overstimulation. Do me a favor and check your phone screen time. I'm betting its past two hours. Of that screen time, how much was spent on apps like Teams and Word to get productive work done? Wiling to bet again, less than 20 minutes.
Sorry if I sound like a typical adult, but our generation just can't sit still because every single second we are hunting for instant gratification. Endless novelty and infinite amounts of random, useless information can be found on social media, IF we let it dictate us. A good example would be You Tube meme recommendations and Instagram posts. When was the last time you ACTUALLY searched up something to watch on You Tube? Without realizing, we have let social media control what we consume, since every time we use it, we are not actively searching for something. Isn't there a feeling of numbness, of plain, aimless existence after binge watching You Tube shorts? We are instantly hit with novel information that intensifies with every scroll...
The dopamine overload created by this is what causes a phenomena known as a dopamine hangover. Know that feeling that you just want to lie on the sofa, and do nothing but watch TV or your phone? But many of the times, don't we end up feeling guilty that we killed time on our smartphones and did not finish what we were supposed to? I'm not going to lecture about the dangers of social media now, instead let us discuss HOW WE CAN get out of a rut, since quitting social media will take more intentionality on your behalf. Because we know we need to get out of the laziness caused by ruts, so that we can get work DONE.
1) Take a walk. You may think that with all the work piling up, this is a waste of time. But taking a walk and exposing yourself to evening sunlight is one of the best things you can do. Natural images restore your brain's receptors, and sunlight gives skin benefits. Let your mind relax. Exercise is strongly recommended.
2) Commit to one task at a time. This may be hard, especially since we are SO used to consuming new information every second. But dedicating yourself to one work at one time allows your brain to give full attention to it. Your focus is undivided, and you slowly start to get absorbed in the process of doing.
3) Organize your place, switch of your phone, listen to a study playlist music, use app blockers to block unwanted notifications, etc. You know it. AVOID DISTRACTIONS.
4) The 5 minute rule. You know this too, just get started, with a vow only to do it for 5 minutes. Continue if you feel so because you have defeated the activation energy of GETTING STARTED. If there is one thing I want you to take away from this article, I would say it is this.
5) Set deadlines for yourselves. Use a notebook or an app to do so. Doing this helps add urgency to the task, because you have decided when to finish it by. This prevents procrastination and ensures that future time is well used for newer workloads.
6) BREAK UP any task into smaller pieces. This is essential when you plan your workload. I have discussed this in one of my articles.
7) Progressive stimulation. This works like a charm. Example, In the morning, give yourself half an hour of screen time, 45 minutes in the afternoon, and another 1 in the evening. This ensures that you only get more into a "rut" near the end of the day, freeing up the early parts of your day for focused, productive work. This helps for people who are using their phones for at least 3 hours a day. The key takeaway is to AVOID overstimulation, GET STARTED on your work and avoid distractions. The above tips are some practical ways to execute these ideas. Hope the tips helped you. Please leave any opinions you have about this article below, or any improvements you would like to see on Student's Spot. Help a buddy out by subscribing, and sharing this to those who need this, if you think this is helpful.
P.S. These are my own notes summarizing the content above. Take a screenshot if you want to keep this in your mind! Cheerz.
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