Career Blog
- Details
One thing in life is certain: everyone has 24 hours in a day. Increasing our productivity helps us achieve more in less time, thereby making us smarter students and more valuable employees. The methods described below will help you boost your productivity.
-
Use the “Two-Minute Rule”
This rule is easy to follow: If it takes less than two minutes, then do it now. It was first introduced by David Allen in his bestselling book, Getting Things Done. Starting a task is often the most difficult part since we tend to procrastinate. Using this technique, you’ll discover that most tasks can be started in less than 2 minutes. Imagine your goal for the year is to read more books. Although you can’t finish an entire book in two minutes, you can read one page. Once you begin reading, you will most likely not want to stop after the first page. You’ll achieve your goal in no time!
-
Practice the Pomodoro Technique
This simple time‑management technique breaks your work sessions into intervals called pomodoros. They are as follows: 25 minutes of work intervals with 5-minute breaks in between, take a longer break every 4 work intervals. Essentially, this technique boosts productivity since it allows you to take regular breaks and creates a sense of urgency during each work interval. It has been scientifically proven that taking regular breaks helps boost productivity because our minds cannot focus on a single task for long stretches of time.
-
Eat the Frog (instructions unclear: frog stuck in my throat.)
Please DO NOT eat a frog. This method was inspired by Mark Twain’s famous quote: “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” Create a to-do list with the most urgent tasks. The frog represents the most dreaded task on your list. Once you’ll finish that task, you’ll feel accomplished and everything else will seem easy in comparison.
Using the techniques described above, you should notice a difference in your overall productivity. Even using one technique at a time will lead to improvements. Choose one and try it out for yourself to see the difference. Work smarter, not harder!
- Details
Finding the right balance between work and school is a common and major challenge for students. Let me share with you my three tips to achieve it.
1. Learn to manage your time well.
This skill is absolutely crucial, as it gives you more time to devote to your hobbies. A smart piece of advice: get started on your assignments a soon as possible; don’t wait until the last minute. By planning for a specific amount of time for each activity (your studies, job, sleep, hobbies, etc.), you will be able to quantify the exact number of hours that you’re effectively dedicating to each. Naturally, effective time management requires a lot of discipline.
2. Stop before you reach exhaustion.
Exhaustion causes a lot of stress and affects a vast proportion of students. Why? Because we want to get the best grades, take as many courses as possible in one semester, work to make ends meet, maintain a rich social life, etc., all at the same time. By combining all these pursuits, students inevitably become exhausted. To avoid such a situation, I advise you to revisit your priorities and to make choices. You’ll then be able to eliminate the excess from your schedule and to focus on what really matters. In the end, the most important is to keep time for yourself and to know how to kick back and relax… often!
3. Remain focused on your objectives.
To stay motivated in the pursuit of your objectives, it is crucial that you keep your goals in sight. Taking stock of your objectives will allow you to spend more time and energy on things that bring you value. A good incentive to stay motivated throughout your studies is to work to cover your tuition fees, as far as this is possible, because you’ll then take your studies very seriously.
- Details
Being a student is time-consuming. From studying for midterms to participating in extracurricular activities, going to networking events to advance your career, and finding time to socialize, life can get overwhelming.
But there’s a way to organize this “overwhelming-ness”: I call these tips the Secrets to Time Management.
1. Turn off your social media
This is something I always do come exam season. Delete all social media from your phone until your exams are all done. It’s the simple concept of “out of sight, out of mind”. At first, it’ll be hard, and you’ll find yourself looking for your social apps, but pretty soon you’ll forget they ever existed.
2. Make a Google Calendar
As someone who has tried every kind of calendar, from trendy notebook agendas to white board posters, I can easily say that Google Calendar is the most efficient. On Google Calendar, you can colour code your different commitments, install reminders on your phone for appointments, and coordinate Google Calendar invites. If you’re finding it difficult to make time for all of your commitments, I highly recommend committing to a Google Calendar!
3. Don’t try to multitask
Multitasking is a common myth. Scientifically, the human brain cannot do two or more things simultaneously. When you are “multitasking”, you’re actually just switching back and forth between two activities at a fast pace, decreasing your productivity in both activities significantly. You’re better off just completing task one and then tackling task two, three, etc.
4. Make a daily to-do list
Every day, either before bed or when you wake up in the morning, make a list of all the things you have to accomplish that day. Checking them off will be super satisfying and will help you stay on track with your goals.
5. Remember why you are here.
When you feel overwhelmed or helpless, ask yourself the following questions:
- Why are you in university?
- Why are you participating in clubs?
- Why are you applying for COOP?
- Why are you going to work?
- Why are you aiming for a 10.0 GPA?
- Why are you reading this blog?
Everything has a purpose: you are advancing your career. Everything you do and all the effort you put in will pay off. The years you spend at university will pave the way for the rest of your life, so make the most of them. Keep in mind that life is not going to be this stressful forever; work hard now so you can relax later. Hopefully, asking yourself these questions when you feel vulnerable will help you keep the bigger picture in mind and motivate you to give everything, no less than 110% of your effort.
- Details
Wake up Earlier
As motivation lessens and stress increases, it is common to neglect healthy sleep patterns. Hitting the sack at a reasonable time and getting up early in the morning gives you more energy and ample time to get everything done. In a technology-based society, so much time is spent on mobile devices without us even realizing it. Instead of checking social media when you first rise, get up, shower and eat something. This will give you a healthy start to the day and will make you more prone to study or to be productive. You will be surprised at how much you can accomplish before 11 a.m.
Schedule Everything
When I say everything, I mean everything! The useful tool I use is Google Calendar because I can set notifications, unlike a traditional agenda. Both options are great but choose which one best suits your personality. If your time management is very poor, it would not hurt to opt in for both methods. On top of school and work-related tasks, here are some items I jot down that may not come to mind:
-
Meals
Sometimes as students, I find we get stressed and do not eat proper meals. I schedule my meals because there is no point in studying for hours on end if you do not fuel your brain to be in its most active state. You need to be awake and alert to absorb information efficiently. -
Studying
It is very easy to say, “I’ll read that tomorrow” or, “when I get home I will review”. Having a visual representation of allocated study time is a good practice to have. This is crucial for me during times where multiple things are due at once (which is almost always). -
Cleaning
When everything around you is in order, it is so simple to get things done and focus. Take 10 minutes to clean up your workspace or room and it will make a world of a difference.
These little reminders are great, similar to having a friend who is nagging you to stay on track. It is very rewarding to go back and look at each month, week, or day and be able to see what you’ve accomplished.
Do Activities That You Enjoy
Balancing work and studies can be very stressful. It is important to remember to put down your books when you can no longer focus. The same old routine will make your university experience lack luster and will have you questioning your choices. Once you incorporate things you like into your schedule, whether it be daily or biweekly, you will see improvements. Think about how you can reward yourself after an exam before you go straight into studying for another one. When you know you have an event to go to, you’re more likely to get work and school out of the way sooner and not procrastinate.
With these tips you will look back on your days saying, “I’ve done so much today” as opposed to, “I have so much to do today”.
