Are you spending a lot of time managing your STUFF?

A lot of time management ends up being about stuff management. Stuff takes time to manage. Clothes need to be washed, folded, and put away. Electronics need to be charged, and cords get tangled. Hobby supplies somehow expand in the night and start taking over your space.

If this sounds like a thing you’re dealing with, consider how dealing with less - even temporarily - will help you do more.

By downsizing the physical aspects of your life, you can increase your focus, decrease visual clutter, and reduce stress.

How can you make that happen in a dorm room? 

  August 15th - Downsize your life to expand your focus

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Have you tried time management tips but you feel like they’re not working?

When you’re learning to manage your time, it’s easy to get discouraged if you don’t see immediate results. “What do you MEAN I’m not magically an overachieving badass by now?”

But the real key to success is practicing your plan with integrity, which means sticking to it, no matter what.

Think of it like yoga or weightlifting. You can cheat and stretch farther or lift more right away, but you aren’t learning the foundational skills. That can lead to injury, or in the case of time management, a false belief that your system doesn’t work, when in reality, you’re the one not doing the work.

*gulp*

Of course, you’re learning about time management to get more done. But by allowing your results to be a bit messy now and practicing on your form, you’re mastering the skills that will allow you to create any results in the future. 

Take control of your time this term:

  August 14th - Practice form first, over results

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Have you ever tried a “fun” study technique only to feel hours later like you’ve accomplished nothing?

Rewarding yourself with treats for every paragraph you read might seem motivating, but it often wastes more time than it saves.

Instead of spending your energy making things fun and pleasant and colorful, focus on reflecting on what study methods actually WORK.

• Which study methods actually help you remember those flashcard terms?

• What kind of an environment is actually best for you to sit and read in?

• What outline process gets your essays done the fastest?

When you pay attention as you study, you will quickly learn the most effective methods for reading, writing, and retaining information. You can’t always force yourself to love the topic, but you can use your brain to make your study sessions as effective as possible.

This doesn’t mean you can’t make your notes pretty, it just means that by making function your top priority, you’ll build smarter, more efficient study routines which means higher grades and more time for the fund stuff.

Take control of your time this term:

  August 13th - Study what's effective when you study

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Do you desperately need some quick motivation to get started on a project or bust through a stuck spot? Try a sprint.

A sprint is a short, intense burst of focused work with a clearly defined start and end time. During a sprint, you give your FULL attention to a specific task, pushing yourself to make as much progress as possible without overthinking or getting stuck on perfection.

Sprints are similar to practicing focused time, but there you’re building up a skill set over time. Sprints are for fast and furious accomplishments when you need to break through procrastination and build momentum quickly.

Sprints can be used for anything, from drafting a messy outline for a paper, to sketching paragraph ideas, to gathering all the resources you need for a project. You can even try them for chores. 

Take control of your time and efficiency this term:

  August 12th - Use sprints to jump-start your motivation

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