How to hit your deadlines…
By Aimee Grant
Off the bat of a covid gap year, I started university forgetting what organisation was. My ‘to do lists’ consisted of scribbled ‘tidy bedrooms’ and ‘pre-read lecture.’
It wasn’t until I bought my study notebook that I actually hit any deadline. So, here I am, a stressed out third year, on two committees, telling you how I keep myself above water, when I’m five minutes away from sinking.
Now, I can’t credit myself for all these ideas; I’d recommend the university organisation god, Grace Beverley. Her book, Working Hard or Hardly Working, whilst frying my brain, guided me on breaking down my life to an achievable standard, and I would be in shambles without it.
Grace’s three types of tasks: Beverly categorises tasks based on how long a task takes to complete
Quick Ticks - Anything that can be done in under five minutes, to be done immediately.
Tasks - Half an hour tasks.
Projects - Over half an hour, this becomes a project.
This sounds like a lot to think about when you simply just want to complete your work, but differentiating between the complexity of your tasks, is something that really helps you on those days where your energy is lacking.
Having little motivation right now? Start with the quick ticks, get them done and then see how it goes.
Forest (or Flora):
Have you ever heard of that app where you ‘grow trees’ while you study and ‘kill it’ if you leave the app? Yeh, it’s that one.
Each time I sit down to study, I plant a different species of virtual tree, motivating me to do my reading. It sounds stupid, I know, but it works.
In the app’s settings, you can alter which other apps on your phone are accessible while growing said trees. Personally, I have outlook, mail and the PlymUni app available to access, so that my only distractions are university related.
‘The Book’:
Everyone should have ‘the book.’ This book will contain every minute scribbling, every messy idea or detail.
For me, this is Grace Beverley’s The Productivity Method… it’s £26. But, the best £26 I’ve ever spent. If not, try the luxurious Papier, or a £1 notebook from the SU shop. It really doesn’t matter what it is, as long as it works for you!
Google Calendar:
Until this year, I rolled my eyes everytime my sister so much as mentioned her Google calendar. I had no interest. But once my life turned into a real life version of Club Penguin Pizza Parlor, it became a necessity.
Each different part of my life is colour coded…
Social = purple.
Meetings = peach.
Deadline = red.
You get the picture…
Be an ‘in-person’ person:
Nothing confuses me more than a jumbled-up three day conversation, barely scratching the surface of a topic.
Send that text, send those three optional meeting times, ask people to ‘react’ to the times they can attend, and meet people in person! Give them a ring if necessary. Don’t waste the time having a back and forth that leads you nowhere!
Time Blocking:
If you’re starting your day, feeling a bit productive, time-block your day. When I tell you this helps me feel like the most productive person in Plymouth, I’m not exaggerating.
If you know your pre-reading is going to take an hour, time block it from 10-11. Lecture 2-4? Block it, and set lunch from 12-12:45. Any time when you finish you work quicker than planned, it’s extra time (girl maths)!
For example:
9-10: Wake up and get ready.
10-11: Pre-Reading.
11-12: Break.
12-12:45: Lunch.
12:45- 1:45: Break.
2-4: Lecture.
Be ready for the day:
Whether this is dressing like Donna from Suits or wearing your favourite tracksuit, get up, get showered and get out!
I know this is so much easier said than done, but try to establish that morning routine.
I wake, shower within twenty minutes, do my hair, makeup, outfit etc… but then I’m ready. I’m up and awake, and feel like I can actually start my work.
Rewards:
I could tell you to picture yourself in a cap and gown for three years and that’ll be enough to get you to pick up the textbook. But it’s probably not.
Set those rewards! If you get yourself out, go to a cafe, get a coffee, treat yourself. I am fully aware not everyone can be doing this all the time, we’re students after all. But maybe a coffee and cake on a Monday morning to get you out? Or that scarf that you’ve been looking at for weeks?
These rewards can be tiny, and monthly, but have something to look forward to!
Focus mode:
Setting your phone to focus mode is one of the simplest, yet effective, things that you can do to maintain your focus.
Personalise it, only let messages from your coursemates come through.
I once sat in my room, focus mode on, door locked, noise cancelling headphones blaring. In hindsight it probably wasn’t that sensible – as my friends were spiralling on the other side of the door – but distractions were impossible. And I read the seventy pages about poetry that I had been putting off for weeks.
Don’t do exactly what I did, but maybe lock the door? Maybe set your phone to focus? See what happens. Give organisation a try, and good luck.
Links mentioned:
Forest - https://www.forestapp.cc/
Flora - https://flora.appfinca.com/en/
The Productivity Method - https://productivitymethod.com/
Working Hard or Hardly Working - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Working-Hard-Hardly-fulfilled-BESTSELLER/dp/1529159008/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Google calender - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.calendar&hl=en&gl=US&pli=
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this piece by the author are their own – they do not and are not intended to represent the beliefs and opinions of Plymouth University, University of Plymouth Student Union or the Plymouth Gazette.
Picture credit: Unsplash