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Espresso and Ambition

A not-so-serious gal with some serious dreams.

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My Top 5 Productivity Tips for Students

April 18, 2017 by Taylor 2 Comments

Top 5 Productivity Tips for Students - Espresso and Ambition

Alright, alright, it’s a bit ironic that I’m writing this post at this particular point in my life, because while it may be well-timed for college students gearing up for finals, I’ve had a pretty relaxed schedule these past few weeks. Right now, I’m alternating between doing work for the pool company I used to work for and studying for the LSAT, and as someone who thrives on a busy schedule, I’m not accustomed to this kind of freedom. However, for those of you who are still in the full swing of academia, this one’s for you.

 

1. Make a schedule

Your schedule can be as minimal or as detailed as you want it, but having a schedule in front of you documenting due dates and what tasks need to get done when is essential for maximizing productivity. Personally, I thrive off of a packed schedule, so even on days where it seems like I have nothing to do, I still try to work off of a self-made schedule to keep myself disciplined.

(Tip: Use your schedule as a way of blocking off time to do things you care about. I block off a portion of every day dedicated to going to a Pure Barre class, because I know it’ll make me feel good for the rest of the day, and putting it into my schedule means I don’t feel guilty for “slacking off” on other things.)

Top 5 Productivity Tips for Students - Espresso and Ambition

 

2. Also, make to-do lists

It’s probably more of a Type-A thing, but I swear that one of the most satisfying feelings in the world is checking an item off of a to-do list. I keep my to-do lists in my bullet journal, right next to my schedule, but this is another area where you can really do what you want. I know a lot of people really love setting out their top three intentions for the day and using that as their to-do list, because it provides a clear sense of what the most important things are. I also know people who list off every miniscule task possible on their lists, because they like being able to feel like they accomplished a lot at the end of the day. Regardless, combining a schedule and a to-do list provides a top-notch organizational system that allows you to really focus on getting things done.

 

3. Take breaks

If you tell yourself you’ll study for six hours straight, there’s honestly no way you’ll end up being productive for that entire time. More than likely, you’ll find yourself an hour deep into weird Buzzfeed articles or YouTube videos with no idea how you even ended up on that topic of interest (No? Just me? Cool). Taking breaks from your work is healthy, and well-structured breaks can help prevent that spiral of distraction/procrastination.

I absolutely love the Focus Timer app, which runs on a system called the Pomodoro Method. A friend introduced this to me while I was in Oxford and now I’m hooked. Essentially, the structure is this: you work for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute break. Every fourth break, however, you get a full 25-minute break. This allows you to get distracted briefly (I almost always use my 5-minute break to check my Snapchats/text messages/Instagram) and then take a longer break as well. It’s great because you don’t burn out as easily as you might if you try to tackle a task with no breaks.

Top 5 Productivity Tips for Students - Espresso and Ambition

 

4. Treat your body well

You’re not going to function productively if you’re hungry, tired, or jittery, at least in the long term. I occasionally do this thing where I drink a copious amount of coffee at 10 p.m. and am the most productive person on the planet for a solid five hours before I end up laying on the floor at 3 a.m. questioning my entire existence. It actually works surprisingly well as a one-time deal, but it’s not a sustainable life strategy if you try to pull it off on a nightly basis. If you’re going to be stupid like that, limit it to once a week or so. The rest of the time, get a decent amount of sleep, eat regularly (and not junk food), and maybe don’t drink 5 cups of coffee in one sitting.

 

5. Treat yo self

If you don’t take time out of your schedule to do fun things, you’ll inevitably burn out and spend 2 full days binging Netflix and getting nothing done. So instead of working yourself to the ground, take time for the little things that’ll leave you refreshed and less likely to burn out. If you need some ideas, check out my post from December on how to manage finals week stress.

 

There you have it: some of my top tips for keeping your productivity levels high! Let me know in the comments if you use any of these or if you have any additional tips I should know about – I’m always looking to get better at this.

xo, Taylor

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Filed Under: College, Productivity

Comments

  1. Kate says

    April 19, 2017 at 8:51 am

    I am absolutely in love with your bullet journal! Come teach me how to do that?! 🙂

    Reply
  2. Simple Landing Page Template says

    May 11, 2017 at 7:35 pm

    Greetings! I’ve been following your blog for some time now
    and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from New Caney Tx!
    Just wanted to mention keep up the good job!

    Reply

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Meet Taylor

A real-life combination of Elle Woods and Hermione Granger. Recent graduate of the University of Georgia, currently living and working in DC. New blog posts every Monday, new YouTube videos every Thursday. Subscribe by clicking the link below for post updates and exclusive content!

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tayy_kay

📍 dc
🔥 nasm certified personal trainer
✨ self-love + balance
🎥 2 new workouts per week!

tayy_kay
without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little c without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little challenging to really feel like i’m working at my full potential on leg days 😶 enter: single-leg movements. since all the weight is in one leg, you’re putting way more emphasis on it than you do during two-leg movements - and you’ll definitely feel that 🔥 you also get some added bonuses in the form of ensuring you’re working each side of your body equally AND a balance challenge!!
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you can add in weights or bands to up the challenge level, or do it all bodyweight like i am here!
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1️⃣ 15 single-leg box squats per leg (use other leg as a kickstand for an easier modification!)
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2️⃣ 15 bulgarian split squats per leg
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3️⃣ 15 single-leg hip thrusts per leg
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4️⃣ 15 single-leg deadlifts per leg
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throw on at the end of a longer leg day workout or do it 3-4 times as a workout all on its own!!
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👚 @girlfriend 🎧 numb - neffex
🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time 🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time to be alive, and it’s more important now than ever to listen to your body and stop being so hard on yourself. motivation is a fickle thing and working out when you don’t have all the equipment you love is weird. give yourself permission to take a break when you need it. don’t beat yourself up for missing workouts - exercise should be something you do because it makes you happy, not because you feel like you have to punish yourself. if it doesn’t make you happy that day, that’s okay. give yourself a break, come back and try again tomorrow. 💪🏼
circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not kidding about how much i love this long resistance band, it’s so versatile! definitely worth getting your hands on one for home workouts 😊 (although almost all of these can be completely with dumbbells or heavy objects if that’s what you’ve got in hand)
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also please watch to the very end of the fourth video for quality footage of greg 😂
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1️⃣ 12 long band shoulder presses to standing chest presses
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2️⃣ 12 upright rows to bicep curls
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3️⃣ 12 overhead triceps extensions per arm (the one leg stance is some bonus balance work!)
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4️⃣ 12 rear flies, featuring greg trying to fight my shadow
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5️⃣ 12 commandos
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6️⃣ 12 side-to-side pushups
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repeat 4x total!!
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👚 @underarmourwomen
🎧 best of me - neffex
giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, cra giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, crazy time in the world a little differently, and for me, it’s looked like a lot of establishing to and sticking to routines (seriously, sometimes it feels like my skincare routine and workout split are the only thing still giving meaning to days of the week, lol). my morning smoothies have been another important one - there’s a recipe in my story highlights and surprise surprise it uses this protein powder 😛
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anyways, onto the real reason you’re here! i’m giving away 25 $20 giftcards for @310nutrition with NO STRINGS ATTACHED 🤯 you hear that? you ain’t gotta do a thing to win - the first 25 people to use the code KAYGC20 on their order automatically win. get your hands on some fire plant-based protein powder, courtesy of me and 310 😋 (p.s. if you’re still seeing this caption, there are still giftcards available!!)
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#310gc20 #310shake
sometimes you just gotta get hella dressed up and sometimes you just gotta get hella dressed up and hold a fake photo shoot just to prove to yourself that you’re still a real human
posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangen posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangentially topical. link in bio.
upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating towards circuit-style workouts lately, because they really work up a sweat and home workouts just don’t feel as legit to me unless i’m hardcore sweating 🤷🏼‍♀️ i don’t mind not breaking much of a sweat at the gym, but it feels weird not to when i’m working out at home - anyone else feel this or am i just weird?? 😅
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do all exercises back to back with no rest in between!
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1️⃣ 10 push-ups to renegade rows
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2️⃣ 12 alternating bicep curls
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3️⃣ 12 diamond front raises
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4️⃣ 8 sets of 3 tricep pulses to this lil cross-body weight move that doesn’t have a name {keep your core tight to feel it on your obliques!}
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5️⃣ 15 bent-over rear delt rows
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6️⃣ finisher!! 🥵 10 burpees with 2 shoulder taps and 2 toe taps in the middle of each rep
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repeat 🔁 for a total of 3 rounds!!
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👚 top from @gymsharkwomen, shorts from @nike 🎧 dangerous - neffex
would be nice if both sides of my head could agree would be nice if both sides of my head could agree on whether my hair is wavy or straight, but apparently that’s a little too much to ask of it 😂
got a circuit-style leg workout for you today! 🥳 there are 3 sets of 3 exercises that you’ll complete back-to-back - once you’ve done those three moves, rest for 30 seconds before repeating them all over again 2 more times! rest for 1-2 minutes in between each circuit - keeping your heart rate up is the goal here, i was driiiiiiipping sweat by the end of this one 🥵
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circuit 1️⃣: 10 step-ups to reverse lunges per leg
10 reverse lunges to curtsy lunges per leg
20 lateral lunges
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circuit 2️⃣:
10 squats to surrenders (stop in a squat position before standing up at the end to really feel this one)
10 stagger-stance rdls
20 criss-cross squat jumps
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circuit 3️⃣:
15 leg lifts per side
10 single-leg glute bridges per side
15 frog pumps
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👚 top from @fabletics, joggers from @gymsharkwomen
🎧 watch me - neffex
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