How can I be productive?: 6 ways to become studious, healthy, stress-free, and accomplished

Many people have trouble studying or focusing on subjects. When bored, children mostly stay on electronics and browse social media, games, and messages. So, how do you suck yourself out of that shell? Here’s 6 ways that can help.

1. Think about the consequences

Now, you may think this seems forceful, but focusing on consequences is one of the best ways to stop procrastination. For those who know about the consequences may choose to ignore it Let’s say you have a homework assignment you don’t want to do, and your favorite YouTuber just posted a new video. What would you do? You would probably click on that video, right? (You may even play the video while doing homework.) Well, before you do, stop yourself.

Think about the assignment. If you miss the due date, what would happen? Your teacher would give you a bad grade, right? And your parents may even become mad at you. If your parents are not strict, then they would probably brush it off. All these situations are different reasons why people procrastinate. Those with stricter parents would probably make sure to do their work, for they do not want to anger their family. But those who are let off may normalize the new way: procrastination.

In order to reverse that, we must think about why our families sent us to school in the first place. Our parents sent us to school for a reason. (Well, also because it’s required in a way.) For those who think their parents don’t care, make them care by doing extra well. Seems a bit straightforward, but really, make them realize how hard you work. If they don’t care, that’s too bad for them! It’s for your own good and yours only! And who knows, maybe you’ll even become a prefect like Percy! Anything can happen at any time.

2. Plan a schedule

You’ve probably heard of this many times by teachers or adults. But, if you actually tried this, you probably completely cheated the list, am I right? Aha, I have caught you. (Don’t worry, I’ve done the same.) So, how can we avoid this? To be honest, when you first follow a to-do list, things probably won’t go to plan. It may take a couple of days to follow just some of the list. To make things more fun, you can post things about your work on social media platforms such as YouTube, Tik Tok, and Instagram. (I don’t use them, however.) With this, it can seem less bearing, as you can share your hard work with the world.

Here are some links of YouTube videos that can inspire you to become productive!:

https://youtu.be/0Keo3CATZ74

https://youtu.be/jHjHu5LOyAk

Study Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5sk65hjSMgO4ZcI05RYhzQ

3. Customize your notes/to-do list

Calling all artists (or semi-artists)! Make your notes the style you enjoy, that way you can seem more excited for lists or notes! You can find journal ideas on YouTube, Pinterest, and google images. Some decorations can include calligraphy titles and drawings. You can buy calligraphy pens online or in-store. If not, you can just use what you have at home! You can use things such as markers, stencils, coloring pencils, and pens. 🙂

Type in “journal ideas” on http://google.com to find images like these:

4. Be committed to taking the next action

You may be thinking, “Well, I’m not committed,” and rolling your eyes. But, actually, there is a way where I can help. This is going to be psychological, so make sure to clear your mind! Okay, the first step is to ask yourself, why do you want to be productive? Do you want to please your parents or be smarter than others? Once you have figured this out, ask yourself, how committed am I?

If you answered not so committed, then you’re definitely not going to be committed. The only way to solve this problem is to plan for things first. Think about what you want to improve on academically or mentally and write it down either online, or on a journal. Make specific and smart goals, such as I want to improve on multiplying fractions with like denominators. Examples of elusive goals are: I want to improve on math. I want to improve my basketball skills. These are not clear goals. Ask yourself what part in math or basketball.

(Updated Goals:)

I want to improve on math to… I want to improve adding fractions with like denominators.

I want to improve my basketball skills to… I want to improve my behind the back dribble.

(Now for those who don’t know where to start, find a program where you can see your placement. Here are some examples on how you can find what to work on.)

Example A1: I want to practice basketball, but I don’t know what to work on first!

Go outside and test your skills. If you don’t have a basketball, use a soccer ball or any type of ball around the house. A tennis ball works as well! (However, I wouldn’t recommend shooting.)

Example B2: I want to learn about history, but I don’t know where to start!

What do you want to learn? Let’s see, maybe you can learn about the famous wars! You can search up “Important Wars” on google.com to learn about the most important wars that impacted history. Examples are the American Revolution, WW1, and WW2. (WW stands for World War. Sneak peek to what’s coming up!)

4. Don’t multitask

You may be wondering, don’t I listen to music while doing work? (And yes, I actually do.) I have told those to do the same, but I realized that listening to music and working actually will slow me too. It may think you’re learning more new things while multitasking, but in reality, you’re actually not focusing on one thing. This will hinder the information in the brain and will take a longer time to process. So, if you’re playing video games while doing homework or talking with your friend while doing a big project, stop and focus on your work! (I’m definitely not listening to music at this moment…) It might be hard to get rid of this habit, so just take it slowly and back away from the activity one day at a time.

5. Set an award system

You’ve probably heard of this before, a reward system! It does actually work. You just have to try it first! The first question to ask yourself is, “What do you enjoy doing?” This can include painting, video games, reading, snacking, sewing, playing sports, or binge-watching your favorite TV shows. If you can, try to find an activity that is short and long, so two activities in all. Once you’ve answered this question, it’s time to move on to the next step!

Remember that goal you wanted to achieve? Make a plan on how to accomplish it. Yup, if you wanted to learn about wars, then you could study for 10-20 minutes every day to learn something. Afterward, you can review all of what you learned by writing a report and sharing it with friends, family, or online! After you have finished that goal, reward yourself with a rest day of your fantasy, playing video games and eating ice cream, or reading and crocheting!

(If this goal is a short-term goal, meaning that it will take a brief amount of time to finish, then award yourself with that short activity I asked you to have.)

Speaking of short term goals, that leaves us with the

(Just remember to finish that goal!)

6. Work in 90 minute blocks with 10 minute intervals

So, what does this mean? It means that you can do a whole day’s work in 90 minutes, yup! After, if you still have work, wait for 30 minutes for your short reward, and then repeat until you finish. This may seem like a long time and it may go slow, but I promise you’ll feel accomplished during and after your work! Remember to not be too strict on yourself. If the screen hurts your eyes, I recommend turning down the light on your device screen or trying blue light glasses. (These can help get rid of that annoying eye bugs from computers and electronics., possibly preventing eye damage.) If you’re hungry during the interval, wait until after. (That’s a lot of self-control!) Make sure to close all interactive tabs that could distract you and turn off notifications. If you cannot, tell your friends what you are doing and they should stop messaging you. If they don’t, well they need to get some respect!