BY MARCHELLE COLLINS 

Productivity is the state or quality of being able to produce or get something done. With school just beginning it is extremely important to get into the productive mindset we need in order to get through the school year. Despite the fact that it can be difficult to understand how you can proceed with this mindset. Here are a few steps and tricks that can help you throughout your school year:

Set Small Goals and Rewards: 

Breaking down your responsibilities into goals is a great way to get through the year. It is important as well to reward yourself once these goals are eventually accomplished. Looking at all of the things to be done as a whole can become overwhelming, which leads to discouragement. Starting the week off with a small goal such as attending school all four days, getting at least four missing assignments done per day, and then rewarding yourself with your favorite thing to do at the end of the week can motivate you to get things done throughout the year. Doing this also allows you to genuinely enjoy yourself when you are doing your favorite things because you aren’t too worried about the things to be done because they are already partly finished.  

Stop Multitasking:

Multitasking is the performance of more than one task at the same time. Sometimes multitasking can overwhelm you, which loses your motivation to do work at all. It also distracts you from one thing because you are doing the other, which can lead to decrease in performance on both tasks. The best option would be to get one thing done and then move on the next. If you are having difficulty with the first task you can put it aside, work on something else, and save it for when you are able to receive the help you need. 

Establish a Productive Schedule: 

Despite the fact that putting your social life and work ahead of school can be detrimental to your school performance, it can still be easy to fall into this routine. Creating yourself a schedule where you gain productivity and pleasure can definitely be beneficial. Giving yourself a day off where you can make plans with friends or give yourself a break is an important piece of establishing a productive schedule. It is also helpful to give yourself an additional day to catch up on missing work if necessary. 

Organization: 

Giving yourself an organized and clean space for your brain to function through is very beneficial towards your performance in life. Knowing where everything is establishes control and peace in your surroundings, which allows you to focus more on the important tasks at hand. If you are attempting to get your work done and all you can think about is your messy book bag, it can be difficult to get things achieved proficiently. Rather it be your bedroom to help with sleep, your car to help with being on time, or your bag/supplies to help you with getting work done, organization helps in every way in order to achieve productivity. 

Do the Easier Things First: 

When you fall behind it becomes difficult to want to get all the work to be done finished. furthermore, getting the easier things finished first allows you the confidence to get the harder things done and over with. Rather than getting stuck on a bigger thing and not having the motivation to get it finished at all because you were discouraged the first time. Gaining the confidence to try again can be hard. If you gain confidence from the start it makes it easier to get through the more difficult tasks.