There comes a point in college where you are so done with back-to-back assignments and quizzes that you feel like dropping out is the only way out.
What if we told you that you could get ahead of all the college workload with a bit of discipline and time management? This way you can ace college like a pro.
Don’t worry, you do not have to magically produce these two traits in you. We have listed down some tried-and-tested tools that can help you with managing time and workload to avoid lagging behind.
However, before we get to it, know that all these tools are available online. So a basic prerequisite for using them is a trusty internet connection. Make sure you have a dependable internet connection to use these tools to their maximum potential. In the case you don’t, we recommend reaching out to Spectrum Customer Service to get affordable internet that won’t disappoint you with unanticipated downtimes.
Now let us get to conquering college workloads.
1. Forest
Are you someone who struggles with maintaining their focus while working?
Forest is an app that helps you stay focused with a small incentive. It’s simple. When you start working on your assignment, you plant a tree in the Forest app. It will grow as you focus on your task. However, the moment you get distracted and pick up your phone, the tree in the app will die! The more you stay focused, the taller your tree grows in the app.
The best part? When it grows completely, team Forest partners with organizations to plants real-life trees. So, by staying focused, you are actually helping the planet!
Forest is available to download on both iOS and Android devices, for free! It also has a Chrome Extension if you have a tendency to doom-scroll through the browser.
2. Todoist
Do you find it hard to balance your social life and college responsibilities? You can use Todoist to amp up your time management game.
At its core, Todoist is a task management app but when you use it for work and life both, it can be a lifesaver. You can create tasks under different categories and assign priorities to each task. All the tasks are pretty organized. To make it less overwhelming for you, Todist shows you only what you need to see so you important tasks do not get lost in the clutter.
Moreover, you do not have to create repetitive tasks again and again. If you enter ‘Meet Astrology club on Friday 12pm’, Todoist will remind you every Friday about your club meeting. Helpful, right?
Todoist is available for free download, both on Android and iOS.
3. Cold Turkey
Cold Turkey is a personal favorite. As someone who wastes a lot of their time surfing Reddit while there are important tasks at hand, Cold Turkey felt like a lifesaver.
Cold Turkey is the best websiteblocker tool that can do wonders for your productivity. You input all the websites that distract you and Cold Turkey stops you from accessing them by blocking them. These websites gets blocked when you start the timer on Cold Turkey. This is the cue for you to focus on your prep.
You can even block apps and games. There is literally no way to access them before the time ends.
Cold Tukey helps you become more productive by taking away all distracting websites. It leaves you with no choice except to work on your college papers or prepare for your quizzes. It is available as a desktop app and browser extensions for Windows and MacOS. Lastly, its basic plan is completely free.
4. Tide
Tide is an app made to help you relax, meditate, and improve your focus.
This is great for someone who finds it hard to focus due to the noise inside their head. Tide also helps you sleep better so you can wake up with an active mind. When your daily workload overwhelms you, you can use its meditation feature to relax your mind. It plays calming sounds while you meditate, you can get through college without effecting your mental health.
Moreover, Tide’s Pomodoro Timer with focus music helps you do your tasks with improved focus. It puts you in the right mental space to work efficiently. Tide is available on both Android and iOS, for free.
Actionable Tips to Improve Your Productivity
These tools can help you with getting through your college workload. However, on an ending note, I am sharing some more actionable tips that can help you with improving your focus:
- Play instrumental music while using the Pomodoro technique to minimize all distractions.
- Use noise-canceling headphones to block external noise.
- Focus on only one task at a time and avoid thinking about other tasks.
- On days when there is a lot to do, minimize doom-scrolling to save your focus for work.
- Make sure you get 7 to 8 hours of sleep daily and plan your tasks around it.
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