How to Increase Productivity, Motivation & Wellbeing 2023

As a student, it can be difficult to keep motivation and productivity high while preparing for exams, but don’t worry – it is natural to feel this way! It happens to us all – we all go through it. Being motivated isn’t a consistent state, motivation is a fleeting emotion – but it is essential to recognise when it is high and low.

Enhance Productivity and Reduce Stress

Here are a few tips to help you stay productive, motivated and on track – helping you to make the most of your study time:

1. Prioritize your tasks: One of the most significant aspects is knowing where to put your focus and when. Start by creating a study schedule that breaks down your tasks into manageable chunks of time. Prioritize your most important tasks and tackle them first, while saving less important tasks for later.
2. Eliminate distractions: Distractions can be a major obstacle to being productive. Try eliminating distractions by finding a quiet study spot, turning off your phone or social media notifications, and avoiding multitasking.
3. Take breaks: While it’s important to stay focused and motivated, it’s also important to take breaks. Taking regular breaks can increase your efficiency by giving your brain a chance to rest and recharge.
4. Use active learning techniques: Active learning techniques can help you retain information better and stay engaged during study sessions. Try techniques such as flashcards, summarizing information, or teaching the material to someone else.
5. Get enough sleep: Getting enough sleep is essential for maintaining your energy levels and staying focused. Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night and establish a consistent sleep schedule to ensure you are well-rested during your exams.
6. Stay organized: Keeping track of your assignments and upcoming exams can be stressful, Stay organized by using a planner or calendar to keep track of your due dates and deadlines. One free tool that we couldn’t recommend enough is Notion, it is great for organisation, planning and keeping track of everything – we think of it as our second brain.

What is Self-Care and why is it so important?

When it comes to productivity, self-care can play a big role in helping an individual to be more efficient and effective in their work. For example: 

1. Sleep – getting enough sleep can help improve focus and concentration, making it easier to stay on task and get more done. 
2. Eating a healthy diet: will provide the necessary energy and nutrients to sustain productivity throughout the day. 
3. Exercise: will increase blood flow, oxygen and nutrient delivery to the brain, and generate endorphins, the hormone that promotes happiness and decrease stress and anxiety.

Regularly engaging in self-care activities can also help to reduce stress and prevent burnout, which can be a major barrier to productivity. When someone is feeling overwhelmed and stressed out, it can be difficult to focus on work and get things done. By taking care of yourself and managing stress, you are more likely to be able to stay on task and accomplish your goals.

What is Motivation & how do I get Motivated?

All jokes aside, Motivation is important because it is a driving force behind achieving goals and making progress. When a person is motivated, they are more likely to put in the necessary effort and persist through difficulties in order to reach their objectives.

However, it’s normal to have low motivation sometimes – usually due to various reasons like tiredness, lack of interest, feeling overwhelmed, feeling unaccomplished, etc. But it’s still important to try to push through and do things even when it is low, for a few reasons:

1. Taking action can improve motivation: Sometimes, the hardest part is getting started, but once you begin, your motivation may increase as you make progress and see results.
2. Maintaining momentum: When we take regular actions even when we don’t feel like it, it becomes easier over time to keep going, since it has become a part of our routine.
3. Avoiding procrastination: Low motivation can lead to procrastination, which can make a task seem even more daunting. By taking action and getting started, you can prevent procrastination from becoming a bigger problem.
4. Achieving your goals: Even when motivation is low, it’s important to remind yourself of the importance of achieving your goals, and the benefits that will come from completing the task at hand.
5. Building discipline: When we take action consistently, even when we don’t feel like it, we build discipline, a key ingredient for achieving our goals, and a trait that will serve us well in the long run.

In summary, motivation is important because it drives us to take action and make progress towards our goals. When motivation is low, the best advice is to set yourself small tasks and take action. Break down your objectives and create actionable steps to work towards your big goal – even if it feels like Mount Everest. Action is the best way to get out of the “rut” and put yourself back onto the right path to regain momentum, avoid procrastination, achieve your goals, and build discipline.

We took more of a deep dive into Mental Health and Wellbeing tips in this article here.

Conclusion 

It’s also important to remember that being productive does not mean being constantly busy, it means being able to prioritize and use your time most effectively. Being productive is about managing your time and making sure that when you work wisely so you are getting what you need to get done when you need it done. Try planning your day the day before, so you have a robust plan of what you want to get done that day our advice is to save a little time at some point in the day in case something pops up that needs urgent attention – as we all know life has a habit of getting in the way.

To summarise, make sure you focus on what truly matters and make time for yourself – productivity isn’t about doing as much as humanly possible it’s about a balance between your need and what you need to get done. Make self-care a priority, it is the foundation of being productive and one of the main causes of being unproductive. But most importantly, don’t put too much pressure on yourself, try to achieve a balance between work and rest, doing this paired with a solid routine, will be the is crucial to your success, all while avoiding burnout!

Much love,

UniWOM! <3