Amidst all of this COVID-19 craziness, you may find yourself falling behind on work you had hoped to complete hours ago, or maybe even days ago. Below are some tips and tricks you can begin to help yourself get better at being on time and on track with assignments.
Using a planner or calendar- One of the first ways to get better at completing work on time would be to use a physical planner or calendar. There have been countless times when I or a family member has relied on a phone calendar alert for an assignment that never went off. Using a physical calendar is a concrete way to ensure you visualize each assignment or task that you need to complete and when it needs to be done. If you really do need a techy-kind-of-calendar, an email calendar is very useful. An email calendar provides alerts prior to your event, rather than phone alerts that occur just at the time events will happen.
Making a to-do list- Secondly, making a daily to-do list will also help manage the things you have to get done daily. Make sure to keep this in a central location or somewhere you look everyday, like sticky notes on a wall by your desk or a white board on a fridge. I must say, there’s something about checking all the boxes off your list once you’ve completed them that is so satisfying. If you make it your goal to check everything off your list everyday, you’ll make sure to complete each goal to have every box checked off your list so you can relax the rest of the day.
Creating an effective workspace- In addition, try creating a space that is just for doing your work. This could help concentrate your mind to the task when you get into that specific physical ‘workspace’. I am sure there have been many times where a bed seems like a better place to type a paper than a desk, but who hasn’t fallen asleep mid-paper while trying to write that paper all comfy and cozy? It may help train your brain to focus if you make sure that you do your work sitting down at a desk, or wherever you establish where your workspace is. Thus, overtime when you sit down at your designated work spot, your brain is trained to focus on the task.
Creating a routine- Along those same lines, it may also help train yourself into better habits if you create a timely routine. This ties in all of the thoughts mentioned above: constructing a calendar, creating a work space, and effectively focusing. The more you work hard following a schedule, the more it will become second nature. You never know, over time, it may become second nature to wake up at nine, have coffee, and sit and read and write for an hour, even if noon is your ‘morning’ at the moment.
With these tips and tricks, which do you think will be the easiest to implement into your daily routine? Are there any other daily tips that help you?
