Work less and still get more done. It actually sounds too good to be true. But just because we’re busy doesn’t mean we’re productive. And just because we get things done doesn’t mean those things really matter. These tips will help you to reduce your learning effort and still get more done.
Fixed Working Hours
As a student, you have a lot of freedom. You decide how you organize your time and when you sit down at your desk to study for your studies. The problem with this is that many students do not make a clear distinction between free time and working hours.
As a result, learning – especially in stressful phases – gets out of hand without limit and is unnecessarily drawn out. The assumption that it will get you more done is wrong and a common myth. Without a fixed framework, you get bogged down more easily and are defenseless against time wasters.
With fixed working hours and clearly defined learning phases, on the other hand, you create a much more productive working atmosphere, and you can automatically concentrate on the most important tasks.
Get Organized
If you study without a plan and strategy, you will make stupid mistakes and constantly fall short of your potential.
However, if you organize yourself and work in a structured way, you will approach your tasks in a much more focused manner and will be less distracted. And it can save you a bunch of unnecessary work. Another thing that can help you some time while studying is using different useful services for students, such as an essay writing service.
Forget Multitasking
Multitasking destroys your productivity and makes you end up doing a lot of things very poorly. Multitasking reduces your concentration and the quality of your work – and that ultimately costs you time. So, get in the habit of only doing one thing at a time. Even if it takes longer at first glance: take your time and complete your tasks with full attention. Otherwise, you’re wasting time.
Take Lots Of Breaks
Breaks in learning are not a sign of weakness, but a secret guarantee of success. Regular breaks give your brain a little breather and then you can continue working with renewed energy.
Also: During the breaks, your subconscious continues to work and helps you to store the learning content better. You continue to learn passively, so to speak, even though you are resting. Whoever works through it quickly becomes unproductive (without realizing it) and weakens himself.
Set Deadlines
Deadlines are annoying – but useful! Deadlines sharpen our focus and force us to concentrate on the important things because there is no time for the trivial. In almost every situation in which people work without fixed restrictions, the so-called Parkinson’s law can be observed: “A task expands in proportion to the time available for its completion.”
Without precise scheduling, tasks are infinitely flexible and take up huge time windows – even when it’s not necessary. Therefore, set a tight and binding deadline for every task that you tackle so that your workload does not get out of hand, and you stay focused.
Know Your Ups And Downs
Do you have your best time right after getting up in the morning or do you only become really productive late in the evening? We humans have very different rhythms and different high and low phases throughout the day.
It is important that you know your performance curve and knows when you can work most concentrated. Align your learning strategy and your working hours with your daily form and don’t let others force you into any pre-established patterns.
Don’t Be Too Perfectionist
Perfectionism can terribly slow you down in your studies and make your life hell. You will never reach a perfect state of knowledge – no matter how hard you try. You never have all the information together and you can make everything even nicer and better – but is it worth it? No of course not! If you want to reduce your learning effort, you have to prioritize and leave out the little things.
Conclusion
Studying can be stressful. There are many tasks waiting for you and your calendar is full to the brim. That’s why you have to set priorities and study productively if you want to have enough free time in addition to your lectures and exams.
But the productive study can be learned. In this article, I have shown you how you can complete your daily tasks efficiently and achieve better learning results with significantly less effort. If you regularly integrate the most important productivity techniques into your everyday life, you will automatically become more successful in your studies – without investing an extra second of your time.
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