The second quarter of the school year is infamously students’ deepest trench in motivation and highest peak of procrastination. To make sure you stay on track, work smarter and not harder.

The second quarter of the school year often has students struggling, with multiple breaks away from school and a trench in motivation. Students grapple with the time in and out of school, and everything grows jumbled. Disorganization and hectic-ness takes over, and it becomes quite difficult to balance schoolwork between Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the return to school in the new year. To carry you throughout the remainder of the second quarter, here are a few tips and tricks that’ll keep you on track.

Pomodoro technique

The pomodoro technique is a work time management method that alternates focused work sessions with frequent breaks in order to maximize efficiency and prolong motivation. You pick a task, work attentively for 25 minutes, take a five minute break, and after four cycles, you take a longer, 15-30 minute break. This technique works well for people who get distracted easily, work past optimal productivity, or tend to procrastinate.

Feynman technique

This study technique was formulated by Richard Feynman, a nobel-prize winning physicist. Studying using this method prompts you to form a deep understanding of specific topics and allows you to live up to your full potential by working smarter, not harder. The four essential steps are to choose a concept and write down everything you know, explain it to a 12 year old, refine and simplify it, and finally, review and organize your study sheet. A lot of times, we overcomplicate concepts, which acts as a barrier in our learning process, but simplifying ideas down permits us to truly grasp the material. 

Break down your tasks

“Finish project” or “study for test” are often goals that seem too big, time-consuming, and difficult to achieve. By breaking down your to-do list into simpler, manageable steps, you decrease stress and track your progress linearly. This promotes increased motivation and productivity because short-term goals lay down a clear and defined path to success.

Blurting method

The blurting method helps you to understand what you know and identify what you need to learn. You can quickly skim a text, write down everything you know about a topic, and fill in all the gaps by revising. This active recall method forces you to make an effort to remember what you’ve learned before, and works as an efficient memory consolidation technique.

LifeAt.io

This website tracks your focus and provides you with an ambient space to stay focused. You can customize your space and study wherever you please, whether that be a calm cafe, the beach, or even the middle of outer space. LifeAt also includes features that allow you to customize your ambient sound (frequencies, fireplaces, ocean waves), organize a to-do list, and create a study calendar.