focused & organized

Midterms season is slowly but surely creeping up on us and I thought I’d compile a list of ways to stay both focused and organized since we have such big exams coming our way.

One thing that I usually have a lot of trouble with in school is staying focused and on task. It’s always been an issue for me but I find ways to push through it so that I can succeed. So far, I’ve found three ways that keep me focused when I’m in class or just trying to study.

Pomodoro Technique

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The first tip I’m going to suggest is something I’m sure you’ve heard of before but it’s worth mentioning! The Pomodoro technique is a time management method where you work for 25 minutes straight then take a 5 minute break to stretch, let your mind wander, etc. After three straight sessions of working and five-minute breaks, you’re allowed to take a long break for 15 minutes. This method is great for making sure that you’re not working too hard and close to burning out. It’s also great for making you work with something to look forward to. I currently use the Flat Tomato app to track the time when I’m doing the Pomodoro technique.

Screen Time

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If you’re an iPhone user and you’re not familiar with the Screen Time feature in your settings, then you need to get hip. Screen Time was introduced back in September and aims to help users see just how often they use their phones on a daily basis and which apps they use as well. You can also set up restrictions and time limits on apps to keep yourself focused or keep little ones out of things you don’t want them on. To keep me focused throughout the week, I’ve set up time limits on my social media apps (so Twitter, Instagram, GroupMe, even my Messages). I’ve also set up my downtime so that I’m not using my phone between the hours of 1AM and 7AM.

Forest – Stay Focused

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One of my favorite apps of all time is the Forest app! I’ve talked about it before but maybe you don’t remember. Basically, this app grows a tree in the app while you’re focused on a task and eventually it’ll become a forest. The trick is to stay in the app and off your phone so that the tree isn’t abandoned because then it will die. I love that you can challenge your friends and earn rewards like different tree species and background music for your mindful minutes. You can purchase and download the Forest app here for iPhone and here for Androids.

Now that you can focus in class and in study hall, let’s make sure that you can stay organized throughout the semester. I pride myself on being organized and always take time at the beginning of each day, week, month, semester to make sure I’ve written down everything that needs to be done and will be done by the end of a certain amount of time.

Reminders

Once again, I will be praising the inventions of Apple. I’ve downloaded countless apps to help remind me of upcoming tasks and deadlines but after a while, I realized that I could use the Reminders app that’s already built into my device. The best thing about this app is that you can set up the reminders to come every day, every week, or once a month. I use the reminders appt o remind me to take my vitamins every morning and to complete my weekly tasks like homework, Series Sunday, and more.

Daily To-Do List

I think that’s incredibly important to start your morning with a list of everything you need to accomplish before the clock strikes midnight. I’ve modified this a little bit by writing each of my tasks on a tiny sticky note and placing it on the wall next to my full-length mirror. I spend a lot of time in my mirror in the morning and at night so it’s the perfect place for reminding me.

Planner/Calendar/Bullet Journal

My final and possibly the easiest way to stay organized (in my opinion) is to get a planner, a calendar, and/or a bullet journal. I suggest a planner for those of you that want something portable and easy to update (especially if you carry it around with you as I do). I suggest calendars for those of you that need the big visual picture of what’s going on every month. Calendars are using something that stays in the home but it never hurts to keep your Google Calendar updated. Bullet journals are for the elite because they take so much maintenance. One day I’ll have the time and the discipline to take care of a bullet journal but for now, I’ll stick to my super cute and simple planner.

I hope that you take these tips for staying focused and organized and put them to good use during this semester and the ones to follow. For more study tips and just aesthetically pleasing photos of homework and desks, check out my studyblr: Studious & Ambitious.