Four Productivity Hacks to Help with Clarity, Focus, and Motivation

We’re right in the midst of a hectic last quarter. Some of us still have midterms. Some are already working on finals. And let’s be honest, getting and staying motivated is easier said than done. Luckily for us, it’s 2018, and there are countless gadgets and gizmos out there to help us get our sh*t together. If you need or want more time in your day, then these tips are for you!

1. unroll.me

Photos courtesy of Mykala Matheny. 

I’m starting with this because this website has saved me SO much time in my day-to-day life. It is seriously a game-changer. I don’t know about you, but I hate when my emails begin to pile up; it’s overwhelming and I automatically feel behind. First of all, this service lets you easily see and potentially unsubscribe from every subscription your email has been tied to. It only takes one click. Cleaning out and organizing your inbox is essential to a cultivating a clear head space. Not to mention how refreshing it feels to clean out all the junk mail bombing your gmail every day. They also offer another super helpful feature called your Rollup. If you have certain subscriptions that you don’t want to completely cut out of your inbox, but don’t have time to look at all the time, you can add it to your Rollup. So, instead of receiving 10 separate emails notifications that continually distract you throughout the day, you’ll only receive one.

2. white noise video

If you ever find yourself struggling to focus because of the noises around you, I highly recommend getting your headphones out and searching for a white noise video on YouTube. I find that I’m more productive when I listen to white noise rather than music, especially when working on written assignments. My personal favorite is this 10 hour celestial white noise.

3. 30/30 app

This app has a simple but effective interface. You list out the tasks you need to do, how long you plan on doing them, and what order you would like to do them in. Then, just click the play button and get to work! It notifies you when it’s time to switch tasks. You can also add and subtract time to each task while the clock is running. If you’re as bad at estimating the amount of time it will take you to do something as I am, then you will understand how essential this feature is. 

Photos courtesy of Mykala Matheny. 

4. stayfocusd chrome extension

What I really love about this Chrome extension is how aware it makes you of the time you waste on social media. After adding the extension, customize the settings to match how you much you’d like to be disciplined into staying focused. First, make a list of sites that you would like to start spending less time on. Then, choose the maximum number of minutes you would like to spend on these sites each day. Now every time you are access these sites, the icon in your toolbar will turn red and if you click on it, you will see a clock counting down how much time you have left to spend on these sites per day. You’re also able to customize which days and at what time StayFocused is active. It’s honestly like giving yourself an allowance of time instead of money. It makes me value the time I spend on these sites more since I know it is limited. I can’t just endlessly scroll unless I want to be blocked out of these sites until the next day. You will finally have the willpower to close out of Facebook, stop procrastinating, and do that homework!

Photos courtesy of Mykala Matheny. 

Happy studying!

Photo courtesy of https://www.pinterest.com/pin/559853797421507976/

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