Do you ever find yourself going back and forth between Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds, refreshing them for hours at a time, then watching season after season on Netflix in your pajamas with a stash of empty food boxes and wrappers by your side? You have a pile of homework and obligations looming over your head, yet you continue to do unproductive things and at some point during the day you start to look and feel like this:
If this is you and you find yourself in these unproductive and demotivated ruts, here are some tips to refocus and get productive.
1. Turn off your phone and T.V.
Turn of your phone, or at least your social media sites. Turn off the T.V. and video games—anything that you don’t need and is distracting to the tasks at hand. Â
2. Take a shower and get dressed.Â
When you look good, you feel good. Refresh your day by cleansing your body and wearing something you feel good in.
3. Get moving.
Take a walk or do some yoga or stretching because, as Elle Woods puts it, “exercise gives you endorphines and endorphines make you happy!”
4. Tidy up.
Do some light house-work; clean your room and your work space, do your dishes and maybe start some laundry—little and easy things that will give you momentum for the bigger tasks to come. Keep it short and simple, though. You don’t want to get distracted or worn out before you get to the more important tasks…like your homework.
5. Turn on some tunes.
Stimulate your brain and get your blood pumping by listening to some music. Not only will it wake you up, but it may even give you some inspiration and motivation to write that blog you’ve been sitting on or maybe even that paper for class you have to write.
6. Get organized.
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Prioritize and make a to-do list. Getting organized will clear your brain and make your work seem more manageable. Write down all the things you need to do only for today. Then, write down what you need to do for the rest of the week. Don’t plan too much or you could start to feel overwhelmed and may end up back on your couch. Start with today and once you’ve accomplished everything on that list, you can start to plan and organize the rest of your week.
7. Catch some vitamin D.
The days are getting warmer, so if you’re lucky take your homework outside. The sunshine will brighten your day and perhaps make you feel more alive and productive.