Has Project SMART’s advice been useful to you so far? Are you ready to commit to a tactic that will improve your productivity and quality of life? Give Project SMART feedback AND pledge to follow one strategy for just one week! We deeply appreciate your taking the time to help improve this project. Thank you. Fill out the first Project SMART survey now!
How to Organize
Question: How do you stay organized?
Answer: I don’t. I’m so unorganized, but I think I would waste more time organizing than it actually returns. –Matthew, Class of 2014.
Many students have tried complex, color-coded filing systems or premium productivity apps guaranteed to turn their lives around, but tend to find them more work than they’re worth. However, almost all Jefferson students can agree that a basic organization plan is important for success. Organization also reduces stress and improves productivity. Here are some simple but effective organization strategies suggest by fellow students and experts:
- Use the “bare naked filing system.” Cal Newport introduced the wonders of bare naked filing in this Monday Master Class. In this system, you’ll buy a box of manila folders and place them by your desk. Then you can store anything important in a new folder, label it, and put it in a pile. If you already have a folder for a subject/project, then put the new papers into the existing folder. This method seems so easy, but it works incredibly well! You have instant access to your papers and a convenient system that takes almost no time to maintain.
- Capture everything on paper. If you don’t write an idea or assignment, you’ll most likely forget it. Have you ever listened to a teacher explain an assignment, but then go home and blank? Start writing down due dates, assignment details, and other important information in a notebook, mobile app, or just on a piece of paper. Your memory will go through the roof and your stress will fall dramatically.
- Dedicate 15 minutes each day. Clutter accumulates. And no one wants to clean a room full of junk. Prevent that pile from even forming by spending 10-15 minutes each night putting away your spare papers, materials, and anything that doesn’t belong. Put things in their proper places, file away your papers, and enjoy a clean desk from only a few moments of work per night.
- Make lists for each day. By making a list of everything you need to do in a given day, you’ll be able to plan your day effectively and reduce the stress of not knowing how much is on your plate. Some students suggest listing tasks by class and then by date. Others list them by priority. But regardless of how you list tasks, lists provide excellent guidelines.
Have any other simple tactics to organize your life? How important is organization to you? Let me know your thoughts, questions, and ideas in the comments!
How to Manage Your Time
Question: How do you manage your time?
Answer: I usually don’t.
We’re Jefferson students. We’re motivated. We’re smart. And we have countless hours of homework, projects, and extracurriculars each week. So what gives?
Despite all the talk about the importance of time management, most Jefferson students that were interviewed didn’t have a time management plan. The majority admitted to doing work as it came along, which often resulted in lost sleep and high stress. We get the work done, but at what cost?
Consider implementing one of the following time management strategies for a week. It will significantly increase your productivity and your quality of life.
- Set a Drop-Dead time for each night. When you reach your Drop-Dead time, you drop everything you’re doing and go to bed. Cal Newport says “work accomplished = time spent x intensity of focus.” If you set yourself a hard deadline, you’ll focus more and finish more in less time. Make your Drop-Dead time realistic, but let it challenge you. What happens if you don’t finish on time? Find time the next day – your allotted time for today is over.
- Do different types of activities at better times of day. Practice time arbitrage. Concentration activities such as writing, studying, or doing homework should be done earlier in the day and at isolated hours. If you work later in the day or for too long, you’ll have less energy and therefore accomplish less. However, relaxation activities are best done later in the day and for consecutive hours. And mechanistic activities like errands or chores can be done at any time.
- Do the most important thing first. Doing your hardest, scariest task first will make your whole day better. You start the hardest task early in the day when you have the most energy. After you finish, you don’t have to worry about it for the rest of the day and can do other work or relax in peace. Brian Tracy promises that starting this single strategy will easily make you one of the most productive people in your generation.
- Follow Newport’s 5-minute plan. If you want a tried and true (and simple!) time management strategy, use Newport’s plan from How to Become a Straight-A Student. Every morning, grab a sheet of paper and fold it hot dog style. The left side will be your schedule and the right your new tasks. For tasks, write down everything you are assigned and can think of on that paper, along with due dates and any details. That night, put everything on your calendar on the date that you plan to do each task (not the due date). For the schedule, check your calendar in the morning and jot down all the tasks you need to do. Label each task with when you’re going to do it and adjust based on what happens during the day. Voila! Your system is complete and you’ll manage each day smoothly.
What time management tactic works for you? What’s the hardest part about time management? Which of the four strategies do you plan to use? Let me know your thoughts, questions, and ideas in the comments!
How to Stop Wasting Time Online
Question: If you could give freshman Navya one piece of advice, what would it be?
Answer: Buy a firewall.
Many Jefferson students consider wasting time online one of their biggest problems. Social media sites and other forms of online entertainment can take up huge amounts of time and also distract students from their assignments. But the promise of learning about friends’ latest shenanigans and watching the latest episode of Arrested Development (hollaaa) often lures us back. So how do we limit the impact of the internet on our lives?
- Start tracking how much time you spend online. RescueTime is a free program that tracks how much time you spend on each site and gives you a weekly report of your online productivity. Answer the question “am I really spending my days the way I want to?” Take a few minutes to register and use this data to learn more about your online habits. No commitments necessary.
- Block or limit time-wasting sites. Use StayFocusd to block yourself from sites that you know will distract you. You can choose during what times you want to be blocked, so you’ll still have the freedom to enjoy those sites at night or on the weekends. You can also give yourself a time limit of how much time you can spend on certain sites.
- Limit the number of tabs you keep open. Use Controlled Multi-Tab Browsing to set a maximum number of tabs allowed for a browser. Don’t waste your time navigating from tab to tab. Close a tab when you’re completely done with it or bookmark it for later reference. Keeping many tabs open will make it harder to find what you need and is another way to procrastinate on work.
- Set specific times for checking email and social media. You don’t need to check your messages every few minutes. Don’t be scared of missing out on things! If you only check these sites two or three times a day you will significantly limit your distractions and will still be able to keep up with the latest news.
- Stop using your computer or browser when you don’t need it. If you don’t need to use the internet, then stay away from it. Try finishing all the assignments that don’t require internet first before starting on those that do. This will limit the negative impact the internet can have on your productivity and give you the momentum to continue working.
How does the internet affect your productivity? How do you stop wasting time online? Let me know your thoughts, questions, and strategies in the comments!
Hello Jefferson!
Welcome! My name’s Tina and I’m currently a junior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. As a part of Jefferson’s One Question class, which focuses on this year’s question, “how does one balance the pressures of achieving personal academic success with the necessity of recognizing the fleeting nature of life and acting accordingly,” I created Project SMART (Succeed More by Applying Research-based Tactics). I’m working to provide Jefferson students with new tools to handle the academic pressures that we face.
Since I’ve always had an interest in productivity and frequent the blogs of many self-help gurus, I decided to do what made the most sense: ask the experts. This blog catalogs useful study tactics, organization, and time management tools I’ve personally reviewed and critiqued, as well as insights from students and teachers.
Project SMART 