How to Produce Great Work (Student Edition)

I think it's important to explain the most effective ways to create a positive working environment as a student. It's incredibly easy to become consumed by the stress of university life and get overwhelmed at the prospect of coursework, this has happened to me one too many times in the past.

It's all well and good buying the fancy leather planner and pastel highlighters but you need to know how to use them in the most effective way possible to make the most of your learning experience.

Make a timetable to clearly map out your days 📆

Make a timetable to clearly map out your days 📆

Your place of work/education will likely give you a timetable, although this will be a wonky, faded photocopy that lacks inspiration and fails to drive or motivate you to get work done. Draw out your own grid in a notebook or just on a plain piece of paper. Fill in your days, times and what you're doing in those times. You can colour code it, use symbols and a key or even just write it out in a nice font. Make it feel personal to you and you'll find yourself becoming more driven and motivated to complete these tasks.

Invest in stationary and notebooks that are aesthetically appealing ✏️

Although this sounds ridiculous to some having nice looking work tools will make you more likely to pick them up and actually use them. These days stationary isn't all that expensive if you know where to look. If you're in the UK like myself then you can find some really cute items in the office and home sections of your local supermarket. If you have a slightly larger budget then you can shop in places such as Paperchase and Flying Tiger who will have a much wider selection to choose from. You can even find second hand and sometimes brand new bits on third party sellers such as Depop or Vinted. Wherever you shop you can find some great pieces of stationary that can only aid your success whilst making you feel cute in the process!

Invest in stationary and notebooks that are aesthetically appealing ✏️

Use a diary to plan your projects/coursework 📝

Although diaries seem daunting to some they can be incredibly useful if you're a bit forgetful, like myself, or if you simply respond better to written down instructions. As mentioned previously, colour coding can be a great way to break down and organise tasks. Start by writing down what you have to do on which days. Then schedule in some breaks and activities that relax you and allow you to have some downtime. You can highlight, mark or draw a line under each different category. For example, Blue = Task, Pink = Break, Yellow = Fun. It's always important to schedule in some time for you! You'll find that you work so much better when you're chilled out and happy.

Buy some feel good food and drink 🍔

Sustenance is key to achieving great things! Buy some snacks and drink that make you happy and plan out some lunches for your busy days. Thinking about this beforehand will make your work days so much easier as it's one less thing to organise on the day. I'll make a whole separate blog post for what foods are proven to help you achieve so look out for that!

Lastly, put together a feel good playlist 🎧

I now it doesn't work for all, i find that the right music can help me concentrate harder and work better. Sometimes I just listen to rainforest noises or recordings of rainfall, these I use when I have more mentally taxing work such as assignments or long essays. When creating my art or bits for my sketchbook I can listen to a whole manner of genres; classical, musicals, cheesy pop and 80s are just some of many.

Lastly, put together a feel good playlist 🎧

That's the list!

Let me know if any of these tips help you out in your studies, message me on socials 📱