3 Effective Productivity Tips To Help You Earn Better Grades

Do you want to know 3 effective productivity tips to help you study better and earn better grades?

If so, stay tuned because I will share these tips with you.

Let’s get to it!

The 90-20 Rule

The 90-20 rule is a way of working that’ll help you be more efficient when you work and prevent burnout.

What you’ll do is you’ll work for 90 minutes straight and take a break for 20 minutes. 

You’ll do this repetitively throughout the semester.

If you do this repetitively throughout the semester, you will feel less burnout and retain more information than if you had studied for, say, 4 hours straight and/or pulled off an all-nighter (don’t do those).

It has been said that pulling all-nighters and studying for long hours on end with no rest will do more harm than good in helping you retain information and it’ll introduce stress to your body.

It has been researched that work interval schedules like the 90-20 rule are proven to help people like you maintain focus for a good amount of time which allows you to retain more information and have less burnout.

The reason this works is because our bodies work in what is called an ultradian rhythm, which is a biological cycle that lasts for less than 24 hours. For purposes of working and studying, the ultradian rhythm lasts for 110 minutes. This period consists of 90 minutes of working and 20 minutes of resting.

This working and resting ultradian rhythm is called a Basic Rest Activity Cycle (BRAC).

What happens with the body is it is working productively for 90 minutes and then after the 90 minutes is up, it gets fatigued. To counteract this fatigue, the body must take breaks.

According to the BRAC, 20 minutes is the optimal break time for the body to replenish itself and get into a state where it can be focused again.

Tapping into BRAC while studying can improve your grades considerably.

Personally, when I used this technique to study during my last 2 years of college, the lowest GPA I got in a semester was 3.85.

Before then, I got lower GPAs in most of the semesters I was in college.

Hence, this technique made a big difference in my ability to earn great grades.

I am very certain this technique of studying for 90 minutes and then taking a 20 minute break will work wonders for your grades since you will not have to burn out because of long hours of studying. You can tap into a proven way to maximize your body’s productivity. This will allow you to retain as much of the information you are learning as possible.

Making a To-Do List

This one is REALLY important for staying organized. 

Staying organized will help you track down what you need to do without having to scramble or spend a lot of time trying to recall what it is that needs to get done.

This will allow you to identify your tasks and get cracking in getting your assignments completed.

The best way to track down these assignments is through a to-do list.

If you haven’t made one already, all you need to do to make a to-do list is grab anything you can track information with (ex. Sticky note, binder, etc.) and write down what needs to get done.

It’s as simple as that.

If you choose to use a binder or an agenda, you can write down all of the assignments and important dates that are present for the semester. This will allow you to document everything you need to do in one shot.

If you choose to use a sticky note (like I do), you can write down all of the things you need to do on a particular day. This is a good option if you don’t want to run the risk of losing an agenda binder or planner and you are a person who likes to keep track of his or her things on the go. 

You’ll be more productive because you’ll have all of the items you need to tackle for the days, weeks, or months ahead and you’ll get to work on those ASAP which will allow you to finish the assignments faster and with more efficiency, considering that for a lot of those tasks, the information necessary to complete these tasks will be fresh in your mind.

Although this paper focused on those in grade school, it does highlight the importance of staying organized to receive the highest grades possible and the best outcomes in life possible.

A to-do list can be a good first step toward staying organized. Hence, you’ll be more productive with your studies.

I always made a to-do list for my studies. It helped me stay very organized with each item I had to do on a given day.

Being organized has its merits. Why not try it today with something as simple as making a to-do list?

Turn Off Your Smartphone

This one is obvious if you are distracted and the smartphone plays a role in that distraction.

When you use your smartphone, your mind is transported to things that have nothing to do with academics.

It could be you using your favorite social media site or watching that cat video on YouTube. It might be you messaging your friends on WhatsApp for some random thing (even if it’s for extracurriculars).

Whatever the reason may be, unless the reason for using the smartphone is for an academic reason, you shouldn’t be using it.

Research shows that smartphone use in college leads to lower GPAs for a lot of students.

Mainly, it’s because it’s a source of distraction for these students that causes them to lose focus on their studies. 

Of course, when used properly, the smartphone can help your academic performance since you’d have access to resources that you wouldn’t have otherwise.

Aside from the smartphone being a working instrument, it’s not shown to improve your academic performance. 

Of course, you can use it to document memories from extracurriculars and other college experiences (which you should do), but unnecessary use of the smartphone does more harm than good.

So, if you are using the smartphone for anything that isn’t for academics or making memories, you should reconsider how you are using the smartphone so you can earn the best grades possible.

Perhaps get rid of it for the time being?

In recap, here are 3 things you can do to be productive while studying so you can earn the best grades possible:

1. Implement the 90-20 rule consistently;
2. Make a to-do list to be organized with things you need to do; and
3. Turn off your smartphone so you don’t get distracted while you study and so you can stay focused.

If you do these 3 things to start, you are on the right foot toward earning the grades you want.

Being as productive as possible is CRITICAL in earning great grades. If you can get the most out within as little time as possible spent on studying, you have become a better student.

And these 3 tips can help with that!

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Happy Studying,

Evan