What Is Productivity for Students? (9 Ways to Increase It)

To be able to hit all your targets, everyone needs to be productive. It is a measure of the efforts you make towards accomplishing your goals.

For students, productivity refers to their efforts and ability to perform efficiently in their studies. This involves how well they manage their time, their ability to prioritize, and their overall input into achieving academic success.  

Whether you are a high school student, college, or graduate student, it is essential to look out for ways to be productive in your education by focusing on the things that will help you meet your goals. This is one of the ways you can move to the next stage in life. 

What is your goal at the end of the academic year? Will the things you are doing at the moment help you achieve that? If your response to the second question is “No,” you need to reevaluate how you spend your time and make each moment count. 

In this article, you will learn about the concept of productivity in education, how you will measure your productivity as a student, and ways to increase productivity in your education.

What is productivity in education?

Productivity in education can be defined as the level of effort put into accomplishing positive academic results.

Some studies have argued that productivity in education can be assessed by evaluating the input vs. output. This boils down to drawing up a comparison between the quality of learning students consume and the outcome they produce.

Excelling in education can be attributed to many factors aside from a student’s personal efforts and circumstances. The quality of learning is an important factor. It’s like garbage in, garbage out; the output depends on the input.

If an educational institution aims only to produce excellent students. In that case, they must invest in high-quality learning and other things that will lead to good academic performance. This will, in turn, give students all the necessary tools needed to make good grades. 

How to measure productivity for students

Productivity for students is measured by simply assessing their academic performance. It is the cumulative effect of your hard work in your assignments, school projects,  and studying for your exams.

How well do you study for your exams? Do you participate actively in class, or are you just a passive student? Do you go the extra mile when writing your assignments?

A mastery of study materials, demonstration of the knowledge you have learned, and how well you retain information are all used to evaluate how productive you have been as a student with your time. 

9 tips to increase productivity in education 

The efforts you make and the strategy you use will help increase your productivity in education. It is not always about how hard you work, but how well. 

As a student, follow these tips to increase your academic  productivity

1. Set up your short-term academic goal

To increase your productivity, write down your goal before the beginning of every school session. 

If your goal is to make a particular grade, you need to specify that in your plan. For instance, if you need to make four As in your courses to boost your CGPA, state that in your plan.

These short-term goals will show you a clear path to your long-term goals. In addition, it gives you an idea of the immediate effort you have to make to achieve your desired CGPA.

Knowing that you have a target to hit each academic year will keep you on your toes all the time.

2. Draft a study timetable

Creating a study timetable and sticking to it will increase your productivity levels.

Now that you have a clear-cut plan, you need to create a strategy and a schedule that will provide an appropriate guide for it to be accomplished. 

To create a healthy balance between your life and academics, you need to factor in all the extracurricular activities and social commitment while drafting the timetable. Ensure that it does not clash with the other activities. None should suffer because of the other.

Also, include how much time you are going to spend studying. Space it out and include enough time for rest. 

If you are experiencing some challenges with retaining information, take an online course that will help you improve and maximize your memory. 

3. Eliminate all distractions

Eliminating all distractions is one way of staying productive in your study time.

Before you start studying, ensure you do so in a quiet environment where you will not be tempted to do anything besides studying. For instance, if you’d have the urge to switch on the TV while studying, choose a room without a TV. 

You can also eliminate distractions by optimizing our study station. Organize your study desk; it will help you focus better. 

4. Reduce screen time 

Reduce screen time by switching or silencing your phone when studying.

Your phone can be your best friend and worst enemy, especially when it is standing between you and your academic goal. Switching off your phone will help you focus better. 

If you study with your phone, you may begin to wonder how to manage without it. But not to worry, some apps will help you block other apps, especially social media apps, during your study period. Social media can be addictive, and these apps can help you become more productive. 

One of them is Freedom. With the Freedom app, you can set a time you can be blocked from assessing specific sites during your study time. It works on Mac, Windows, Android, IOS, and Chrome. It syncs and blocks all the sites you have chosen to avoid on all your devices during your scheduled time.

Offtime also enables you to stay focused anytime you are about to study. It helps you block specific apps, provides insight into your usage of various sites, and syncs across devices. 

Flipd is an app that helps you track your productivity, block specific apps on your phone over a set period, and give you badges for every milestone you have crossed in your productivity journey.

5. Practice compartmentalization during the study

Dividing your study materials into sections will increase your productivity levels.  

A large number of study materials can be overwhelming, and it can discourage you from studying. To overcome this, divide the study material into sections and schedule a specific time to review each section of the material. 

If you are not a fast reader, start practicing speed reading by incorporating speed reading techniques such as skimming, scanning, the track-and-pace method, and chunking when reading the materials.

You can also try out a speed reading tool. It will help increase your reading pace. 

6. Join a study group

Being a part of a study group will motivate you, make you accountable, and help your understanding of study materials. 

Joining peers of like mind to form a study group will help increase your productivity. It can be a group of 3 or more. They will inspire you to meet your academic goals and give you the moral and academic support you need to excel. In this group, you motivate each other to make better grades. 

A study group is a source of accountability partners. Each group member helps the other member commit to their goals and become successful.

The group will agree on a topic to be discussed in the next meeting. Every member is expected to prepare for the next session by reading up on the assigned topic. And because you do not want to appear empty when others share ideas, you will be motivated to study more to contribute to the subsequent discussion. That way, you are accountable to one another.

Additionally, being a part of a study group will help you gain a deeper insight and understanding of a subject you are struggling with. Listening to your peers talk about it will clarify it and clear up your confusion. 

Generally, a study group will help you be a better version of yourself in terms of productivity in academics. 

7. Engage in group collaboration

Group class activities will help you develop a healthy competitive spirit among your peers.

Anytime you are given group assignments, ensure that you participate in them. When you interact with your group members and find out how actively involved they are, it will give you the nudge you need to do better in your school work.

Avoid engaging in social loafing during school group assignments. Instead, interact effectively with your colleagues and learn more from them. 

8. Get enough sleep

Getting enough sleep and occasional naps will help you be productive in your education.

A study has shown that sleep deprivation prevents you from learning and processing information better. Conversely, getting enough sleep helps memory retention. 

If you spend all night awake because you are studying or engaging in any social activity, you will not be as productive in class the next day. 

Also, before you start studying, you need to be well rested. That way, you are learning with a clearer head. 

9. Avoid procrastination

Avoid procrastination, whether it is in writing assignments,  preparing for a presentation, working on a project, or studying.

Procrastination will keep you from achieving your goal, and you will regret not using your time wisely. If you want to use your free time productively as a student, start today, not tomorrow.

Finish that assignment today. Start working on that project now. Start that research today. Not tomorrow, not next week, but now!

Setting deadlines will help you overcome the temptation of procrastinating. Assign a reasonable deadline to each task and watch yourself become highly efficient. 

Conclusion

Productivity for students involves the effort a student puts into their academics. This can be measured by evaluating how well they perform in their grades. 

Students can increase their productivity by drawing up a short-term goal, drafting a study timetable, eliminating all distractions, partaking in a study group, getting enough sleep, reducing screen time, practicing compartmentalization, and avoiding procrastination.

Boost your productivity and excel in your studies by signing up for this Personal Productivity course. It will equip you with all the tools you need to be a productive student.