When you are overwhelmed with all the overload of assignments: reports, essays, case studies, etc., you cannot think clearly.
Needless to say that sometimes we all find ourselves incapable of getting out of bed and doing what needs to be done. However, if it turns into constant procrastination, some measures should be taken. Especially in the case of law students, your laziness today can influence your future tomorrow.
Don’t worry, though, as we have prepared the list of five tips on how to improve your productivity and escape the claws of the comfortable sofa and Netflix. Check them out!
- Deal with Core Feelings and Emotions First
The first and foremost hurdle on your way to productivity is your emotions and feelings. We are talking about fear, anxiety and stress. In other words, those feelings that are hovering over you, making you feel small, vulnerable and unable to deal with any difficulties.
When you are overwhelmed with all the overload of assignments: reports, essays, case studies, etc., you cannot think clearly. It all seems impossible to tackle. Therefore, the best solution your brain comes up with is doing nothing, and postponing, as it is too scary to start. Let’s face it. As a law student, you truly have lots of tasks. However, so did tons of graduates before you. Yet, somehow they managed to graduate and now they are leading legal experts.
That is why tip number one will be – deal with feelings of fear and overwhelm. Don’t freeze up. Take a deep breath and calm down, and have a realistic look at the assignments you need to accomplish, the time you have, the knowledge you don’t have, and most importantly, don’t panic. As always panic is the reason for laziness, rather than your personal character trait.
- Organize the Space
Getting a degree in law requires lots of focus. You need to read a lot, research a lot, think, and write a lot. For this reason, it is essential not to get distracted when you finally manage to get to the desk to work. Whether you live by yourself or with roommates, make sure you have some quiet space that is organized for work.
If you have your personal desk, make sure it is not cluttered. Make it as minimalist as possible: laptop, notebook, and a pencil/pen. What is more, try to eliminate noise distractions by wearing earphones, for instance, or go to the library (yeah, people still do so).
The reason why tip number two is linked with managing your work space is because distractions affect our productivity as well. The more distractions there are, the higher the chances are that it will be difficult to focus, and you will end up doing something else rather than writing your paper or meeting other deadlines.
- Focus on the Value
Why do most law students hate doing the majority of assignments? It is just because they don’t understand why they need them, what’s the use of them, and most importantly, why they are valuable. Let’s be honest, some tasks really have low value. But the important thing is that somehow it can be valuable to you personally. By this we mean, every task has its aim: whether it is to improve writing skills, or boost the knowledge of convincing techniques, or provide students with valuable practical skills. However, if you just focus on completing the task without understanding its importance, you will have no motivation to do it whatsoever. If you’re totally unmotivated and don’t feel like writing at all, you can always ask for some help with your assignments.
That is why tip number three will be focus on the value of assignments. Sites like LegitWritingServices.com can help you choose a reliable editing or proofreading service for your law writing assignment. As soon as you understand what you are getting from this or that paper, your productivity will boost, as you will already know that you will get something as a reward as well (and by reward we don’t mean the mark). This how you can kill two birds with one stone: overcome laziness and learn more.
- It is the Small Steps that Matter
If you try to finish a 15-page essay in one day, you will have no luck and no motivation. Worse, you will be so overwhelmed that you’d rather do nothing, as it seems like an impossible task to do. For this reason, it is vital to break your work into small steps.
It is common knowledge that dealing with anything difficult requires planning and dealing with a task step by step. Let’s take writing an essay, for example. If you break it into several stages, like familiarizing yourself with the topic, searching for materials, reading and analyzing the resources, taking notes, crafting an outline, writing, editing and proofreading, by accomplishing each step gradually, you will enjoy success and desire to continue. However, if you try to do it all in one gulp, you will end up being disappointed and putting it off, because it is so difficult.
So, tip number four will be breaking the difficult tasks into small steps to avoid procrastination.
- Think Outside the Box
Finally, who said that you should do everything by the book? Laziness is the engine of progress sometimes. As the lazy people are often the creative ones, trying to find creative solutions with minimal work and maximum results. That is why you can embrace your laziness and come up with outside the box solutions to your problems. For instance, you don’t always need to read the whole book in case you need to deal with specific paragraphs. It is already saving your time.
If you are getting ready for the exam, try to understand how your professor thinks. In other words, every professor has their favourite topics and questions, so why don’t you focus on those things, and boost your chances to do better at the test without studying tons of material?
Certainly, it is just a piece of advice, and it will not work in 100% of cases. However, why don’t you give this last tip a try?
Join the conversation!