Hoover Library: Long Night Against Procrastination: Productivity Tips & Tools

Productivity Tips

Think about how you can improve your working habits
Do small tasks first
Trick your mind to take action now
Do your tasks according to urgency
Break your tasks into smaller chunks
Make a strategy when you feel motivated
Ixnay unimportant tasks
Remember that done is better than perfect.
Aim for progress, not perfection

What is the Pomodoro Technique?

"The Pomodoro Technique was invented in the early 1990s by developer, entrepreneur, and author Francesco Cirillo. Cirillo named the system 'Pomodoro' after the tomato-shaped timer he used to track his work as a university student. The methodology is simple: When faced with any large task or series of tasks, break the work down into short, timed intervals (called “Pomodoros”) that are spaced out by short breaks. This trains your brain to focus for short periods and helps you stay on top of deadlines or constantly-refilling inboxes. With time it can even help improve your attention span and concentration."

How It Works:

Choose a task to be accomplished.
Set the Pomodoro to 25 minutes (the Pomodoro is the timer)
Work on the task until the Pomodoro rings, then put a check on your sheet of paper
Take a short break (5 minutes is OK)
Every 4 Pomodoros take a longer break

Information quoted from Alan Henry in "Productivity 101: An Introduction to The Pomodoro Technique." You can read more about this technique at the link.

Tomato Timers
TomatoTimers is a Custom Pomodoro Timer featuring To-do List with animated Tomatoes to boost your productivity.

Audio/Visual

25-Minute Work Sessions

30-Minute Work Sessions

50-Minute Work Sessions

60-Minute Work Sessions

All About Birds Live Cams
Barred Owls, Red-tailed Hawks, Savannah Osprey, Royal Albatross, Cornell Feeder Cam, Bermuda Petrels, and more.
Monterey Bay Aquarium Live Cams
Most of the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s webcams are available during set hours, with reruns playing during downtime. (If you want to watch sea otters live, for example, you’ll need to tune in between 1PM and 1AM ET.)

Apps

Forest
If you want to temporarily put down your phone and focus on what’s more important in real life, you can plant a seed in Forest. As time goes by, this seed will gradually grow into a tree. However, if you cannot resist the temptation of using your phone and leave the app, your tree will wither.
Freedom
Blocks the sites that waste your time but also keeps you away from the task, working across your many devices. Those who have used the app have reported that they added at least 2.5 hours towards being more productive.
Noizio
Provides ambient background sounds to help increase your productivity and block the noises that distract you.
BetterSleep: Sleep Tracker
Enjoy a large variety of Nature Sounds, White Noise, Guided Meditations, Bedtime Stories, Brainwaves, Body-Mind Exercises and Breathing Techniques that you can mix and combine to create your very own Bedtime Experience. We collaborate with Sleep Experts to make sure that our content and techniques will help you overcome Insomnia, Tinnitus, Night-Time Anxiety and lower your Everyday Stress.
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Apple/iTunes: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/relax-melodies-sleep-sounds/id314498713
Lo-Fi Radio - Work, Study, Chill
This app brings you the best of instrumental Hip Hop mixed with the nostalgia feeling of the lo-fi aesthetics. Carefully curated, Lo-fi Radio runs non-stop 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
LifeAt Spaces
This site allows you to build your own study space! Choose from a wide selection of backgrounds and timer options to create the perfect ambience for you.

Beeminder
Helps the user visualize goals and set measurable targets. It also helps you minimize distractions.
Eternal Sunshine
This app gives daily inspirational messages, meditation exercises and inspirational podcasts.
Habitminder
Helps form and track daily habits and goals.
Plant Nanny
It is also important to remember to stay hydrated while studying! This app helps you make sure you are drinking enough water while feeding a cute plant.

Any.do
An all-in-one productivity solution that combines the calendar, tasks, lists, and reminders to let you plan your schedule accordingly.
Evernote
Allows users to capture, organize, and find your information across multiple platforms. You can add to-do lists, images, web pages, and search your information.
Todoist
A great resource for creating to-do lists and getting them done. Cross-platform with excellent features.
SimpleMind
A mind map creating tool to help organize and structure thoughts.
Trello
Assign tasks to people for group project asignments.
Google Keep
A to do list organization app that lets you add things directly from your Google home.

My Study Life
This app acts as a digital planner including scheduling, tasks, and reminders.
Exam Countdown App
Helps keep track of exam dates and deadlines

Toggl
Helps you keep track of the time you spend on different tasks and review if you've spent your time wisely. It can work on various devices and help you keep track of the number of hours you worked on a specific task/project.
Alarmy
An alarm clock app that gives you different challenges in the morning to wake you up and ensure you don't sleep through class or exams.

Quizlet
Quizlet is a online site which allows you to create flashcards for vocabulary.

Long Night Against Procrastination: Productivity Tips & Tools

Productivity Tips

What is the Pomodoro Technique?

How It Works:

Audio/Visual

Apps

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