My Productivity Toolkit: Simple Techniques That Help Me Get Things Done
Have you ever had so much to do that you ended up doing… nothing?
That happens to me more often than I would like to admit.
As a student, my list can get pretty long: university assignments, making notes, online courses, internship work, emails, and all the small things that somehow keep appearing throughout the day (sad life😥).
I used to look at all of these tasks together and think, “How am I going to get all of this done?”
The problem was not always a lack of time. Sometimes, I simply did not know where to start.
But during my Amal Academy Career Prep Fellowship, I learned a few productivity techniques that made me look at my daily routine differently. They are simple techniques, but when I started putting them together, I realized that productivity is not about squeezing more and more work into your day. It is about making your work easier to manage.
Step 1: Empty Your Brain Before You Start
The first technique that caught my attention was brain dumping.
The idea is simple: write down everything that is occupying your mind on a piece of paper. (You don’t need those fancy journals for this)
So, instead of repeatedly thinking:
“I have to finish my assignment… I need to prepare for my internship… I haven’t completed that course… Oh, and I need to reply to that message…”
I put everything on paper.
And honestly, seeing everything written down was a relief.
Some tasks looked much bigger in my head than they actually were. Once they were outside my head and on a list, I could look at them more calmly.
It felt like taking all the open tabs in my brain and putting them on one page.
Step 2: Not Everything Is an Emergency
Of course, writing everything down creates another problem:
Which one do I do first?
That is where the Eisenhower Matrix comes in.
It helped me separate my tasks based on whether they were urgent and important.
For example, if I had an assignment due tomorrow, that clearly needed immediate attention. But preparing for something important for my career, even if it had no deadline tomorrow, should not be ignored either.
This made me realize something:
Being busy and being productive are not the same thing.
I could spend an entire day doing small, easy tasks and still avoid the one important thing I actually needed to finish.
Step 3: My To-Do List Needed a Reality Check
I have always liked making to-do lists.
But there was one problem: my lists were sometimes unrealistic.
I would write down ten things thinking, “I can definitely finish all of these today.”
Then the day would end, and I would have completed four.
Instead of feeling productive, I would feel like I had failed.
Now, I try to make my to-do list more realistic. I identify the tasks that genuinely need to be done that day rather than filling the list just to make myself feel organized.
For example:
- Finish assignment notes
- Complete internship task
- Watch the required online course
- Reply to important messages
A shorter, realistic list feels much better than a huge list that I know I cannot finish.
And yes, checking a task off the list, a task that actually needed to be done, feels sooooo satisfying!
Step 4: “I’ll Do It Later” Needs a Time Slot
This is probably one of the techniques I found most useful: time blocking.
I used to tell myself:
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“I’ll work on my assignment later.”
But “later” has a strange habit of becoming tomorrow.
With time blocking, I give a task an actual place in my day using Google Calendar.
Instead of: Work on assignment
I might schedule: 10:00–11:00 A.M. Assignment notes
Then I can schedule another block for my internship work, another for my Amal tasks, and breaks in between.
This makes my day feel less like a long list of responsibilities and more like a plan I can actually follow.
Of course, I don’t always follow my schedule perfectly. And I am learning that a schedule is a guide, not a prison.
Sometimes something takes longer than expected. Sometimes an unexpected task comes up. That’s okay.
Step 5: I Don’t Have to Work for Three Hours Straight
Then comes the Pomodoro Technique.
The concept is simple: work with focus for a short period, take a break, and repeat.
This works particularly well for me when I have to make notes or complete an assignment.
Instead of thinking:
“I have to sit here and study for three hours.”
I can think:
“I’ll just focus for the next 25 minutes.”
Twenty-five minutes sounds much less intimidating.
During that time, I try to stay away from distractions and focus only on the task. Then I take a short break before starting again.
Sometimes getting started is the hardest part. The Pomodoro Technique makes that first step feel easier.
So, Did the Template Actually Help Me?
Yes.
The biggest difference was that the template helped me organize my thoughts before trying to organize my time.
As a student managing assignments, notes, an internship, and fellowship responsibilities, I often have several things competing for my attention.
The template gave me a process:
Brain dump → Prioritize → Make a to-do list → Time block → Focus → Take breaks
Instead of having ten different thoughts running through my mind, I could see what actually needed to be done.
It changed my question from:
“How will I manage everythingggg?😭”
to:
“What needs to be done first?🤔”
And that feels much more manageable.
Will I Keep Doing This?
I definitely want to.
But I also know myself well enough to know that I cannot create a perfect schedule on Monday and expect to follow it perfectly every single day.
So, I want to keep improving the process.
I want to make my daily to-do lists more realistic, leave some empty space in my calendar for unexpected tasks, and review my week to see where I spent my time.
Most importantly, I don’t want productivity to become another source of pressure.
For me, productivity is not about waking up at 5 AM, working for 12 hours, or having every minute of the day planned.
It is simply about knowing what matters, giving it my attention, and actually getting started.
Maybe I didn’t have a time problem after all.
Maybe I just needed to stop carrying my entire to-do list in my head.
And sometimes, getting organized starts with something as simple as writing it all down.
