As a college student, each day mostly feels routine. Wake up, eat, get dressed, class, maybe work-out, homework, and sleep. College students are notorious for procrastinating. I partly attribute this to a lack of direction.
If your day isn't packed full of things to do, it's easy to spend your day watching Netflix instead of working on that paper due in a few days. It is overwhelming to have so much homework, social, and personal responsibilities to tend to.
Recently, I came across the "3 Goal Method" by one of my favorite YouTuber's Polina Beregova. Since implementing this method in my life, I am less stressed, anxious, and I am not procrastinating as much as I used to. The 3 Goals Method involves setting 3 goals for each day and 3 goals for the week. As for the goals, they do not have to be large, time-consuming goals.
For example, three daily goals for me may be: write my Odyssey article for the week, finish half of my Finance homework, and go to the gym. For weekly goals, I may want to finish my paper that is due next week, study for my exam in two weeks, and catch up with a friend I haven't talked to in a while. My weekly goals give me the opportunity to work on things throughout the week when I want to and when I have free time, as long as I get them done.
Since starting to set 3 goals a day and 3 goals a week, I found myself happier and more productive. By making myself accountable on a specific day to do something, it is less likely that I will push it off to another day or not get it done at all. By making goals small and attainable, I know that I have no excuse to not complete my goals. Of course, if there is a goal that I cannot complete for one day, it is alright to roll it over to the next day.
It is blissful to no longer have to try to fit five hours of work into two hours anymore because I procrastinated and didn't break my work into smaller parts. Once I accomplish my goals for the day and a few my goals for a week, I am free to do with my day as I please. I no longer have to spend my free time wondering what other productive things I could be doing that day because I have already completed everything that needed to get done.
Everyone, especially college students, should implement the 3 Goals Method in their lives in order to be more productive, stop procrastinating, and have more free time to watch Netflix without guilt (because who doesn't like Netflix).