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15 Productivity Hacks for Studying Every Student Should Know Before the Semester
Study Techniques
11 min read

15 Productivity Hacks for Studying Every Student Should Know Before the Semester

Want to do more without sacrificing your mental health? Check out StudyPro's list of 15 tried-and-true productivity tips that'll be a game-changer for your ability to focus.
Top Productivity Hacks for Studying
Written by
Kateryna B.
Published on
Aug 26, 2025
Table of contents
If you're a regular college student, you may need anywhere between 25 and 30 hours a week just to complete your assignments and do the required reading. Add that to all the classes you have to attend, and you don't have to wonder why a whopping 85% of college students say they feel overwhelmed by everything on their to-do list at some point during the year.
You don't have to keep pulling all-nighters or sacrifice your mental health just to keep up with homework. These 15 student productivity techniques, handpicked and verified by the StudyPro team, can help you get more done while staying sane.

1. Stick to a Schedule

Schedule your study sessions to avoid the panic that comes with realizing you don't have enough time to complete an assignment before the due date. Here's how to be more productive as a student by effectively planning your study sessions:
  • Estimate how much time you'll need for each task;
  • Multiply it by 1.5 to mitigate the risk of underestimating how long difficult tasks may take;
  • Take into account the breaks you'll need (e.g., 20 minutes every 1.5 hours).
While you're at it, use your preferred calendar (Google Calendar, Calendly, etc.) to keep track of all deadlines and set reminders. Adding your study sessions to the calendar will ensure you don't have any conflicts among your class schedule, club meetings, extracurricular activities, chores and errands, and social engagements.

2. Find the Right Study Technique

When it comes to productivity, there's no magical solution that works for every single person. You may have heard about the Pomodoro technique, but that's hardly the only one on the table. Explore your options, try several study techniques, and find the one that makes you into the most productive student possible.
Here are just some techniques to consider:
  • Eat That Frog: Start with the most difficult task to get it over with fast;
  • Eisenhower Matrix: Sort the tasks on your to-do list into four categories (Do First, Schedule, Delegate, Don't Do) based on their urgency and importance;
  • Seinfeld Method (a.k.a. Don't Break the Chain): Strive to maintain a streak to make your study sessions consistent.

3. Make the Most Out of Digital Tools

While a calendar can help you track deadlines and schedule study sessions, it's not the most powerful tool for keeping yourself organized. There are many free study tools for students that can help you manage your to-do lists, schedule personalized notifications and reminders, set goals, and track progress.
Explore different tools and find the ones that work for you. Popular ones include:
  • StudyPro: It combines writing tools, checkers and detectors you might need to complete your homework;
  • Notion: It can be your all-in-one tool for note-taking, time management, and task and project management;
  • Todoist: This popular tool is great for breaking projects and large tasks into smaller goals and keeping to-do lists.

4. Pinpoint When You're Most Productive

If you want to know how to be a productive student, reflect on when you're your most focused, organized, and energized self. Everyone has that specific window of time during which it's easier to concentrate. It is called biological prime time and is determined by your body's ultradian rhythm.
To discover your biological prime time, think about when you're most productive. If you're not sure about your answer, keep a journal to log your energy levels throughout a typical day for a week or two. You can also use a time tracker like Timely and Toggl to gather objective data on when you get things done and when you slack off.

5. Let AI Help You

AI tools can help you complete your homework fast by speeding up multiple tasks, such as:
  • Summing up long texts assigned for reading or used as sources;
  • Generating drafts for your whole assignments or their parts;
  • Creating personalized study plans;
  • Organizing tasks into a daily or weekly schedule;
  • Polishing off your draft with constructive feedback on improving the flow or style;
  • Generating citations or helping you find relevant sources;
  • Analyzing raw data to find patterns and trends for your paper;
  • Providing you with topic ideas for essays and other assignments;
For example, StudyPro can help you brainstorm, research, outline, draft, and improve your paper in a single platform. That's one of the main reasons why StudyPro is must have for students.

6. Use Active Learning Techniques

Active learning is an educational approach that turns you into an active participant in your learning process. It's not just about being productive in college: active learning helps you grasp complex concepts faster and retain them longer.
While most active learning techniques are used in class, you can incorporate some of them into your individual study time, too:
  • Spacing: Set a delay between reviewing material and quizzing yourself on it to improve long-term retention.
  • Interleaving: Mix and match concepts and examples without sticking to a strict type-based order.
  • Retrieval practice: Actively test your knowledge to make sure you remember the material.
  • Metacognition: Link the learned concepts to real-world situations or other topics.
  • Chunking: Group information based on similarity and category to facilitate recall.

7. Have a Dedicated Study Space

Your brain is great at making implicit associations, and that applies to spaces and environments. Just like your childhood bedroom makes you feel cozy, settling behind your desk can signal to your brain that it's time to concentrate and get stuff done.
To create a good study space that boosts your productivity:
  • Opt for warmer or natural light whenever possible;
  • Invest in an ergonomic chair to keep yourself comfortable;
  • Keep the desk clean and organized, with all the materials within your reach;
  • Find a place where you're unlikely to get disturbed by anyone;
  • Invest in a good pair of noise-cancelling headphones;
  • Consider going to a library or a coworking space to work on difficult tasks;
  • Keep your study space distraction-free;

8. Nip Distractions in the Bud

A notification makes your phone buzz, and your attention immediately shifts to it, albeit momentarily. You might think there's no harm in it, but it can take you up to 25 minutes to get to a former level of concentration after you get distracted.
Distractions can come in many forms: your roommate asking you something, someone calling you, or a notification going off. They all have one thing in common, though: they typically stem from external stimuli.
Luckily, you can keep your productivity in college high by:
  • Turning on the Focus mode on your phone to limit notifications;
  • Putting your phone away (e.g., into a drawer or backpack) while you study;
  • Asking your roommate not to disturb you during your study session;
  • Putting on noise-canceling headphones;
  • Installing impulse blockers (e.g., to limit social media use);
  • Ensuring your study space has no visible distractions (e.g., video game console, etc.).

9. Cultivate Good Sleeping Habits

Not getting enough quality sleep can lead to slower reflexes, issues concentrating or thinking, poorer decision-making, headaches, irritability, and anxiety. You'll also struggle to retain new information since your brain encodes and consolidates memories during sleep.
All of that means you're 29% less productive if you sleep less than five hours a night.
So, to get a good night's sleep:
  • Make time for it; don't sacrifice it for the sake of catching up on homework
  • Create a sleep schedule and stick to it
  • Have a bedtime routine; it'll signal to your brain when it's time to wind down
  • Use your bed only for sleep
  • Avoid bright artificial light and limit screen time around bedtime
  • Stay physically active during the day

10. Limit Screen Time

Endless scrolling and streaming are common productivity drains. And while social media use isn't evil in and of itself, it's not one of the most productive things to do for students, either. It may distract you when you try to study or enable you to procrastinate.
To limit screen time, see how much time you already spend on your phone and other devices. You can use built-in features like Screen Time on iOS or install time trackers like Toggl and RescueTime on your laptop or computer. Then, set limits for yourself.
Most devices allow you to set hard limits for screen time in the settings. Alternatively, you can schedule digital downtimes during which you stay away from screens.

11. Find or Start a Study Group

Having someone else to discuss difficult topics with or simply keep you accountable for doing hard work on time can do miracles for your productivity. Plus, since you have to set aside time for those meetings, participating in a study group or having a study buddy basically prevents you from slacking off.
Collaborative learning isn't just a productivity tip, however. Discussions with your peers are a great way to gain deeper insights into the material and come up with more innovative ideas, making it crucial for you if you're wondering how to study effectively.
Make sure you meet with your study buddy or study group regularly, however. Hectic scheduling won't help you establish an effective study routine.

12. Set Up a Reward System

Your brain lives for dopamine, and rewards are one way to trigger its release. Why does it matter for maximizing student productivity? Whenever your brain gets some dopamine, it simply makes you feel good, thus associating the activity with positive emotions and ensuring you engage in it again.
To set up a reward system for yourself, set clear, achievable goals to complete first. Then, assign rewards, which can come in the form of:
  • Short breaks;
  • Treats (e.g., snacks, meals);
  • Activities (e.g., hobbies, trips);
  • Social time (e.g., chatting with a friend);
  • Objects (e.g., a new pin for your backpack).
Make sure your rewards aren't too big or small for the achievement. For example, completing an assignment doesn't call for a two-day trip, but passing an exam does.

13. Keep Your Goals Clear & Achievable

Speaking of goals. If you want to become a productive college student, you'll need to get into the habit of setting and reviewing your study goals.
Goal setting gives you a full overview of what you need to do within a specific time frame. That will help you direct your efforts wisely, prioritize tasks, and track your progress. Writing them down, in turn, makes you 42% more likely to achieve what you set out to do.
To set goals that actually help you on your path to academic success, make them SMART:
  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Achievable
  • Realistic/Relevant
  • Time-bound
You can make your goals process-oriented ("Study every evening for one hour") or outcome-based ("Finish reading this material by Friday"). Whichever way you go, keep your goals organized in an app or a journal. Dedicate 5 to 10 minutes at the end of every day to:
  • Review them;
  • See which goals you've achieved or progressed on;
  • Plan the day ahead accordingly.

14. Set Your Priorities Straight

If you have too many items on your to-do list, feeling overwhelmed is a natural reaction. To avoid that, create a comprehensive task list and use one of the following methods to prioritize them:
  • 3-2-1 rule. Identify three key tasks you need to accomplish during the day, do any tasks that take under two minutes to complete immediately, and set one big goal per week.
  • ABCDE method. Grade each task on a scale from A (top priority) to E (lowest priority) and work your way from A and B tasks to the rest.
  • Most Important Task (MIT) method. Complete at least one task that helps you achieve your long-term goals every day.
Since time and energy are finite resources, you need to prioritize tasks. Plus, it helps ensure that you tackle the most difficult tasks when you're at your most productive.

15. Make Your To-Do List Manageable

No one can write a term paper or a research paper in one sitting. These big tasks simply have to be broken into chunks if you want to complete them without risking your mental health. Plus, creating subtasks for every goal helps you see the progress you're making, activating your brain's reward system as a result.
To break down big goals into subtasks:
  • Identify your goal and make it SMART (e.g., "Submit a research paper by March 25");
  • Visualize key milestones in the process (e.g., research, outlining, drafting);
  • List all the tasks for each milestone (e.g., for research: go to the library, ask for recommendations, search academic databases);
  • Prioritize tasks and estimate the time and resources required.

Final Thoughts

If you want to stay productive in college, you can't just wing it and hope for the best. You'll need to find the right approach to juggle the dozens of hours of work you have to complete every week (and stay sane while you're at it, too).
So, take these 15 productivity tips for a test drive: try a new AI text generator to speed up drafting essays, adopt a reward system, and so on. Remember: you're the only one who can identify which methods work best for you!
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Frequently asked questions

Some students might find the Eat The Frog approach useful, while others will swear by a reward system. So, experiment with different productivity hacks. That said, most students keep comprehensive to-do lists and block time for study sessions to stay productive. Digital tools, from writing tools to homework planners, are also likely to help you boost productivity.
Common productivity tips for students include:
  • Scheduling your study sessions and keeping track of deadlines in a calendar;
  • Tackling the most demanding tasks in your biological prime time;
  • Leverage AI tools to speed up certain tasks (e.g., summarizing materials);
  • Getting enough quality sleep every night;
  • Eliminating distractions when you study;
  • Using active learning study techniques like spacing and retrieval practice.
Like any other adult, a college student needs between seven and nine hours of sleep every night. Teenagers aged 13 to 18, in turn, require more sleep (eight to 10 hours, on average).
That said, these are just averages, so don't take them as the universal truth. You may have inherited the lower need for sleep overall. Or, you may need more sleep while you're healing from an injury or illness.
Sources:
  • Boogaard, K. (2021, November 23). Discover your most productive hours with the biological prime time method. Atlassian. https://www.atlassian.com/blog/productivity/biological-prime-time-method
  • Shukla, A. (2024, January 7). 5 scientific study techniques: Interleaving, spaced repetition, retrieval practice, metacognition, chunking. Cognition Today. https://cognitiontoday.com/how-to-study-5-scientific-study-techniques/
  • Sleep. (2023, March 19). Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/12148-sleep-basics
  • Talbert, M. (2025, April 4). How to prioritize tasks in 4 steps (and get work done). Asana. https://asana.com/resources/how-prioritize-tasks-work
  • Thurrott, S. (2023, March 9). 9 simple productivity tips for college students. Azusa Pacific University. https://www.apu.edu/articles/9-simple-productivity-tips-for-college-students/
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