advice

The title of this post is misleading. It implies that productivity and self-care are separate and opposing things. But they aren’t. We can’t be productive without taking care of ourselves. This relationship between productivity and self-care is particularly important right now, during a stressful, frightening situation where expectations on all of us nonetheless remain high. While we navigate the coronavirus pandemic together, we can try three simple things to tackle our research and writing:

Why is creativity so elusive? We see artists and poets and marvel agape at their powers of creation, but in truth creativity is a learned thing – a practice of insight and introspection. You too have the potential to produce art almost as good as the greats, if only you look in the right places. It doesn’t matter that no one’s listening.

What is a superfood? Is it food that wears a cape and fights crime? Yes and no. Superfoods are foods that are nutrient dense. These foods can help you feel energized throughout the day so that you can be productive and skip on the afternoon chip cravings. Some of them also have the ability to fight diseases!

In the midst of exams, the question of where to go study is a daily decision. If you do decide to leave your living space and head over to the UWaterloo campus, here are some of my favourite study spots on campus!

​​​Writing is a necessary skill no matter your program or academic year. Fortunately, most universities and colleges offer a free resource centre for assistance with improving this skill. If you ever struggle or need a helping hand with academic writing, the Writing and Communication Centre (WCC) is the place to be! If you still aren't convinced, here are five reasons to visit us. 

For most of my life, I've been resistant to reading classic novels.

I always find that the winter term is particularly hard to get through. It’s cold, dreary, has long days, and it never seems like summer is on its way. Being productive during this time is difficult because you just want to curl up in bed and wait for the warm weather to arrive. However, as the exam season approaches, you have to start planning out the best way to study and even think about what you can do to improve your study habits for next term. 

Here are five productivity strategies to help you study!

Seeking out reliable book recommendations is the strategy that has most transformed my reading habits in recent years.

At the start of the first year in university, I was determined to be productive and organized. I bought an agenda, but I realized that there would be weeks where I used it constantly and weeks where I didn’t use it at all. I didn’t think this was the best resource for me, so I decided to try bullet journaling for my next year.

University can be overwhelming; here are a few tips to help make things easier for you!

Get Organized

1. Plan ahead

Remember those “syllabuses” that your professors mentioned on the first day of classes? Perhaps you looked at them once or printed them out and they are crumpled at the bottom of your bag… If you haven’t already, dig them up and be sure to get acquainted with your syllabuses! Syllabi? Whatever you choose to call them, they are your maps to a well-organized semester.