Most productivity content is written for people who control their own schedules. Students don't. Here's what actually works.
Most productivity content is written for people who control their own schedules. Students don't. Our time is fragmented by design.
For the first semester of college, I tried to apply conventional productivity advice. Fixed deep work blocks. Time blocking. Single-tasking. It didn't work, because my schedule didn't allow for 4-hour uninterrupted work sessions.
So I built my own system.
The Constraint Inventory
First step: list your actual constraints. Not what you wish your schedule looked like, but what it actually is.
The 3-Tier Work Stack
I categorized all my work into three tiers based on cognitive demand:
- Tier 1: Complex problem sets, writing first drafts, learning new concepts
- Tier 2: Reviewing notes, editing writing, planning assignments
- Tier 3: Administrative tasks, organizing files, reading for context
How did this land?
Written by Anvi Sharma
18-year-old CS & AI/ML student. The work happens in private; the results are what reach the public.
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