As the spring break is around the corner, the Nerdify reviews decided to compile a list of five unconventional ideas to keep you inspired. Yes, we may talk of classic tips that you know well, but we approach them in a different way! Regardless of whether your time is short or funds are limited, there are always things that can become a positive change in your life and in the lives of other people. Think about what motivates you to do better, remember what you wanted to accomplish, pay attention to all the interesting offers, and, most importantly, have fun and keep smiling!

Travel.

Even though it may sound boring and quite conventional, do not be too quick to judge as it is always possible to explore all the interesting local things and the places you have never visited. If you are majoring in Journalism, think about how the problems in your community can be covered in a special way. If you like history, visit all these old places, learn about architecture and old customs. Now if you can travel abroad, take your chance to learn about unique cultures. Be polite, patient, and do not forget to take lots of pictures!

Learn Another Language.

Good things come free and, luckily, it is also the case with learning a foreign language. There are many free courses that are available for both novice and intermediate learners. If joining a course is not your cup of tea (or coffee!), think about installing an application that helps to learn words by picture cards. It takes about 15 minutes a day, yet it helps you to learn unknown words. Once things get better, joining a course does not seem that frightening! Some of us at Nerdify reviews also found it helpful to join relevant social media groups where people from different lands try to help each other by typing or video calls. Make new friends and open doors to exciting, new things!

Charity & Community Work.

We all know about spring break community work that also helps to earn a little bit, yet this time we thought about doing something on your own. Organize a bakery sale or collect old items from the locals that they no longer need to create a little museum of American (or any other) history and culture. If you are visiting your remote relatives, ask them about important personalities in their town or the countryside. Start with a project and tell your friends and college mates about what you have discovered. After all, it is much more interesting than heading over to Wikipedia entry! Now if you still need some help to organize something, join the local Scouts team and ask them about what kind of help or supervising they may need. Being an influence for young people is truly important as we always learn from children and create special bonds that help us to become more sincere, open, and happier!

Music & Sports.

We all have our favorite past times that suffer due to lack of time. It may be music, sports, drawing, singing, being a part of the local theater or whatever else. As the spring break arrives, take your time to make another leap to success. It is your life and your time, so take each chance to do something that brings you joy and inspires you to walk an extra mile. If you always wanted to learn how to play your Dad’s old guitar, visit the local music shop and ask around about who may give you a lesson. The same goes for sports. Spend more time outside – ask your friends and the family to organize a ball game where both young and old can participate. Even such geeks as we are at Nerdify reviews plan to spend our precious spring breaks competing with each other.

Write a Story or Draw a Picture.

The last idea that we want to offer is truly unconventional. Did you ever try to write a story or draw a picture? Even the brightest among Nerdify reviews have tried to write a story with a strong plot and found it quite difficult to accomplish. Although most of us have a blog and an Instagram feed, it is not the same! Start with a list of characters, then come up with a subject and make an introduction. It can be something little and funny, yet do your best to get things finished or at least reach a logical point where you can stop. Now if we talk about drawing a picture, look up the basic ideas online and see if you can start with simple things first. If the weather is especially bad and you have seen all the latest movies, such activities become a good alternative.

As a college student, studying is likely an important part of your daily and weekly routine. According to the 2019 results from the National Survey of Student Engagement, “the percentage of first-year students who spent more than 15 hours per week preparing for class (studying, reading, writing, doing homework or lab work, etc.) increased from 34% in 2004 to as high as 45% in 2017.”

Nerdify Reviews experts state that you can utilize those hours spent preparing for class efficiently if you use the proper productivity tools. 

Which productivity tools are the best? 

Read on to see the Nerdify Reviews team’s research of the best productivity tools for students. You will find something you can add to your workflow that will make you much more efficient with your study habits.

Nerdify Reviews Why Are Productivity Tools Important? 

Productivity tools are important for students for a couple of reasons. A productivity planner allows students to keep track of crucial daily assignment deadlines while also helping them get things done faster.

Trying to keep track of everything for all of your classes can be a stressful experience, but using productivity tools will help alleviate some of that stress before it becomes an issue.

Keep reading to see which apps the Nerdify Reviews team selected for this list. 

Nerdify Reviews 5 Productivity Tools For Students

1. Spotify

You might be surprised to see Spotify on this list. But according to study.com, “Background music may improve focus on a task by providing motivation and improving mood. During long study sessions, music can aid endurance.”

Many students, 75%, according to some research, listen to music while studying. One potential benefit is the improved focus the music can provide. The type of music might vary for each student, but this tool could be worth trying out.

2. Dropbox

One of the best features of Dropbox is the fact that you can access it on any device that has an internet connection. It also gives you access to all of your important documents in one place. This will make you more efficient since you won’t search for material elsewhere.

Another benefit of using Dropbox is its ability to create shared folders. These can be used for group projects when all group members can’t be in the same place simultaneously. All materials can be stored in the shared folder, so everyone has access. 

3. Evernote

Evernote has quite a few features that make it great for student productivity. If you take notes in the app, you have the ability to attach tags to them. The tags allow you to easily categorize your notes and find them again later.

If you are researching information for an assignment, another beneficial feature is the web clipper. This tool lets you clip anything important you find and put it into a note. Once you have all the information you need, it is all in one place, which will save you time in the long run.

4. Litero

Litero is an indispensable AI co-writer and editor designed specifically for students, serving as a comprehensive all-in-one writing tool. It goes beyond the capabilities of free alternatives like ChatGPT by offering features such as paraphrasing, expansion, simplification, summarization, and more.

Struggling with writer’s block? Litero acts as a content starter, allowing you to create a basic sample to overcome creative hurdles. The tool incorporates AI autosuggestion to shape your thoughts and autoreference to seamlessly add recommended references and citations. With a built-in ChatGPT, grammar checker, plagiarism detector, and formatting tool, Litero provides a holistic solution to enhance the speed and quality of your writing.

5. Google Calendar

This is an excellent tool for people that have to see everything they have going on each day, week, or month.

How can it help students?

Each class can be entered into the calendar along with your commute time if you don’t live on campus. You can also block off dedicated study time, so you are sure you will get to it.

Color coding each activity is another great feature that will allow you to quickly scan the calendar to see what event is coming up next. Each entry can also have notes attached to it to remind you of important information that is needed. 

In Conclusion

Creating an efficient, easily repeatable productivity workflow allows you to focus on the actual assignments and projects you must complete in a college or university class. 

While it may take more time and work at the beginning, these workflows will improve your time in school. Consider this article from the University of Nebraska Omaha.

They outline four ways in which being organized in college will benefit you. Having less stress is the biggest reason you should consider using productivity tools. Stress can cause many problems, so it is important to eliminate some of it when you can.

Be sure to check out Nerdify Reviews 3 Tried and True Habits of a Successful Student in 2023 and other useful information for students on our blog. There is something for everyone when it comes to making your college or university experience successful. 

Here is another blog post dedicated to Nerdify reviews of the most interesting and important stuff. This time we want you to meet Chelsey – one of our top Nerds. Hear her out.

Hello, I’m Chelsey. I decided to contribute into Nerdify Reviews topic to share my experience and help people who suffer from the phenomenon of “unhealthy perfectionism”. I see myself as a perfectionist, albeit an unhealthy one. I mentally criticize people (specifically new ones) who I think do not meet my standards or expectations.  

I’m afraid of failure because I always want to be “perfect”. In school, I exert as much effort as I can in my exams. When the results are not in my favor, I would internally beat myself up for not getting the grade I desire. I tend to be overly cautious of taking risks, possibly rooted from my fear of failure. If I stay in my comfort zone, then nothing will happen.

I conducted a short research about perfectionism, and I’d say that (to an extent) I inhibit one of the main signs of a perfectionist. I’m not surprised; perfectionism does have harmful effects on my mental health.

What is Perfectionism?

Perfect means “… being entirely without fault or defect.” Now, if we look at Merriam-Webster’s definition of perfectionism, it means “… to regard anything short of perfection as unacceptable.”

In psychology, perfectionism in the psychological field means “… striving for flawlessness and setting high-performance standards….”

If they do not meet such standards, it would take a huge toll on their self-esteem and self-worth. On the same vein, unattained goals and standards would contribute to disappointment and unhappiness. Possibly, even depression.

Why is it a Toxic Trait? 

People usually regard perfectionism as a “positive” trait. I’ve read articles that it is a cliché answer to the job question, “what is your weakness?”

Yes, it can be your weakness. But did you know perfectionism is more than that? Are you aware that it is toxic to your mental health and detrimental to your growth? For the curious soul, here are the reasons why:

You can’t bring yourself to commit mistakes or experience failure, for they make you believe you are incompetent. You have to be ready to face failure in order to be successful.

You don’t celebrate with pure joy and happiness. Instead, your success and achievements are met with scorn and self-criticism. Negative self-talk is what harms your happiness. You are too focused on the negative aspect of things.

You are afraid of being judged. You like other people to see you as a perfect human being (when in fact, you’re not). Perhaps you are hesitant in stating your flaws, as it may ruin your “perfect” self. There’s internal pressure involved too.

Apparently, these reasons are also correlated with the signs of perfectionism. Let us move on.

Five Signs of Perfectionism

1. Setting high (unrealistic) goals and standards

There’s nothing bad in establishing standards and not settling for anything less. It’s not even bad to have high goals. However, creating unrealistic standards and goals is unhealthy because they have to be realistic. Further, you are pressured to accomplish your goal no matter what. You may even have the tendency to expect that everyone has to abide by your… demanding and ultra-high standards. As said by Amy Morin, a psychotherapist. perfectionists are critical of people and expect them to be perfect as well.

2. Fear of failure/Making mistakes and staying within your comfort zone

You set a goal for yourself, but you are afraid of failure. In that regard, you are more inclined to focus on the end results (without fail) rather than enjoying the thrill and experience of achieving your goal.  On the other hand, you refuse to move out of your “shell” because you don’t want to disappoint yourself (or anyone). Hence, you lean towards tasks you can do successfully—100% guaranteed. This brings more harm than good to your mental health and personal growth.

3. Trust issues

According to Elizabeth Lombardo Ph.D., perfectionists rarely delegate tasks because they think that their peers cannot do the job correctly. In practical settings, you don’t trust your colleagues enough if you want to assign them work. In the end, you do everything by yourself.

4. Low self-esteem and unhappiness

Let’s say you are angry with yourself because you failed to reach your goals. You immediately conclude you are inadequate and flawed. It can leave you a feeling of unhappiness and dissatisfaction. Kendra Cherry states that fear of failure is a sign of low self-esteem.

5. Negative self-talk and too critical

Perfectionists have the habit of finding faults in their achievements— no matter how small that is. You loathe yourself because you are not good enough. Therefore, your mind ends up being clouded with negative thoughts. You are also too critical of other people. Like I said, perfectionists highly expect their peers to be of “high standard” and “perfect”. This may push (or intimidate) people away. Unfortunately, it can lead to loneliness.

Overcoming Perfectionism: What Can You Do?

1. Accept the realities of life

Let’s do a reality check—you have to acknowledge that everyone, including you, makes mistakes in life. We fail in life— tests, interviews, work, assignments, and etc. At the end of the day, they push us to do better and improve ourselves.  Just like everyone else, you have flaws. Don’t expect people to be exactly like you. Every individual is different. 2

2. Take on the challenge

Risk-taking is hard, as we do not know what is beyond the abyss of the unknown. If you are eyeing an activity that you’ve always wanted to try, go on ahead… don’t be afraid of failure and mistakes. Let go, and experience the “challenge” in all its glory.

3. Be open to learning

We have to reskill to cater to the demands of the 21st century. Skills are also a plus point in the workforce. When you are learning, always remember that everyone starts out as a noob or a newbie.

4. Set realistic goals and standards

Be grounded in reality! It’s fine to have high standards, but they have to be realistic. Use your standards as a guide or a framework, rather as an absolute ideal.  Also, make your goals feasible (Remember SMART?). Again, don’t let failure bring you down. Failure does not mean that you are garbage, and it does not define who you are. As said by Oscar the Grouch, “just because you’re trash doesn’t mean you can’t do great things. It is called garbage can, not garbage cannot.”

Don’t forget to reward yourself if you achieved something big or small. Bring nothing but good vibes ☺

5. Learn to trust and delegate tasks

This is a leap of fate you must take. If you are overwhelmed, don’t hesitate to ask your colleague for assistance. You have to learn to understand and work with your peers. Bear in mind that you can’t do everything by yourself all the time. 

After reading about perfectionism, I realized that I need to work on myself. I’d say that it was an eye-opening experience. Perfectionism is embedded in my psyche, and it will be a challenge to completely get rid of it. I hope this article has made you reflect on yourself.

How about you? Do you consider yourself as a perfectionist?

xoxo, Chelsey

More Nerdify reviews to come, stay tuned!