Campus Commons Physical Therapy - March/April 2026

STOP TRYING TO HUSTLE HARDER

Plan Smarter Instead

Do you ever wish you could accomplish more in a day? Whether you’re trying to squeeze out as many tasks as possible at work or take care of all of your chores before Sunday, it can feel like you’re always trying to maximize your productivity. But many of us feel like we fall short each day.

take some time before you wrap up work to establish your priorities for the following day. Before the weekend starts, figure out which chores you need to do and the best time to tackle them. Having a plan will increase your likelihood of sticking to it. STOP SAYING YES. How often do you say “no” to others? Many of us are people pleasers who often agree to requests, even if they exceed

You may think you just need to regularly refresh your coffee or eliminate every distraction from your mind to improve your productivity, but this

only gets you so far. Instead, focus on incorporating strong, simple strategies into your routine. Here are three ideas to help you be as productive as possible, no matter the situation. PUT A PLAN IN PLACE. When do you start thinking about what you need to accomplish on any given day? Too often, people wait until they face their work computer or stare at a sink full of dishes to strategize their day. Instead,

our capacity. Saying “yes” all the time will lead to burnout, regardless of whether it’s your boss asking you to complete a project before noon or your friends wanting to go out for the fourth night in a row. Say no, and keep your main priorities at the forefront of your mind. TAKE REGULAR BREAKS. You may want to push through all your tasks so you can finally unwind and relax, but this could lengthen the process. Sticking to your responsibilities like glue prevents your body and brain from taking necessary breaks to recalibrate and reset so you can operate at peak performance.

Escape the Tech Trap THOUGHTFUL TACTICS TO TAKE BACK SCREEN TIME

Sleep Medicine reported a direct link between excessive smartphone use and poor sleep quality, adding that screen time negatively influences the number of hours people sleep nightly and even the time it takes them to fall asleep. Clearly, most of us would benefit from fewer hours in front of a screen every day. Here are two quick tips to help you reach that goal.

Ultimately, you should try to limit your recreational social media use to about an hour a day. According to a 2023 study featured in Psychology of Popular Media, college students who managed to spend only 60 minutes a day on social media for 21 days expressed more positive views of their weight and self-image.

ADD GREATER VALUE TO YOUR ONLINE TIME.

CUT BACK ON YOUR SCREEN TIME GRADUALLY .

If your time on social media or your smartphone (or both) leaves you feeling physically and emotionally drained, you’re not imagining things. In 2020, The Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook’s own internal research team found that the site’s algorithms “exploit the human brain’s attraction to divisiveness,” and that the platform favored hot-button content “in an effort to gain user attention and increase time on the platform.” Three years later, an analysis published in the Journal of Clinical

Naturally, not all screen time is inherently bad for us. There are plenty of ways to make modern technology work to brighten our lives rather than darken our attitudes. If you’re already on social media, why not use that time to video chat with an old friend or a relative who lives in another state? Perhaps you can use social media to connect with people in your community with similar interests … and then make plans to meet up in person with your phones shut off. The screens we view every day are tools; how we use them makes all the difference.

Just as you’re more likely to experience greater long-term success in a new diet or exercise plan if you incorporate it into your life slowly, it’s often best to reduce your overall daily screen time incrementally. If you tend to grab your phone within minutes of waking up, give yourself 30 minutes before checking your feed. If you currently scroll until the moment you shut off the lights for the night, try switching off your screen an hour earlier.

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