• Physical activity: walk, run, ride a bike, do exercise or workout videos on youtube, stretch, etc.
• Eating regular, nutritious food. Eat meals, not just snacks.
• Connecting with friends and family.
• School work and assignments.
• Tasks that you need to get done at home
• Hobbies/activities you enjoy doing; ones you already have or new ones you discover. Creative expression is a great way to manage stress.

• You need to make sure your routine fits your personality and preferences. How likely is it that you’ll get up early? What time of day are you most productive? Do you work better with rigid structures or more flexible plans? Chances are that you may need to do some reflecting on this because of how different things are now.
• Build your daily/weekly routines and structures around existing family-or work-related scheduling challenges. If you know certain days or times are more available for schoolwork, plan to use those times effectively and don’t schedule yourself to do other things. If you are taking care of younger siblings, think about when they are more self-sufficient and use that time for things you need to do. If you know you are too exhausted after work to do schoolwork, leave time to do your schoolwork before going to work.
• For any part of this that feels hard, you can buddy up with an accountability partner. Connect with a friend or family member who can check in, call, text, etc about how things are going, remind you what you have committed to doing and why, help you problem-solve if things are not going well or celebrate when you’ve done something well. 
• Bookend your day with activities you look forward to. Whether it’s taking your dog for a short walk, doing an online workout, calling a friend or taking a long shower before bed. By having things to look forward to at both ends of the day, it helps to get through the middle part.

• Pick an ideal time that you would like to consistently go to bed or wake up. Keep in mind that you need between 8-10 hours of sleep. 
• Use a consistent going to bed routine. Identify a few things that you can do before bed that calm you down, make you sleepy or will help signal to your body that it’s almost time to go to bed. Read a book or write in a journal, have a cup of herbal tea, listen to some calming music or a relaxation app.
• At least 30 minutes before you want to go to bed, PUT YOUR PHONE AWAY.
• If you’re trying to get up at a certain time and it doesn’t work because you always hit snooze, put your alarm on the other side of the room so you have to get up.
• Use a consistent morning routine. Even if it’s just making your bed, brushing your teeth or changing into your “daytime pajamas” it’s helpful to signal to your body that your day is starting.

• comfort (but not so comfortable it makes you want to take a nap) 
• supplies you might need are nearby
• music or other “ambiance” things that will help you be productive
• keep the area tidy enough or set it up visually so that it is a space you like to be

• Pomodoro technique (no/low tech): Here is a quick youtube video that explains this technique, but the basic idea is to work in a focused and intense way on a task for 25 minutes and then take a 5 minute break.
• Chrome Extensions: Stay Focused or Strict Workflow - again, similar tools with slight differences. They both work by limiting and/or blocking distracting websites. Below are two screenshots of the Strict Workflow experience. Here is a review of 12 productivity browser extensions, including these two. 
• Apps for your phone: Flora, or Forest - quite similar to one another with slight differences. In both, you set a timer and then a plant grows on your screen and you “kill” the plant if you try to use your phone during that time. Below is a screenshot from using Forest. Here is a review of 4 productivity apps, including a comparison between these two. 

• Your brain is more productive when you have done some physical activity. If you are feeling inefficient or sluggish, go for a walk, do some stretching or simple cardio in your room, etc. (Of course, your diet and sleep also impacts your ability to focus, so take care of yourself!)
• It’s always a good idea to go into a chunk of work time with a goal or set of tasks or priorities laid out. This relates to the suggestions in the next section on creating to do lists and managing different projects.

• Make different types of lists based on timing - things to get done TODAY, this WEEK or LONG-TERM
• Try to get everything out of your head and onto a list before starting to work on things so you can focus on just getting things done when you have work time. The process of planning what you need to do uses a really different part of your brain than doing the thing, so it’s most effective to break up these two thinking tasks.
• Break up big tasks to smaller chunks or steps.
• Choose one most important thing to get done each day and tackle it at the beginning of the first chunk of time you have big enough to get it done. 
• Keep your “to do” list nearby so as you are working, you can cross things off (it adds to a feeling a accomplishment)
• Estimate how long you need/want to work on any particular task or set of tasks - put “boundaries” around the amount of time you’ll work. Say to yourself: I’m going to get x, y and z done in the next 30-45 minutes” and then use the productivity and focus hacks to work without interruption until you get them done and then give yourself a break. 
• If you make a list each day, transfer things you didn’t get done to a new list the next day and get rid of the earlier list. The added benefit is that by writing it down, you don't get to sleep stressed about it; you can "let it go."
• Multi-tasking is a myth. Do one thing at a time and stick with it until you’re done or you’ve done a good amount. Bouncing from one task or assignment to another makes it unlikely you’ll get much done at all.

• Before the end of your class session, have a “whip around,” where each student picks one technique, app, or strategy to try before the next class and report back. Students could write a review for what they chose, sharing with classmates what they liked or didn’t like, if it helped them be more productive than before, and who they would recommend to use it.

• Ask students to keep a log of how they spend their time for a few days and reflect on what they learned about themselves in the process.

• Ask if anyone wants to participate in a “wellness” challenge, where students keep track of their sleeping habits, and try to log at least 8 hours of sleep each night. 

• Have students find an accountability partner in the class, someone they can check in with everyday about how things are going. 

• Instead of having open office hours, ask students to schedule specific times with you where you can check in one on one and offer suggestions around productivity and wellness.