The first week of 2017 is over and you're telling yourself that you're going to be very different from 2016. But are you really going to keep all those resolutions?

Let’s be honest.

• You’re still going to be binging Netflix.
• And that gym membership? You’ll probably use it for a week before it starts to collect dust and somehow gets lost. Oops.
• Still submit that paper assigned two months ago late…

Sure “stop procrastinating” and “managing stress” have been on your New Year’s resolution since middle school, and that probably won’t get solved soon.

Have more sleep??? Don’t be funny.

But we can work on one thing, and that’s increasing your productivity for this new year.

Before we start, there’s one thing to remember and that is clearing the common misconception that “productivity” is being able to do more in your day, it’s being able to allocate your time so you can work smarter. Now that’s out of the way, let’s start!

1. Wake Up

Have trouble waking up early? Don’t worry. We all do and that’s okay. But one way we can ensure that we wake up on time is by setting our alarm clock to go off a few minutes earlier every day and moving it away from an arm’s reach. This motivates you to walk off and turn it off, which hopefully wakes you up.

Unless you sleepwalk, then I have no clue.

2. OMMM

You probably find yourself running out of bed and rushing to class, and realizing that there's a quiz you didn't study for. Instead, try to start off your day by meditating for a while after you wake up. Think about your day and what you want to accomplish. You don't even have to meditate, as long as it is a routine that gets you prepared for the day.It can be something as simple as having breakfast, or something rigorous like exercising. Whatever it is, try to establish one to start the day clear-minded.

3. Uber To Class?

Your commute is a very important part of your daily college life. Many students live on campus and will often bike, take the campus bus, take the train(if they live far away) or even walk to class. Use this time in your commute to learn something new and get your brain ready to work; listen to a podcast, or an audiobook and if you aren't the listening type, pay attention to your surroundings. What kind of shapes do you see? What patterns do you notice? By keeping your brain active, it'll be ready for the work that lies ahead.

4. DING DING

You’re finally in your zone, caught up on that article that you’ve been saving in your Pocket for weeks and you’re ready to get to work…well after you answer that text. Try to avoid this by putting your phone on “do not distract” mode, I’m sure your friends can let you be for a few hours. Of course, if this doesn’t work you can also turn off your phone or flush it down the toilet, you choose.

5. Eat the Frog!

Not literally! “Eating the frog” is getting the difficult task out of the way first. As Mark Twain put it, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” Now we have no proof that he ate a frog daily, so don’t ask. But making sure that the hardest task is done first, ensures that the other tasks will be easier and will require less brain power.

6. Tomato?

A time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo. Pomodoro is named after the tomato timer Cirillo would use in his studies, pomodoro breaks down works into small intervals with breaks in between. Of course, everyone is different and you could be someone who can work for 90 minutes before you need a 15-minute break or someone that can work for 25 minutes before needing a 5-minute break. Figure out a rhythm that works for you and if you want to learn more about it, I advise this short Youtube video.

7. Multitasking = No Task

Finish one job at a time. Contrary to what you may think, we aren't very good at multitasking. There have been studies about how humans aren't built to multitask. Just don't do it.

8. Work No More

Designate a certain cutoff time for finishing work. This way you are motivated to finish something by a certain time. Not only will this help you get your work done earlier but it allows you to have some unwinding period, to get ready to sleep.

9. What are we doing tomorrow?

During that unwinding period, create tomorrows to do list. By doing this you can plan on what you want to do the next day and be prepared.

10. Zzzzzzzzz

Well you finished all your work and have a list of things to do for the next day, you are one step closer to being more productive! Remember that you don’t have to follow all these steps, implement them slowly into your life and soon you won’t even notice that you are keeping good habits! Hopefully by increasing our productivity we can finally manage our stress levels and get some sleep.

That last part is a lie, Trump is president after all.