Productivity Tips

Hey everyone, I’m Rohan Garg, a high school senior who is obsessed with business, stocks, and building things. School and college applications take up most of my day, but I still help run a small online store, read books about money, and work on side projects. People always ask how I manage to get everything done without burning out. Here are the real tips that actually work for me and other teens chasing the same dreams.

Every Sunday night I spend about fifteen minutes planning my whole week. I grab a cheap, dollar-tree notebook and write down my top three goals, like finishing my economics project, posting five new items to the store, or reading one hundred pages of a book. Everything else has to fit around those three goals. If something doesn’t help them, it can wait.

I also use a few simple apps that save me time. Notion is my main tool; I built one clean page that holds my class schedule, extracurriculars, and my workout plan. It’s free and works on both my phone and school laptop. Forest helps me stay off my phone during class: you basically plant a virtual tree, and if you touch your phone the tree dies. It sounds silly, but it’s honestly part of why it works so well. Of course, Google Calendar blocks my time in different colors: blue for school, green for business, and red for sleep and gym. When a block is red, I don’t touch work. Cold Turkey blocks TikTok and YouTube during study hours. It’s strict, but I need it, otherwise I will end up doom scrolling. Ultimately, these apps help a lot and are definitely worth a try if you feel like you’re struggling to stay productive.

In school, I have a few tricks that give me extra hours. I sit close to the front of every class so teachers notice me and I actually feel forced to pay attention and engage instead of scrolling, like I would if I could in the back of the classroom. During really boring lessons that numb my brain, I quietly type business ideas into my phone notes; the teacher thinks I’m taking class notes, so it’s a win-win. I hate having homework. I finish homework in the ten minutes between classes or during study hall, which keeps my evenings free for real work or fun. Sometimes, I even finish homework in other classes, but that’s one strategy I would advise caution with. 

Then, my after-school routine is pretty simple and I typically like to stick to it. From 3:30 to 4:30 I go to the gym or run because my brain works better after exercise, and as a teen, it’s important to release some of that stress through exercise. 4:30 to 5:00 is a quick snack and checking messages and emails. It’s an important skill to learn to be in the habit of checking your emails at LEAST once a day. 5:00 to 7:00 is deep work on my passion projects and store: listing products, answering customers, and learning new skills. 7:00 to 8:00 is dinner and family time. We already end up spending like a ton of time on our phones, so human interaction is really good for the brain. 8:00 to 10:00 is any leftover homework or more reading. If you watch any top CEOs or high executives in bank interviews about schedule, they always always read. At 10:30 my phone goes on the charger outside my room to help with the urge, and the lights are out by 11:00.

The biggest piece of advice that has helped me is this rule called the two minute rule: if a task takes less than two minutes, I do it right now. Answer the text, reply to the customer, put clothes in the washer. Those tiny tasks pile up and ruin your day if you let them wait, so it’s good to get those little ones out of the way if you can. 

Another really difficult thing I had to learn in order to stay productive was how to say no. I stopped going to every party, joining every group project, and wasting entire weekends. Now I only say yes to things that help my goals or make me happy. That’s not to say don’t have fun and don’t party, but prioritize what’s important first.

Finally, weekends are extremely lax. I let myself go and enjoy being lazy or doing the things that don’t necessarily help contribute to my goals. It’s extremely important in order to not burn out, and gives me the release I need as a high school senior. 

But here’s the honest truth: you will feel tired sometimes. You will miss parties and sleep. But every successful person you look up to made the same sacrifices at your age. The kids who waste high school wishing they were rich usually stay broke. The kids who build skills and habits in high school become the rich adults. But the best part is, you get to choose which one you will be.

Start small today. Pick just one tip from this article and use it this week. Add another next week. Small wins add up faster than you think.

You’ve got this. See you at the top.