APU Careers & Learning Editor's Pick Online Learning

What Would a Quiz on Productivity Say About You?

social-productivity-quizWith the rash of the #icebucketchallenge videos and Buzzfeed leisure quizzes it’s a miracle students are getting any work done. While the ALS challenge is wonderful in raising money for such a debilitating illness, it’s still a viral phenomenon that is taking people away from their responsibilities and keeping them glued to their Newsfeeds. Instead of giving into “squirrel syndrome”, when these highly shared distractions come your way, try to overcome that weakness for these social pulls and find your classwork happy place.

If you were to take a quiz on your productivity levels right now how would you rate? Well, if you’re taking a quiz on your productivity that’s a couple of points off right there. You don’t need  a quiz to tell you that you’re slacking off. Those quizzes are brilliantly crafted distractions that are created for social awareness and playtime. The fact of the matter is that people are developing social curiosities that are sometimes insatiable. One quiz isn’t enough, and you can’t just pin one last thing, or watch just one more video. The time away from your studies can wreak havoc on your attention to detail and desire to give the class your all. For curiosities sake, let’s take a quiz.

How productive are you right now?

  1. Is your Newsfeed on Facebook up right now?
  2. Do you keep hitting refresh on your social channels?
  3. Who was the last celebrity to participate in the ALS challenge?
  4. Have you read for the discussion post assignment due at the end of this week?
  5. Did you start on your paper due this Sunday?
  6. Do you like Taylor Swift’s new video?

The first three are obvious. If you answered yes then social media is taking over for you right now, and if you know the answer to the third then you’re hitting refresh quite often. If you answered yes to four and five then you are headed in the right direction to staying focused on school. Now if you answered yes to six then you need to just “shake it off”.

Now do you feel anymore accomplished after taking my simple quiz? No? Well, that should be your cue to get back to your classwork. Shut down your social distractions and hide your phone for a few hours, it’s time to get down to business!

NOTE: I have purposely NOT included any outgoing links to these viral campaigns. You’re already distracted and don’t need more links to carry you away into the slacker stratosphere.

By J. Mason
Online Learning Tips Editor

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