Between studying for exams, attending classes, writing papers, doing an internship, or student job, there is a lot of tasks to complete as a student. Efficient time management skills will help you to make the most of your time and to achieve the balance between study, work, and your free time.
1. Spend time on planning and organizing
Many skip this step, however allowing time for yourself to think through tasks and to plan is essential in goal setting. Before you start working on your duties, slow down a bit, think, and write down all those things and tasks you would like to achieve. You can spend more time on thinking through your weekly tasks once a week, and devote 15 minutes each day before doing anything to consider your daily duties.
2. Prioritize
Once you got all your duties written down, mark those tasks that are the most important, and start with them. Use the 80-20 Rule stated by the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto who stated that 80 percent of the reward comes from 20 percent of the effort. The art of prioritizing is to identify that core 20 percent.
3. Write a schedule
Schedulers and calendars, digital or print can play a huge role in how you manage time. Make sure you not only schedule your studies, but you also put in the time for family, jobs, and leisure too. It is up to you how detailed your schedule is, you can break your time into 30-minute blocks and outline what you will be doing, or you can be a bit more flexible and have rough planning.
4. Break up big tasks
With big tasks, write down a deadline and calculate how many smaller pieces you can divide it into to get it done by the due date. Working with smaller tasks is less stressful than dealing with one big assignment. Go step by step, take some break between subtasks, and do one thing at a time.
5. Allow time to relax
Make sure to give yourself time to relax and reflect as well to energize your body. Your mind needs time to recover, so get enough sleep, at least 7 hours. Sport regularly which will freshen you up and will give you more energy to focus on your tasks.
+1 Turn off social media
Being constantly online and available for your friends is a big temptation, however much of your time flows out with those quick checks on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube. Constant information flow disrupts your concentration which makes it difficult to focus on writing an essay or reading a paper. Turn off social media for the time you need to get things done and reward yourself with a video or an interesting article once you have finished work.
If you learn to manage your time already during your studies, you will have a major advantage later on when you enter the job market. Change a small thing each day, and you will see how much time you can just save for the things you like to do the most.
Links and sources: nyu.edu ; uwaterloo.ca ; uopeople.edu