Most college students learn very quickly the value of their time when they’re struggling to balance work, school and a social life. With so much to do, it can be easy to become overwhelmed, stressed and eventually burnt out. Student can help themselves stay sane and still get everything done by developing good time management skills early on. These skills will not only be valuable during their time at school but can carry over later into the work place. Here are some great ways for students to make the most of their time, stay productive and still have fun.
A. BASICS
- Write things down. With so much going on, it’s hard to remember every little thing you have to do unless you write it down of course. Get a student planner or a notebook to take down all your important engagements, assignments and more.
- Don’t take too many hours. Unless you’re ultra-ambitious, taking more than 18 hours a semester is unnecessary and will result in extra stress and less time to concentrate on each class. Take a reasonable amount of classes each semester, so you won’t feel completely over whelmed.
- Resist the urge of procrastination. Everyone knows how hard it is to want to stay in and study for finals when it’s perfect outside or you’ve just gotten a new video game. The world is full of distractions and to really be effective at managing your time, you have to find a way to ignore them when it counts. Give yourself little breaks as rewards for not putting off tasks.
B. STUDYING
- Work to boost your memory. You’ll spend much less time studying if you could remember what you study the first time around. Easier said than done, however, you can play games, read books that will help you at your maximum memory potential.
- Avoid skipping class. While everyone skips a class now and again to catch up on sleep or t0o get other thing done, they feel they are more pressing. Try not to make a habit of it. Going to class will make it easier for you to keep up with the material and will give you the chance to ask questions.
- Study difficult subject first. There’s no sense in putting off the worst for the last. It will only encourage you to procrastinate and get less d0one in the long run. Get the hard stuff out the way and you’ll have a much happier rest of the day.
C. HOMEWORK
- Prioritize. If you’ve got a number of homework assignments, focus on the ones that are due the soonest or that will take you the most time first. Once you get those out of the way, you’ll feel better about concentrating on the others.
- Find your peak hours. Everyone has hours of the day when they simply perform better mentally. Figure out what your peak times are, and do your hardest work during these times so that you’ll have the energy to get through them more quickly.
- Ask for help. Sometimes you’ll have assignment that you simply won’t understand no matter how many times you look through them. While figuring things out on your own is rewarding, at a certain point it can be much more time efficient to simply ask for help from your professors or classmates.
D. SCHEDULING
- Avoid over-commitment. While it would be great if you could cram in every activity you’d like to into your schedule, the reality is that probably isn’t going to happen. Give yourself a little breathing room between classes and study time to simply relax, watch TV or even eat dinner.
- Use calendar or planner. Don’t try to keep your schedule in your head. Eventually you’ll forget something, and it might be something pretty important. Keep track of your assignments and engagements on a calendar so you can’t forget things easily.
- Set up daily study times. One thing you can easily add to your schedule is a few hours each day that are just dedicated to studying. Sometimes you’ll need less time and sometimes more, but making room ahead of time can be very beneficial to getting thing done.