As a college student, it can sometimes feel like managing your time is impossible. There is so much freedom that comes with going off to college, but your time management skills may suffer because of it. In high school and when you live at home, you have teachers and parents on your case asking you about your assignments. In college, you’re completely responsible for yourself, which is hard if you don’t know how to manage your time. By following tips for time management – like, minimizing distractions, creating a calendar system, making daily to-do lists, doing larger assignments in increments, and focusing on coursework individually, you’ll be able to manage your time much better!
What is Time Management?
Flickr user Marco Verch
Time management is the key to success in all areas of your life. When you have solid time management skills, you can delegate your tasks and use your time wisely to be productive. Instead of having scattered thoughts about your assignments, time management helps with your daily and monthly routines to ensure overall productivity. College Raptor is here to give you the best time management tips for students struggling with staying on top of their assignments.
Easy Tips for Time Management
1. Minimize Distractions
The number one killer for time management is distractions. Whether you’re hanging out with your friends too much or spending several hours endlessly scrolling on your phone, it’s time to minimize distractions. Tell your friends you can only hang out on certain days and only for a few hours because you need to focus on schoolwork. During the busiest weeks of the semester, you can delete your social media apps to make sure you won’t spend too much time on them. Eliminating distractions before it gets too late is key to managing your time better throughout the semester.
2. Create a Calendar System
Use a planner and dry-erase calendar to keep track of your assignments and tasks throughout the semester. It’ll be easier to manage your time when you have it available to look at in your dorm room AND while you’re in the classroom. You can write down all the assignment due dates and backtrack on how long it should take you to complete the assignment to get everything done on time. Give yourself a few days of buffer time in case you fall behind or have an emergency. Seeing all the assignments for each course in your planner and on your calendar will help you stay focused. You’ll be able to see daily tasks, your weekly schedule, and important deadlines all in one place.
3. Make a Daily To-Do List
Yes, it’s nice to see all your assignments on a monthly and weekly calendar, but it’s also important to create daily to-do lists to stay on top of your time management. You can create these lists on your phone, tablet, computer, and even on a sticky note to see everything you need to complete during that day. Your daily to-do list can help you establish a routine to get used to working on assignments during certain times of the day. After you have breakfast, you can study for an hour before going to class. Then, after class, you can complete the next task before your next class.
4. Do Large Assignments in Increments
Waiting until your big projects or important papers are due to actually start them is how you create poor time management skills. On your class syllabus, you’ll be able to see when those bigger assignments are due, so we suggest planning ahead and breaking them up into smaller increments. Each week, dedicate a few hours to working on the paper or project. This time management tip will save you a huge headache at the end of the semester. You’ll be able to go back and edit your big assignment to ensure it is worthy of a great score!
5. Work on One Thing at a Time
It’s easy to get overwhelmed when your calendar and daily to-do list feel like they’re never-ending. This may seem like a simple time management tip for college students but work on one assignment or small task at a time. You can add your high-priority tasks to the top of the list and do your routine tasks in the middle. Before you start to stress about the next thing on your list, focus on the project you’re working on at the current moment. You’ll be able to give all your effort toward each project instead of stressing about each one and not doing your best.
By following our time management tips for students, you’ll be able to get through the semester smoothly. Say goodbye to higher stress levels and hello to getting things done at an earlier deadline. It may take a few weeks to get the hang of it, but rest assured, you’ll be able to get through the semester without missing assignments and pulling constant all-nighters.
