Time Management

As a full-time student, school is a full-time job. For every credit hour, you are expected to spend 2-3 hours working on coursework outside of class time. Given this, in addition to other commitments, it is easy to get overwhelmed. Developing a plan for time management is hard work, but it is worth the effort.

Start here with a time management self-assessment.

4 Steps to Successful Time Management

1. Define your goals.

2. Create a semester schedule using a monthly calendar with all your big exams and paper/project deadlines

3. Create a weekly schedule with all your classes as well as other time commitments

4. Identify your free time and block off time for homework in each class

5. Start each week by looking at what you have to do and setting priorities for each task

6. Break larger tasks into smaller action items that you can accomplish within a single block of time. Check out the Magic ToDo website for help getting organized!

Helpful Articles on Time Management & Procrastination

• The Pomodoro Technique: Why it Works & How to Do It
• Forbes Magazine: 10 Scientifically Proven Tips for Beating Procrastination

Apps to Improve Time Management

Power Planner

Features:

• Automatic reminders
• Integrates with your course schedule
• Students recommend: Love the feature for marking a task as “partly complete”!

Cost: Basic version is free

Compatibility: Android, iPad, iPhone

More information? Click here

Myhomework Student Planner

Features:

• Very user friendly with an easy to navigate page
• Supports a variety of schedule set ups. (i.e. block scheduling, period scheduling)
• Allows access to Teachers.io where students can download their professor’s class information, assignments, files, etc.
• More information? Click Here

Cost: Free

Compatibility: iOS 8.0 or later. iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Android.

 

Remember the Milk

Features:

• A to-do app for busy people! The app remembers for you.
• Reminders via email and text notifications
• The ability to share your to-do list with others to increase productivity.
• Integrates other apps like Gmail, Google Calendar, and Twitter.
• More information? Click Here

Cost: Free with optional in-app subscriptions

Compatibility: iOS 8.0 or later, IPhone, IPad, IPod touch, Android.

 

Overall Time Management & Preventative Procrastination Tips from A Former College Student

Time management is a challenging skill to tackle. But with anything else in life, practice makes perfect!

• Don’t rely on simply remembering to do something: write things down as you hear them in the form of a to-do list so that you know exactly what you have to do later.
• Always give yourself enough time. I would always rush around campus when I was in college and never gave myself enough time to go places or get tasks accomplished, beginning planning early and set alarms for yourself if you have to.
• Finally, go to bed early!! You’ll be surprised how much better you’ll feel the next morning and how easy it will be to wake up early for class. See Self Care to learn more about the importance of sleep as a busy college student.

Procrastination is always a challenge. I’ve found during my time as an undergraduate student that reminding yourself why you are here and what your goals are is a great mental exercise in working through procrastination. As pointed out in the articles and from personal experience, rewarding yourself and giving yourself something to work towards is great tool for motivation.

Remember to Always Set Goals!

• Immediate and longer term goals will assist you in prioritizing your activities.
• Make sure your goals are SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound.
• Prioritize and organize your work:
  • Divide projects/assignments into smaller tasks – develop a timeline for completing these individual components
  • Prioritize: Determine which tasks are most important – focus on these first, before they become urgent
  • Create a calendar and/or list of things that need to be accomplished with dates and deadlines
  • Allow for flexibility/changes
  • Develop a regular routine while learning how to manage your time and work
  • Reward yourself for meeting goals/accomplishing tasks