Let’s start this blog with an inspirational quote;
The bad news is that time flies; the good news is you’re the pilot.
Michael Altshuler
True to these words, time never stops and keeps moving unflinchingly without waiting for anyone. So how can one achieve academic success under the pressure of unstoppable time? Well, this is what we’re going to discuss in this blog. We’ve highlighted 12 time management tips for college students that can change their lives!
Remember, a learner who can hack time can hack anything!
Most students fail to manage their time even if they don’t waste it. They won’t find enough time to study, or such pupils would drag the project deadline to next month just because they are failing at managing time effectively. Remember, without proper planning, you can never get control over time. So, let’s shed some light on the points that can help you draft an effective plan.
Here is the list:
Start with setting goals. Decide what you want to achieve in the first month, week, etc. Your goals should look like this;
Similarly, students can set goals for achieving good grades, improving performance, enhancing speaking skills, and strengthening confidence. With a plan in your hand, you won’t lose track and waste time doing useless things.
Once you’re done with your objectives, it’s time to set your schedule. Everything can be managed like a pro-student with the timetable, from your breakfast to your school routine and from evening work to night rituals.
Have a look at the image below:
As you can see in the image, studies, breaks, hobbies, family time, etc., are all evenly distributed throughout the day. Depending on your daily routine, you can adjust the sample above and paste it in front of your homework desk.
If you have a mobile phone, you can also click an image of your schedule and put it on your wallpaper. Just to ensure that it stays in front of your mind.
Does any of the below situations sound familiar to you?
You took a ten minutes break, but God knows why it never ended.
During your break, you opened social media… scrolled for hours and forgot about the project deadline.
As a result of studying for nights, you were too exhausted to write a single word on the exam day.
Observing any of these situations indicates that you aren't using your breaks wisely. Breaks can either boost your energy or kill your motivation. So, do something productive during your breaks. Instead of using mobiles, go out for a walk or cook something to eat. Do something that makes you feel good and energetic during your breaks.
With so many activities going around us, students can easily get distracted. They might want to hear out why the teacher is screaming in her office. Or they might want to join the football team making noise in their front park.
Distractions are everywhere, and you can’t lock them out of your minds. However, you can set alarms to remind yourself about the tasks and the grand academic goals.
Let’s say you want to become a business tycoon; then you can put this quote on your alarm reminder “Time is money—Benjamin Franklin.” This reminder will encourage you to make good use of your time when it rings.
Ensure the quote you use as a motivational reminder is short, precise, easy to read and captivating. You will more likely ignore the long-difficult quotes, especially when you’re on a break enjoying a clip on Instagram, or you’re on the verge of frustration. Apart from this, you can also set reminders for daily tasks, i.e., “meeting with online Math tutor at 6 pm”.
Be nice to your brain!
If you keep bombarding your brain with loads of work, you’ll fail to focus on any task. Research has proven that multi-tasking slowdowns your pace. Moreover, it leads to frustration, affects the quality of work, destroys focus and makes students less productive.
Hence, complete one task before starting the next one. For instance, while working on a Math equation, solve question 1 first before moving on to the second question. Single-tasking will strengthen your focus and increase your workflow.
You will never procrastinate if you set deadlines. Setting deadlines can help you finish your exam preparation or complete the project a week or a month before the final day.
Draft your weekly schedule and set deadlines. Like, for math, you can write this “complete chapter 2 (deadline Monday)” in your diary.
Set deadline reminders or get a separate diary to write all the deadlines of the days or months. Make sure the diary you choose is not too big and can be carried in your bag easily.
In this super-modern age, staying away from social media sounds impossible. So, the question is, how would students study if they keep on wasting hours on Facebook, Twitter, etc.?
Well, here is the secret strategy…
Unfollow fashion/music influencers who’re distracting you. Turn off the chat bar. Follow successful people and educationists. Unlike everyone else, I won't recommend uninstalling social apps, but I would ask you to use social sites very carefully.
To save your time, I’ve listed down a few educational Twitter accounts below that are worth following:
All the above accounts are enriched with amazing educational information, news and top tips for becoming a good student.
Exercise can boost your energy. Whenever you feel down, go for a walk or try some yoga poses. Such activities can open up your mind and make you physically active. Bonus point? Doing yoga is fun, and it increases the productivity of students.
It is highly recommended to exercise during breaks. Here’re some yoga ideas for you:
This smart trick can beat procrastination and make you more energetic.
While reading, the human mind starts connecting signals from one part of the brain to the other. Over time, with habitual reading, the networking system of the brain starts improving.
Further, reading about business tycoons, educationists, and many other successful professionals also helps you discover their secrets to time management.
To learn how to manage your time effectively, you can read the book “How to Do It Now: Because It’s Not Going Away”. Leslie Josel, the writer of this book, has offered solutions to the practical problems students face in their daily lives. You can also read “College Students Guide to Time Management” by Frontier Desk.
If you find any other time management book, read its reviews first and then think of spending time and money on it. This way, you’ll filter out books that aren’t of your level.
There are some times when students spend days learning just one topic… Other times, learners get frustrated…. And then there are times when students want to quit studying after hours of struggle! This leads to wasting hours, days and even months.
But the good news is that the “Pomodoro technique” can help!
This time management technique suggests breaking the work into 20-30 minutes intervals. After each interval, there is a break of around 5 minutes. The cycle continues three or four times, and then you can take a longer break of around half an hour or so.
As a way of breaking mental exhaustion, improving attention, and increasing energy, the Pomodoro technique quickly gained popularity.
Eliminate every hobby and gadget that is wasting your time. Of course, you can’t quit a habit in a day. Start with smaller steps and then move to the bigger ones. Such as, if you watch T.V for an hour, reduce your watch time to 45 minutes and keep reducing it until you reach zero minutes.
Further, surround yourself with passionate people. Find friends who will encourage you to study. Plus, paste some amazing motivating posters on the walls of your room. Create an environment that will fill you with energy and motivation.
It’s no surprise that YouTube is getting popular like never before. Teachers, scholars and educationists are relentlessly sharing their opinions and lectures on YouTube.
With YouTube, you can learn many things without traveling to tutors for hours. The best is yet to come…
You can fast-forward the videos to save time!
Your time is moving on, and you need to figure out how to utilize it for academic success. With all the above-discussed tips, you can learn how to hack time for your studies.
And if you need help with any subject, find and tutor online! The bonus point of learning online is that you can reduce your travel time and further utilize it for studying. Sounds interesting? Students can find online teachers on credible tutoring websites. When hiring from a website, check the site’s testimonial section. If it’s enriched with heartwarming reviews, you’re good to go!
