In an Associated Press study as far back as 2008, it was found that 1 out of 5 college students endure stress daily. We are here to help with tips on enhancing your time management skills to be successful in college.
Here are five ways you can get back on track to manage your school work with your leisure time:
1. Prioritize
Formulate a weekly or bi-weekly list with all your upcoming homework assignments, exams, meetings, events, etc, and list them in an order of importance. List the deadline dates along with the upcoming tasks; this will allow you to start working on important tasks and be aware to complete those that are not as important before the due date.
2. Prepare for the Trenches
Utilize your calendar and plan ahead of time. Note down all the important dates coming up such as: interview dates, midterm exams, meetings, club/varsity team games, and finals weeks. Having all of these important dates listed on your calendar allows you to remain organized even when the unexpected occurs, such has getting sick or a family emergency. No one wants to be scrambling through their syllabus, memos, or game schedule when experiencing a cold or heading back home to visit a family member. It is in your best interest to have all of these important dates all listed in one location.
3. Say NO to Peer Pressure
Every student has their distinctive schedule. Just because your friend is trying to convince you to hang-out or attend a concert because he or she has free time does not mean you also do. Attending a concert does sound much more fun than writing a paper, but you need to finish what needs to get done on your to do list, then proceed with doing fun activities with your free time, not your occupied time.
4. Are you a Bat or a Rooster?
There are 24 hours in a day, so use them wisely! Avoid procrastination and decide on the time that you will begin and end your study session in order to complete your daily tasks. Based on your biochronology, some students may find it more effective to study during the morning and others may prefer to study at night. Figure out what works best for you, but don’t forget to get plenty of rest too.
5. Stay Motivated
Use your motivation to get you from where you are today to get to where you want to be in the future. A day off here or there is a great stress reliever, but just remember to get back to the task so you can stay accomplished and on schedule. Motivation and a positive attitude will help guide you through times of feeling overwhelmed such as midterms and finals week.
Time management is definitely one of the most important skills to develop in college. Ideally, it would be wonderful to come into college having the ability to manage your time well. This enables you to prioritize tasks, and complete them efficiently. Time management is also a huge help when it comes to joining the professional workforce, as companies are always on the lookout for people who can manage their time efficiently and effectively.