Ah, there’s no better time in life than college, but it’s true that it can also bring many worries and plenty of stress, especially if you’re not the best at organizing your time. So, if you want to keep up with your curriculum, extracurricular activities, hang out with friends and family AND get enough sleep, here are some of the best time-managing tips for you.
1. Keep your books close
The greatest advice you’ll ever get is to keep your work close. During the day, you’ll get plenty of extra time to hit the books (on the bus, between classes, while waiting for your friends to arrive), so use it to your advantage. Instead of scrolling through your Instagram feed, you can use these few minutes to revise or catch up with homework. A few minutes here and a few minutes there will add up to some solid learning time!
2. Create a schedule
Try to figure out how much time you usually need for activities and use this to create a daily or weekly schedule. Include everything from your school time to your sleep time (you don’t have to stick to it to the minute!) and you’ll never forget another assignment again.
3. Stick to your schedule
The important thing about schedules is actually sticking to them. So, once you start studying, turn off your phone and concentrate on the task at hand.
4. Make a list
One thing that really helps with studying is creating a to-do list of all the things you need to accomplish. Start with the hardest tasks and tackle them first, but also include things that you love to give you something to look forward to. If you don’t accomplish everything, make sure to put it on your next day’s list. And don’t forget about rewards! Once you manage to finish everything up, treat yourself for motivation.
5. Know your limits
To-do lists can often get out of hand and become too long. However, try not to over-extend yourself! It can be easy to put too many things down, but accomplishing the goal is a bit harder. However, if you know your body and limit your list to a realistic number of points, you’ll get the pleasure of accomplishing your goals every time! It’s much healthier and satisfying than constantly moving things from the list to the next day. Additionally, if you start noticing your schedule is super full, you have to learn how to set your priorities. It’s okay to cancel that movie night to revise if you have an important test coming up. Simply reschedule it for another day when you both have more time.
6. Keep distractions at bay
Do you often catch yourself wasting time on unimportant things instead of actually learning? This happens because you might be unsure how to continue with your lesson or your project. In that case, consult with your teacher who will help you move forward. If you spend way more time on creating study notes than actually studying, try something else. For instance, Aussie students often opt for useful VCE notes available online. These notes were written by ex-students that understand the pressure, the way students learn and the tight student schedules. All notes are systematic and very clear, all you have left to do is learn!
7. Stop procrastinating
Procrastination is the biggest enemy of education, so don’t put off work that you can do right now. If you procrastinate, your schedule will be a mess and you’ll find yourself out of time to achieve everything on your to-do list. So, spread out the work and stick to your list and your schedule. Procrastinators also tend to get less sleep, especially if the deadlines are getting closer. However, sleep is one of the best things you can do for your body and brain! You need to rest in order to focus, learn and perform. So, hit the sack a bit earlier and get at least seven hours of Z’s. It’s better to put some things off for tomorrow and go to bed than feel like a drained rag the next day.
Uni is a hectic time and it can be very hard to manage your time between classes, homework, projects, friends and work. However, if you start using these time-management techniques, you’ll have a huge advantage and great work habits you’ll use your whole life.
