Top Time Management Tips For Students
The truth is you cannot actually manage your time! You can, however, you can manage the events in your life in relation to time. You may often wish that you had more time in your day, but the truth is you only get 24 hours, 1,440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds in each and every day.
So how exactly do we successfully manage the 24 hours we are given each day to the best of our ability? Finding a time management strategy that works best for you is dependent on a number of factors including your personality, ability to self-motivate, and level of self-discipline. By incorporating some of these simple tips and tricks you can develop a strategy for time management that works for you!
Set priorities
It is important to prioritise tasks based on importance and urgency. Write a list of your daily tasks and determine which are:
- Important and urgent: Do these tasks right away.
- Important but not urgent: Decide when to do these tasks.
- Urgent but not important: Delegate these tasks if possible.
- Not urgent and not important: Set these aside to do later.
Detox from digital
Mobiles down, please! Sometimes we can find ourselves fixated on social media. While being connected and immersed in the digital world is a part of everyday life, it’s important to recognise the difference between just the right amounts of digital versus mindless scrolling and time-wasting. Detoxing from digital doesn’t have to be a complete separation from immersing yourself in social media. You might like to try the following and disconnect during peak productivity times:
- Setting a limit of screen time per day
- Switching your phone off while studying
- Limit your usage before bed and when you wake up
Get organised
Disorganisation, more often than not leads to poor time management. Getting organised is one of the simplest ways to ensure you stay on top of tasks and don’t fall behind. It can be as simple as leaving for university 5 minutes early, pre-preparing all your lecture notes or keeping a diary of important dates. Utilise a year-to-date calendar for your long-term time management.
Set a time limit to complete individual tasks
Setting time constraints when completing tasks helps you to become more focused and efficient. Setting aside a certain amount of minutes out of your day to complete a particular task can help you stay focused on what you’re trying to achieve. It can also be helpful to break a larger task into smaller sub-tasks and complete each item in smaller sections so you don’t lose focus or get too stressed.
Take adequate breaks between tasks
When set up to do a large sum of tasks without a break, it is harder to stay focused, and you will lose motivation. Allowing some downtime between tasks to clear your head and refresh yourself is really important. Remember you only have 24 hours in a day and sleeping, eating and relaxing, to avoid burnout, should play an active part in your time prioritisation!
Try a time management matrix
Managing your time effectively, especially when studying, requires a distinction between what is considered essential and what is urgent. A time management matrix is a great way to distinguish tasks and intern manage your time.
