Written by Shelby Oyer
It's easy for students to get stressed out in their busy college lives. Many of us not only have full class loads but are also involved in clubs, jobs, and other activities. In order to stay on top of homework and classes while balancing everything else in our lives, it's crucial to learn good time management skills. Below are five tips and tricks to help you do just that.
Get a Calendar
Whether it's a desk calendar, wall calendar, mortar board or any other type of calendar, get one you can write all of your important information on. Make it one that you will actually use and that you will see often. Personally, I have a dry erase calendar hanging on the wall right above my desk that I use to write down everything important, like work shifts and meetings, in addition to having a mortar board I use to jot down all my homework assignments. Find one that works for you and put it to use so you never miss an important event or assignment.
Write Everything Down
And I do mean everything. Don't just tell yourself "Oh I'll remember that," write it down. Every homework assignment, work shift, meeting, callout...everything, no matter how small or seemingly unimportant it may be. If it's written down on a calendar you see every day (funny how it all ties together) you're sure to remember it.
Create Reminders
It's easy for students to get stressed out in their busy college lives. Many of us not only have full class loads but are also involved in clubs, jobs, and other activities. In order to stay on top of homework and classes while balancing everything else in our lives, it's crucial to learn good time management skills. Below are five tips and tricks to help you do just that.
Get a Calendar
Whether it's a desk calendar, wall calendar, mortar board or any other type of calendar, get one you can write all of your important information on. Make it one that you will actually use and that you will see often. Personally, I have a dry erase calendar hanging on the wall right above my desk that I use to write down everything important, like work shifts and meetings, in addition to having a mortar board I use to jot down all my homework assignments. Find one that works for you and put it to use so you never miss an important event or assignment.
Write Everything Down
And I do mean everything. Don't just tell yourself "Oh I'll remember that," write it down. Every homework assignment, work shift, meeting, callout...everything, no matter how small or seemingly unimportant it may be. If it's written down on a calendar you see every day (funny how it all ties together) you're sure to remember it.
Create Reminders
Write down important events or assignments that you're scared you might forget on a post-it note and stick it to your desk or mirror. Create an event or reminder on your phone and have an alert tell you when it's nearing the time or due date. These things give you added security that you won't forget something that needs to be done.
Make a Schedule
Use Google Drive, an Excel spreadsheet or just a plain piece of paper and make a schedule for yourself, blocking out chunks of time to get things done. This is especially helpful during extremely busy times like finals week. If you mark down that you're going to study your Com notes on Tuesday from 3-4 pm, you're more likely to actually study since you have specific time already carved out in your busy schedule.
Commit!
All of these tips do no good if you don't commit to doing what you say you'll do. If you mark on your calendar that you're going to study at a certain time and set up a reminder to do so, but then ignore them both, they will be of no help whatsoever. Have the commitment to stay on top of writing things down and doing them when you tell yourself you will. Treat homework assignments and time to study or exercise or whatever else as if they were a work shift. You wouldn't just not show up to work would you? So don't blow off your other activities by making the excuse that you'll "do it later." Do it now.
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