Tips for Time Management as a Student One thing you learn quickly as a student is that time management is harder than passing organic chemistry. While some individuals are good at using their time well, many of us live life crisis to crisis. If you want to stop cramming for accounting degree exam at the last minute, finishing that computer science degree poster at 3 a.m. or printing off the first and only draft of your English paper the day it is due, learning how to manage your time is essential. Sure, there is a perverse sort of thrill of working under a deadline, but working and studying in such a way is not healthy and hinders your ability to create your best work.
Here are some tips to help break you of your procrastination habit. Stop trying multitasking and doing your homework at the same time. Schedule a four or five hour chunk of time every day to focus on completing your homework. We are more productive when we have time constraints. Create a flexible daily schedule. The most productive people are consistent in their daily habits. Consistency in your schedule (i.e. bedtime, lunchtime and work time) helps you buffer out unproductive time. Also be sure to schedule time to time to relax and sleep. As they say, all work and no play make Jack a dull boy. Create of list of three doable tasks to accomplish for the day. Instead of creating a daunting to-do list, choose three things you must get done that day. Be sure to remember to cross items off you list once you complete them. Crossing items off the list motivates you to continue complete your tasks and gives you a great sense of accomplishment. Learn to prioritize your tasks by most important versus most urgent. If you accomplish tasks forever based on their urgency you will always be livening crisis to crisis. But if you learn to complete the tasks that are most important first you are less likely to be always running around like a chicken with its head cut off.
Be Accountable and Don’t Overwhelm Yourself If you are your own worst taskmaster, it helps to be accountable to others. If you need help consistently completing homework on time consider getting a tutor, or a study buddy to be with you during your study time to help you keep on task. To avoid becoming overwhelmed and overloaded with tasks learn to be realistic in how much you can actually accomplish consistently in one day. While it is good to challenge
ourselves, sometimes our high expectations of ourselves put us in a corner. Don’t unintentionally sabotage your time management goals by be expecting too much of yourself too fast. Give yourself time to learn, grow and make mistakes. Perfection is not expected the first time around. Every master of procrastination can become a master of time management. So if you are daunted by your course load this semester for your accounting or computer science degree, remember with proper time management even the most daunting of tasks manageable. Now get back to work. Photo Credit: k_vohsen ,