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Better time management for students

One of the biggest struggles that students face today (and basically everyone else) is finding time to get everything done. Done properly, that is.

Academic life seems to be characterized by a massive pile of work that goes on top of all the studying you need to do in each class. Add the fact that most stuff is new and time consuming and you’ve got a sure recipe for getting overwhelmed.

In college I actually had friends who would skip one class to finish another class’s assignment. Hopefully you’ve never had to do that. It can be very stressful not knowing if you will be able to get all of your assignments done though, especially with the majority of them being worth a notable chunk of your grade.

Thankfully, there are many ways to take control of your time and stay on top of your assignments and projects. They are not very complicated either, and you can begin applying them immediately. The results will come really soon after you start applying the following steps.

Sounds obvious right? It should be, but many of us fall into the trap of “I’ll remember to have this worksheet done by the 15th.” The very first step into taking control of your time is to write down every assignment, project, and test you will be taking.

Don’t just write them down on a piece of paper to be lost and forgotten either. You need a dedicated planner. Your phone will do just fine if it has any sort of note-taking capabilities. A document on your computer will do too.

To start managing your time better, start by writing down assignments and their due dates as soon as possible. If you can’t put in in your phone or computer during lecture, make sure to have a note of the assignment so you can add it once the class is over.

Be clear about what the assignment is and what class it is for too. “Worksheet 2” is not a good reminder. “Math worksheet 2: Integrals” is better. The assignment probably has a due date too. Write that down as well.

If it is not in your calendar it definitely won’t get done.

All assignments have a due date. This is not the day you should get started on the assignment. It is the day you should be turning in the assignment. If you are going to take control of your time, then you need to know exactly when you will be doing each assignment.

If you have one week to complete the assignment, then you should be getting started on it no more than two days after receiving it. Creating an actual event in your calendar for when you will be completing said assignment makes it a lot easier to remember doing it.

Having a long-period of time between receiving an assignment and having to turn in it makes you more likely to procrastinate. After all we humans tend to extend the work we have to do to fill the time allotted to do it (this is why you work better under real pressure).

To prevent this, you need to create different deadlines for your assignments. shorter ones than your professor has given you. When you schedule your assignment to be done, treat that day as the deadline. An accountability partner works great here. If you don’t get the assignment done by the time you said you would then you have to take your roommate to dinner. Real consequences can be a powerful incentive to meet your artificial deadline.

When you create the event in your calendar, make sure you are giving yourself plenty of time to finish the assignment too. Instead of “Biology project at 3:00” create the event for “Biology project from 3:00 to 4:30.” Know how much time you will dedicate to the assignment. Always add a little bit more time than you think you will need.

If the assignment will get done over more than one day make sure to add that to the title: “Biology project: digestive system 1 of 2 from 3 to 4:30.” When possible have a list of what exactly you will get done the first session and what will be left for the second.

Getting an assignment done before it is due is a great feeling. You know what is an even better feeling? Getting a great score on said assignment.

Creating earlier artificial deadlines will make sure you get the assignment done before you need it. This will help reduce stress, it also gives you time to review and make sure you are turning in your best work.

This step is almost identical to the last one. The biggest difference is what you are scheduling. If possible schedule this review time a day before the task is due. This will give you plenty of time to make corrections if needed.

Do not forget to give yourself enough time to do this. Reviewing shouldn’t take as long as actually completing the assignment. But you still need to be thorough and make sure you completed everything correctly.

Finally, reviewing gives you the chance to see what mistakes you made after you actually tried to solve the exercises presented in the assignment. This actually helps your learning.

Whenever possible review with a more experienced peer who can help you find mistakes and correct them.

You probably know how to create events in an online calendar like Google or Apple’s. I am not going to go with you step by step on how to create events in either of them or even which one to choose. Whichever works best for you is fine.

After you have received the assignment, been given a due date, and you have determined when you will be completing and subsequently reviewing the assignment, you need to make sure you put it in your calendar.

Doing this as soon as possible will help you keep the task at the top of your mind. It will also help you avoid overlap. It would suck to go through the trouble of setting a date and time to complete an assignment on paper only to find out later that you already meant to complete something different then.

Now that you have a due date, a complete by date, and a review date, put them all in your calendar. This point is obvious, self-explanatory and easy to follow. It still needs mentioning to keep you from falling into the “I will remember it” trap.

Every calendar you can use on a computer or download to a phone can create reminders for events.

Whenever you create a new event regarding your assignments, make sure to create a reminder for each one the day of. Ready for when you wake up. Then have a reminder for an hour before and then 10 minutes before. You can tweak these numbers to your liking as you use these techniques more and more. But for example’s sake we will use these.

Having these three reminders helps in several ways.

First, a reminder that is there waiting for you on your phone/computer when you wake up is helpful to show you everything you are working on that day. This way you are already aware of what you need to get done. Even if you won’t be getting to everything for several hours. Knowing what you will be doing at 1:30, 4:00 and 6:00 will get you ready for when those times actually come.

The second reminder comes an hour before you start the assignment. This gives you plenty of time to finish your current task, but let’s you know what is coming up. Having a little bit of pressure to finish what you are doing now in time for the next assignment is actually helpful. People tend to expand the amount of time required to finish a task as long as they have to complete it. The pressure will help you work a bit faster and finish on time.

Finally, the last reminder comes 5 minutes before you start the assignment. When this reminder comes you should not be doing anything that is not preparing for what is coming up. Whether you are traveling to where you need to go, getting the needed materials, or simply taking a small break between tasks, make sure these 5 minutes are not occupied by a previous project.

A final word of advice: be flexible with yourself and your schedule. It is inevitable that at some point you will misjudge how long an assignment will take. Do not be harsh on yourself if you are not able to follow the schedule down to the second. Instead ask, “Why wasn’t I able to?” and then analyze what you can change.

Finally:

If you know anything about habit building you know that the last step in any habit is the reward. Building habits is not just about what you want to do. It is just as much about what comes out of it.

Motivation to get your crap together will get you started. It will be habits that get you there, though. After all is said and done. You wrote the assignment down, you scheduled it, put it in your calendar and actually did it, allow yourself to have a reward.

This can be a candy bar, an episode of your favorite show. Some quality time with loved ones. A nap… Anything you can think of that you enjoy. Who knows, maybe the feeling of calmness that comes from being on top of your work will be enough reward.

Be kind to yourself and celebrate the wins. It really does help.

With that, I hope you have learnt something and will give these steps a shot. Take control of your time!

Permanent learning focuses on teaching overwhelmed students the skills they need to get better grades have more free time and less stress too. This guide is simply the first step in better time-management.

Happy learning!

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