8 Simple Time Management Tips for College Students

Being a student can sometimes mean balancing your school work with your personal life, work life, and extra-curricular activities.
To ensure you can make the most of your training without shortchanging other areas of your life, it′s important you learn how to manage time in a way that lets you handle everything successfully.The eight time management tips for college students that follow are designed to help you do just that.

1. Prioritize the big stuff.

It sounds simple enough. But knowing how to become a successful student requires truly understanding this piece of advice. Unless you have urgent tasks that absolutely must be handled right away, it′s better to use your time working on important things like writing major papers, studying, practicing the skills you want to master, or making connections with important people.

2. Keep a routine and guard your time.

In college, time is the most precious resource. That′s why successful students often make sure that nothing interrupts their carefully planned routines. It′s OK to be spontaneous once in a while, but the more consistent you are at using certain periods of time for the same types of work, the more benefits you′ll be able to get from your education.

3. Break your time outside of class into small chunks that match your body′s natural rhythms.
Generally speaking, a person′s energy waxes and wanes in roughly 90-minute intervals throughout the day. By paying attention to when you feel more awake and focused, you can schedule your most challenging tasks for those times. Then you can leave the less-challenging stuff for the dips or use the low-energy times for refreshing naps or social and recreational breaks. This way, you can get everything in without feeling like you′re missing out or ignoring your studies.

4. Use a daily planner to list and schedule your tasks.

Many students find that using an electronic calendar along with a daily handwritten list provides the best system for organizing their time. Space out your big tasks on the calendar and set alerts for any important deadlines. Create a new list each day of all tasks that must get done, and make sure you have times on your calendar where you can fit them in. Scratch off each task as you complete it. If you don′t finish all of your tasks, then start a list for the next day and transfer them over.

5. Start the important stuff right away.

Lots of students procrastinate regularly, but you probably don′t want to be one of them. The more you procrastinate, the less likely you are to succeed. At least, that′s true of most people. Playing catch-up all the time is a recipe for stress and burnout. Instead, it′s smarter to start on important things like big reading assignments, research papers, and exam prep as soon as possible. The earlier you start, the more your subconscious can filter ideas and work on problems for you in the background. It also gives you a chance to actually enjoy the process at a more leisurely pace. No cramming necessary.

6. Plan ahead for your hardest days.

Letting the hard days sneak up on you is never fun. Besides, there′s no excuse for it. Make sure you have the syllabus for each course you′re taking, and highlight all of the most challenging components like major class projects, midterms, and final exams. Then start setting aside time on your schedule to prepare for them well in advance of when they happen. Make notes to limit partying and other distractions before those times. But also plan to reward yourself with some memorable fun after getting through those days. By doing this, you might just turn what would have been your hardest days into your easiest.

7. Avoid overcommitting.
Although it′s tempting to think that saying yes to everything will make you a superstar, doing so may have the opposite effect. That′s why one of the most reliable ways to succeed in college is to trim down your activities to only the most important ones—the ones that provide clear benefits to your personal development, education, or career preparation. Saying no is often the best thing you can do.

8. Minimize your multitasking.

It takes time to get into the appropriate headspace to be your most effective at different types of tasks. In fact, numerous research studies show that the more people multitask, the less effective they are at what they′re trying to accomplish. Many of the most successful people know this and manage their time accordingly. They give themselves the space and permission to give all of their attention to just one important task at a time.