6 Essential Time Management Tips For Students
There never seems to be enough time for anything especially studying! But maybe its not the amount that’s the problem but how you budget it, take a look at these essential time management tips for students:
6) Set Up a Schedule
Get yourself organized with a schedule. Utilize a calendar, diary, spreadsheet or phone app to plan out when, where and how long you study. Allocate a certain amount of time for studying each week but also balance it out with time for recreation and social activities.
This will give you a clearer picture of your study methods too. Just thinking about your study habits and patterns can be useful as you will engage in self-reflection. Through meta-cognition you might be able to assess the effectiveness of your study methods.
5) Be Flexible
Schedules are a great way to organize your time but our lives are constantly in flux, many unexpected things may interrupt it. Try to stick with your schedule but only to a point, learn to prioritize and put the most important matters ahead of the smaller ones.
If you are having more trouble with a certain subject or chapter, don’t be afraid to spend more time on it. Sometimes, this may mean you have to sacrifice time spent on other things, or even other subjects, engage in a cost benefit analysis to determine which is more important.
4) Don’t Procrastinate!
Of course, all that planning and organizing will not mean anything if you decide to ignore it by procrastinating. There are many reasons why we procrastinate laziness, fear, discomfort, stress, etc. However, it is good to remind ourselves of the consequences of procrastination and look at the long term effects vs the short term gains.
One way to stop procrastinating is to have someone who keeps you accountable like a study buddy, who can remind you of deadlines and study together with you. Just don’t turn your group study session into a party!
3) Eliminate Distractions
So, you’ve been studying for three to four hours but nothing stick in your head! Well, maybe the problem is your attention is divided. These days, with our phones, laptops and the internet there is rarely a boring moment in our lives. Set all those aside when you are studying. Turn off your cellphone, TV or computer when you are studying, so there is no temptation.
If a certain environment is too noisy or does have too much irresistible temptations, don’t be afraid to move spots and study somewhere more peaceful and quiet like a library or cafe.
2) Study In Short Burst
However, just studying for three hours straight with intense focus can strain your mind. Thus, take short intermittent breaks between your sessions. Relax, cool down, and recharge your brain cells for a few minutes.
Research shows that taking short diversions vastly help keep us motivated and focused. In fact, turn your breaks into rewards. Make realistic achievable goals for yourself and use your down time doing something pleasurable as a motivation to keep yourself going.
1) Get A Good Night’s Sleep
Your concentration and productivity are directly correlated. Some might think the more you study the better and spend hours late into the night cramming. However, cramming is one of the worst ways to learn and you will waste more time if you can’t concentrate!
That’s why it’s essential to consistently get a good nights sleep. Regular sleep ensures your mind stays sharp and healthy. You will use your study time more efficiently as good sleeping habits give you better mood, stress levels and more energy.
