Time management is not just a life skill, it is an art – an art all successful people have mastered. Rarely will you see a successful person be terrible at time management. So, if you too want to do well in life, sharpen your time management skills now.
There are so many things going on in a student’s life that they are forever struggling to keep up. This only adds to the pressure they are already under. So, to make life easy, here are the top 10 time management tips for students to follow:
Imagine, even after studying, having enough time on your hands to meet family and friends, catch up on the latest OTT shows, and take a break whenever you want. This can only be possible if you implement the following time management tips:
Everything great starts with a plan. Get a macro view of your daily timetable. Include everything that you do, even if it’s a minor thing like a tea or coffee break, so you know where exactly your time is being spent. Once you have a clear picture, you’ll know where to give yourself time to study. Now, create a master plan with proper colour-coded time slots for studying. Though this master plan may take some time to be made, you’ll only have to do this once.
Now that you know how your time is being spent and where you can make room for studying, it’s time to prioritize your tasks. This will help you eke out more time for your studies. If you can, make a list according to priority. If this is not possible, just make a list and assign priority later on. Club the tasks that can be done together, so you can knock them off together to have more time. Spot the tasks that will make other tasks easier and do them first.
While making a plan and prioritizing tasks, you also have to listen to your body. Throughout the day, the body’s energy levels go through many peaks and valleys. You have to account for these and plan accordingly. Your body tells you when it needs to be active and when it needs rest. Many students mistakenly ignore these signs and wonder why they don’t seem to have the energy when required. Remember, your body has a clock (Circadian Rhythm) that functions according to how you train it. So, make sure to factor in this important aspect in your schedule.
One of the biggest reasons why students fail is because they set too high a target. They make the error of setting a high target in the hopes that even if they reach somewhere nearby, they will have achieved something significant. But what happens is that they fail spectacularly and find themselves too disheartened to try again. You have to set achievable, realistic goals because when you achieve them, you get a shot of dopamine from your brain, which will further propel you to achieve more. It’s simple science.
One of the biggest challenges modern students face is digital distractions. Just like Pavlov’s Experiment, students have unknowingly trained themselves into checking their phones every time they hear a ping or notification. Therefore, it’s time to retrain yourself. Switch off your phone’s internet. Put your phone on DND (Do Not Disturb). Ask your friends and family to not contact you during this time. You can also use apps to help you stay away from digital distractions. It’s all about behaviour modification. It will be hard but worth it.
Almost all our elders give this sage-like advice – “get up early”. They are right. As much as you might not want to admit the correctness, the truth is that starting your day early gives you more active hours. Therefore, you have to get most things done during peak performance hours. Getting up early is going to give you a lot of time to study and even some time to unwind. The challenge here is not to compromise on 8 hours of sleep. So, get into the habit of turning in early and getting up with the sun.
Did you know, multitasking actually hampers your brain function? Yes, it’s now been proven that multitasking is a bad habit and you should stop doing it at once. You are better off focusing on one thing at a time. You’ll be able to give it your 100% though this seems like such a piece of simple advice, you’ll be surprised how effective it is.
Shorter bursts are the way to go. If you plan to study a maximum number of hours in one stretch then you are setting yourself up for failure. This is just scientifically impossible. You can concentrate on one thing only for a certain number of hours. After a point, boredom sets in, and you start to lose interest. We are living in the age of shorter attention spans, and it’s best to adjust to this system rather than fight it. Study in shorter bursts and you’ll definitely learn and remember more.
Everything we do needs to have a motive behind it. Only then do we give it our all. Positive reinforcement has been proven to help, so when you are studying and managing your time, you also need to create a reward system that keeps you motivated. Studies 4 hours? Take an hour for gaming. Finished a task quickly? Use the extra time to catch up with a friend. Keep the rewards in proportion to the difficulty of the task to get the full value of this practice.
Don’t just indulge in time management when you need to study. Turn it into a full-fledged habit. Start managing time in all aspects of your life and you’ll see how efficient everything becomes. You’ll be a better professional, all your friendships and relationships will thrive, and you will also have time for yourself. Make time management a habit and you’ll find success in everything you do.
Time management is not a 100-metre dash. It’s a marathon that you have to finish phase by phase. So, give yourself time and start practicing the above-given tips. Even if you fail at first, and you will, because you are human, it is important to get up and try again. Eventually, you will get there and effort will be worth it.
