There is a saying that ‘A whale does not know that a camel exists’. Similarly, those students who say that they have no free time in collage probably don’t know time management exists.
Importance of Time Management
Time management is a strategic process of efficiently dividing your time in order to complete any activity or task. It helps to keep things proceeding in an organized manner which ultimately achieves the desired objective in a given time.
Apart from that, it helps to make a fixed routine and a fixed schedule for anyone, keeping them on track. It minds the time spent on a particular activity and develops a habit of doing any given task within the deadline.
The 21/90 Rule
There is a 21/90 rule, where if a student manages their time and works on that for 21 days, it automatically turns into a habit. But if that same time is managed and worked on for 90 days or more, it then automatically becomes a lifestyle.
For students, time management is a vital tool. It develops a habit of meeting deadlines, increases attention, and gives self-satisfaction to work being done on time.
However, it sounds enchanting, but when it comes to actually set, practicing, and maintaining your time management according to a layman, it doesn’t seem easy all of a sudden.
With this being said, here are some tips for students to manage their time.
This is where a student needs to decide at what time of the day, do I need to spend studying and how many hours?’ This can be setting a study time starting from ‘5 pm till 7 pm’ fixed every day. It can be even more, depending upon the student. This is the time where you do all your assignments, studies, or other academic work.
Establishing a fixed time, paves an easy path to manage time.
This not only refers to a break-time but also dividing up your coursework. If you are facing a lengthy assignment, then it is better to divide them either into hours or even days. 20/90 rule can also be applied where 90 minutes is spent working on the assignment, followed by a 20 minutes break. Repeating this cycle can effectively help to complete your work quicker.
Lengthy coursework can also be divided into days, where one particular day is chosen to do that specific work only.
If overburdened with work, then it is only wise to speak up and ask for help. For example, if you are stuck in your last year’s dissertation research project and somehow reached a state of panic, then instead of asking your friends out of frustration to ‘i need help with my college essay or any other curriculum’, ask for help from your supervisors. They will most likely give a positive response and never reject, always ready to help.
Apart from that, for some reason, if your supervisor does not seem to be useful, then ask help from cheap online professional writing services. This way, a lot of time shall be saved and your time management will come back on track.
In order to maintain your time wisely, it is effective to always take down notes during class hours. This is an underrated statement, as whatever discussions take place and whatever is taught within the classroom is gold and priceless.
In certain cases, you won’t even need to spend time, studying for your exams. The notes which you had been taking down during the whole semester will be enough for passing. All you will be left with is the only revision and extra time.
This does not literally refers to becoming selfish, but it simply means ‘learning to say NO’
There are many times where friends, for example, come in for disturbance. Friends who always come up and asks you to do their assignment for them. It is usually wise to just reply with a negative response and say that ‘I am busy’.
Or even friends who insist on going to parties and making you come home late during the night, distorting the time management. So, learning to say NO, is a skill needed during the academic career.
Nothing can be managed if the sleep is not enough, let alone time management. This is a fact, usually ignored. Even if you are not able to manage your time properly, then it is at least needed to get 8 hours of sleep. Everything else will automatically come back on track.
Conclusion
There are many time management tips but these are the necessary steps to proceed for the next ones. It won’t happen on its own but requires patience and practice before getting into a fixed routine.