Time management is always a top concern for students. We often hear our friends around us “complaining” that we never have enough time to finish homework, how to just complete the report paper but still not miss out on the football match, dating, lacking sleeping, etc. Actually, it is not that difficult at all if you know how to arrange and manage your time properly.
Time management is always a top concern for students. We often hear our friends around us “complaining” that we never have enough time to finish homework, how to just complete the report paper but still not miss out on the football match, dating, lacking sleeping, etc. Actually, it is not that difficult at all if you know how to arrange and manage your time properly.
So, what exactly is time management? Time management is the realization of time constraints and then you can arrange the order of the tasks to be completed within that timeline.
Why do students need time management skills? Because this is an important skill for you to organize your work in a logical and scientific way, avoiding worries, stresses, and making mistakes when being ‘stuck’ at the last minutes because there is not enough time to submit homework, essay, report, or exams.
How to build a time management plan effectively?
1. CLEAR PLANNING AND OBJECTIVES
You need to have short-term (day-to-day), medium-term (week/month) and long-term (semester/year) plans. Setting goals that need to be achieved in that period of time will help you see a clear roadmap, have a goal to strive and the probability of successful implementation is huge.
2. TIMETABLE
If you are already familiar with the school schedule, do the same pattern of schedule for specific tasks that you will do in a day or week. Here is an example:
| Time | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
| 7:00 | Wake up, do exercises, have breakfast | … | … | … | … | … |
| 7:30 | Get ready for school | … | … | … | … | … |
| 8:00 | First class of the day | … | … | … | … | … |
| … | … | … | … | … | … | … |
Set timelines in which it takes 30 minutes or 45 minutes for finishing a task, depending on how you organize your work. The schedule should focus on specific timelines from which you can see the time to complete the work more clearly. Moreover, you take some time to you relax or entertain yourself by setting time for watching TV, playing with pets or chatting with friends …
Set timelines in which it takes 30 minutes or 45 minutes for finishing a task, depending on how you organize your work. The schedule should focus on specific timelines from which you can see the time to complete the work more clearly. Moreover, you take some time to you relax or entertain yourself by setting time for watching TV, playing with pets or chatting with friends …
4. WRITE DOWN A TO-DO-LIST
You have a lot of things to do during the day and a bunch of things to remember, many places to go,.. which seems to be a bit disorganized. Then write down a personal diary which lists the things to do in a day, such as planning ahead of things to do, prioritizing order, preparing documents, books, clothes, etc. When everything is ready and organized, you can save the time looking up for things.
5. AVOID MULTITASKING
Overlapping tasks or multitasking should be avoided. These will not help you get things done more quickly, on the contrary, it will ruin your plan. Imagine checking your email and doing your homework while sitting in front of the TV watching movies at the same time?
6. DISTINGUISH BETWEEN URGENT AND IMPORTANT TASKS
Determining the objectives of the task will help you save a lot of time. For example, many urgent tasks get your attention immediately, but that doesn’t mean it’s important. Write down a table comparing urgent and important tasks, you will know the urgent issues that need to be addressed first and avoid wasting time.
7. USE DIGITAL REMINDERS
You can use the phone, tablet, or laptop to install software that reminds you of your tasks and schedule. Currently, there are many useful reminding applications such as Trello, Calendar, Polite, Todoit, etc. You can take a look at the instruction to know how to use, and then install a suitable application, depending on your usage goals.
Like any other soft skills, time management skills are extremely important. A few changes in your study habits as well as in your work will help improve your ways to manage time, making it from a vague concept to a good habit, organizing your study, work more effectively later.
