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Time management is a great skill and opportunity for college students to learn how to have time for all the exercises they need to do while studying. In many cases, students do not know how to organize their time properly. They are often involved in different clubs and extracurricular activities, they spend much time with friends, or on social media. At the same time, they have to go to class and do exercises. Their time is not planned well because they do not start at 9 AM and end at 5 PM.
In this topic, we will give some tips for effective time management for college students.
10 Tips How to Manage Your Time as a College Student
How to succeed in time planning? Follow these time management tips for students and you can be confident in your success:
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Use personal planners and calendars
Start to have a calendar (a paper one or a calendar in your cell phone). Also, buy a notebook and write down the most important things you have to do. Books with numbered pages will be very useful in your daily life. You can also write down all the deadlines and priorities in your planner and make a personal schedule. Do not forget to use your planner as well.
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Have time to relax
Most of all, people need to sleep 7 or 8 hours a day and you should not neglect a healthy sleep schedule because only in this way can you be productive throughout the whole day and stay happy. Do not forget to take breaks in your work for physical exercises and to take a breath. Try some exercises for your eyes, spine, and arms to not harm yourself by endless work in one pose.
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Switch off all electronics
Television, cell phones, consoles and, especially, social media prevent you from concentrating while working –the most useful time management strategy is to how to avoid all distractions.
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Be flexible
Things often come up when you do not expect them. If you didn’t know about your roommate’s birthday this week, or if you unexpectedly discover that an interesting party or concert will take place near you, learn to move things around.
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Plan the most unexpected events
If you plan to have some things done at a particular time, it would be very annoying to realize that you caught the flu and thus cannot complete a task and that’s why you have to always plan for the most unexpected events while making a to-do list.
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Plan well ahead
It is very effective to write down plans for the long-term. If you have to do a large research paper or to write a discursive essay in your college, write it down on your list, you can even make a special to-do list for long-term plans.
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Take breaks correctly
Exercise works in the same way as sleeping. Take 10-minute breaks for physical exercises, to stretch, or go for a short walk - fresh air and moving around are always useful for your body and mind but your breaks shouldn’t be longer than your study time.
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Eat and drink well
It is essential to drink some water while you work – you can leave a bottle of water near you to ensure that you won’t forget to drink a minimum of an ounce per hour. Fresh fruits, nuts, eggs, fish, and chocolate are also useful for your brain while working. Eat often with small portions. You don’t need to eat too much - it can harm your stomach and make your brain less productive.
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Be creative
If your planning doesn’t work well, try to change some principles of it. Large paper calendars or color-coding may work as well! Color code the most important plans, find another system of scheduling – always search for something new, and maybe you will find a breakthrough in planning!
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Do not procrastinate
It is normal to procrastinate when you have bad days with reduced activity or when you are not feeling well, but on other days, don’t let distractions prevail. You should always remember your main tasks and duties, keep being highly motivated, and complete these tasks on time even if it is too big or complex. You can also search for alternative academic solutions if you can’t do it yourself! For example, get assistance with an essay writing service for students service.
Example Of A Daily To Do List
Here you can find an example of an efficient daily to-do list that should help you out if you are not sure how to start planning your time.
6:00 – 7:00 - Wake up, shower
7:20 – 8:00 - Breakfast
8:30 – 10:00 - English literature class
10:15 – 12:00 - Go to the Library
- Review English literature notes from class, filling it if necessary (30 minutes)
- Start reading J D Salinger “The Catcher in the Rye” (read 2 chapters)
- Write down notes for an essay (15 minutes)
- Read each section of the chapter, underline, create questions
12:00 – 1:15 - Have lunch with roommates
1:30 – 3:00 - Library
- Write down new ideas for a future seminar
- Develop a thesis
- Find new information for an essay
3:15 – 5:00 – Do some exercise
5:15 – 6:15 - Have a dinner with friends, relax
6:30 – 7:15 - Call a friend/family, go for a short walk with friends
7:50 – 8:00 - Tutorial sessions for English literature and Spanish, review three chapters, prepare notes for an essay, and get ready for a test
9:00 – 9:15 - Take a break, do some physical exercises
9:15 – 10:30 - Take tomorrow’s seminar paper ideas, create the thesis, use the most important information, the last short review before sleeping
10:45 – 11:00 - Make a to-do list for tomorrow
11:00 - Go to bed.
This is a great example of how you can organize time! Hopefully, this example and the time management tips for college we shared with you in this post will help you plan your time wisely and succeed in all your activities easily!