Do you feel disorganized and unproductive? It’s okay, many students do. But if you want to fix it, here are some hacks to help you manage time better.
When I was a student, I always had trouble managing my time.
I procrastinated a lot, which led to me not finishing my work on time.
Sometimes, I just thought I completed my homework already when I actually didn’t (I was also pretty disorganized).
But as I got into the higher grades and eventually into college, I realized that time management and organization are important.
Keeping track of things and staying on top of them was a deciding factor in my success or failure.
And it will be yours too.
But you probably already know that, seeing how you are on this article.
What you want are some tips on how to manage time better.
And, since I’m a nice guy and a borderline pushover, I’m going to give you some tips.
So, let’s get to them:
Keep a to-do list
A to-do list is a list of things that you need to finish in a day or a week. It can be homework assignments, projects, or household chores.
Creating a to-do list is pretty easy.
You can use an agenda to schedule all your tasks or you can make your own with a notebook. There are also different types of agendas as well.
There are daily ones, hourly ones, and monthly ones (I personally prefer the daily ones, if you’re wondering).
Additionally, you can download a to-do list template and use that.
To start, what you want to do is write down the tasks you need to accomplish on any given day.
This could be an assignment, a reading, or a quiz that needs to be studied for.
But be conscientious to not overstuff your schedule.
If you add too many items, you’ll be overwhelmed with the number of tasks you have and you won’t do any. This is called analysis paralysis.
So, try to only keep three items in your task box.
Some days, there will be more. But for the majority of the time, just keep the three items that you absolutely have to do during your core study time.
Additionally, you should spread out the tasks that will take a long time to complete.
For example, if you have a research paper, spread out the process of writing it throughout the week.
On day one, you can do research and planning. On day two, you can outline the paper and craft the thesis, and so on.
By doing this, the task will seem manageable. It will also prevent procrastination because it’s broken into small chunks of work.
Additionally, by breaking up large tasks, you’ll have more time to do other (shorter) tasks that also need attention.
One more thing you can do to make your to-do lists more effective is implementing batch days.
Batch Days
Batch days are days when you group a bunch of similar easy tasks together and complete them all in one day.
For instance, you can batch all your required readings and note-taking into one day.
Or, you can batch all of your weekly homework assignments, such as math or science review questions, into a day.
By batching, you’ll create more time for more to work on difficult tasks.
You’ll be able to spend more time focusing on longer, more difficult assignments because you won’t have to worry about finishing the easier work.
This is also a good way to prevent Parkinson’s Law from affecting you because you’ll be setting a reasonable time limit for completing tasks.
Rank Your Tasks
This tip will go hand-in-hand with the previous tip.
As you are scheduling your to-do list, you should rank your tasks. If there is a complex assignment that you need to finish before the week’s end, you should do that first.
The reason why you should do this is that you’ll have more focus and energy first thing in the week. You’ll also have more time to work on and complete it.
If you were to leave it until the middle of the week or to the last minute, you’ll be too tired to do it. You’ll also be short on time.
Too stubborn to believe me?
Imagine this: you’ve just spent nearly a week working on math homework, reading a couple of short stories, studying for a science quiz, and working on a fill-in-the-blanks social studies assignment.
Would you now want to also write a 5-page report that’s due in a day?
No, you’re not (and if you do, you are a big, fat, liar).
Your brain will be fatigued and you’ll be unenthused, and you’re not going to put your best foot forward. You may even just give up and not finish the assignment on time.
But by putting some urgency on this task, you’ll put in the time and effort needed to do it well.
Also, if you start working on this first thing in the week, you can break it up into smaller, daily tasks, as I mentioned earlier.
So, rank your tasks by figuring out what requires the most attention and brainpower.
Do these first thing in the week or first in your study period. The simpler tasks (the ones that are less fatiguing to your cranium) can be done after.
Use the Pomodoro Technique
If you’re the type of student who easily loses focus, try implementing the Pomodoro Technique.
The Pomodoro Technique, which you can read more about here, will help you stay focused on your task, saving you time in the long run.
It does this by making the work period un-intimidating by forcing you to break it down into short chunks.
In these 25 minute chunks of time, you will put your undivided attention to working on a task.
If your task is a long one, like writing a paper, you can break it down into stages.
Then you can work on a stage during a Pomodoro.
If you have a bunch of smaller assignments, you can work on each one during a Pomodoro.
For example, let’s say you have to read and take notes for social studies, solve 10 math equations, and read a chapter for language arts.
During the first Pomodoro chunk, you would do your math.
Once the 25 minutes are up, take a 5-minute break. Then, you would do your social studies. Take a short break when the Pomodoro is up.
Finally, you are going to do your language arts.
When the 25 minutes are up, you will take a longer break (15-30 minutes) and start a new Pomodoro cycle if you have more work to do.
If you don’t, then you are finished your study period. You are free. Go do whatever you want.
By using Pomodoros to study, you’ll cut out slack and save time.
Your work time will be concentrated, which will result in you having more time to do other things.
Conclusion
By applying these three time management methods, you’ll be more organized, less of a procrastinator, and will have more free time.
They’ll allow you to work smarter and more efficiently, rather than working longer and harder.
So give them a try and see how much they will benefit your life.