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Student Tips to Master Time Management

College is a pricey luxury. The expenses are high – rent, textbooks, tutors, new clothes to look good, drinks with friends off and on. Let alone that tuition itself costs an arm and leg. To afford all that, many students don’t have any other option but to add a few working shifts to their schedule. As if studying alone wasn’t already challenging enough!

When you are between the devil and a deep blue sea, time management seems an abstract idea devised to annoy you. The only question that comes to your mind is where to get a couple of extra hours in the day to have everything done. In such circumstances, all the aspirations of being a diligent student seem to be fading away.

However, don’t jump to conclusions too fast! With certain effort and careful planning, you can make time for everything. And even have a few extra minutes for your leisure activities. The secret is in being precise and staying organized during the day. No need to be a superhero to control time, it’s enough just to build a thought-through strategy.

So, here we go.

Include the Most Important Dates in Your Calendar

In the background of your mind, you should remember that you are working to cover your tuition costs. It means that studying comes first, and you need to start with building your studies schedule. Make sure that you include deadlines, important dates, and college events in your calendar. Set notifications, if necessary. By having all your college tasks centralized, you can be certain that you control the situation.  

Once you’re done, start building your working schedule around it. With a demonstrative plan at hand, you will see the time gaps between studies that can be fit for work.

Discuss Your Working Schedule

Whether you succeed in both fields or not depends greatly on your colleagues and management. It’s crucial that your build a good relationship with the team; otherwise, it will be hard to reach terms on your working schedule. You want to have their support in case you need to swap shifts or take a day-off to cram for an exam or visit an important school event.

To achieve this, don’t be afraid to use your negotiation skills, be open to communication, and ready to give something in return. It may mean that you would have to jump in when your colleagues need you or go above and beyond for your boss. 

Be Collected

Since time is your greatest issue from now on, you need to figure out how to use it wisely. Start with optimizing your classroom productivity. Once you master the skill of learning while listening, you’ll manage to significantly reduce the number of hours you spend cramming and memorizing the material after the class. It would require additional concentration and alertness but the result will come quickly. Jot down the most important information, be active throughout the lesson, and don’t lag behind with asking questions and clearing out inexplicit points.

The more productive you are in the classroom the more time you can vacate later. To cut the long story short, it’s a real life-savior for a working student.

Get Rid of Time-killers

Once you get down to your individual studies, you have to be fully focused to make the most of your learning. To avoid that, remove all the time-killers that may grab your attention in the process.

  • Set your smartphone to flying mode, or better leave it out of your room.
  • Tidy up your desk and leave only the things you need for your current work.
  • Stock up with water, coffee or tea, and some healthy and nutritious snacks to maintain your energy level.

Study while you feel productive but allow yourself to have short breaks every now and then to reboot and refresh. Switching between activities is a great way to let your brain fully recharge without wasting valuable time. One of the options is to do five-minute workouts between your studying sessions.

No matter how unfair it sounds, but you can’t afford to procrastinate from now on. At any cost, refrain from scrolling your social media feed and chatting with your pals.

Make Use of the Time Gaps

You might have moments when you are not 100% effective about your time. For example, when you are going to work, having a lunch break, or waiting in queues.

By using this time for studying or reading, you may vacate a decent part of your day and spend it with your dearest ones or take another working shift if you need extra money. No doubt that you need a hell of a skill to tune out the rest of the world and stay focused with all the fuss going around. However, once you master it, you’ll spare a lot of time and top your performance.

Learn to Delegate

In a world where there are more responsibilities than hours in a day, delegating is a crucial skill. It helps to save a lot of time and focus on the activities that really make a difference in your life.

According to a time management coach Kate Mitchell, there is no better time to master delegating than college. “You can throw a rock at me but I do recommend students to use custom coursework help in college,” says she.  “Time is an irretrievable resource. So, if you can have someone to help you make the most of it, go for it! Instead of staring into space trying to figure out what you have to do, go get a professional who can clear out the requirements, help with research, and give some writing tips. You need to come to terms that you can’t do everything yourself.”

After you take your time under control, soon enough you will see that there is still some room to have fun and enjoy your day. Don’t waste it though. Use it to sleep well, eat healthily, and have a rich social life.  

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