Overview:

Time management for college students, simple tips, and apps that help are covered in this article. A well-known quote states that ‘ Time and tide wait for none.’ It is true in every aspect. The time we have is limited. It is in our hands to manage our responsibilities and yes it is not easy. Here are a few tips to help college students, manage their time efficiently.

Each of us has the same 24 hours in a day. Whether we’re gonna spend time developing ourselves, or with our loved ones, or finish our to-do list, or relax; depends on us.

Time management for college students

Planning ahead helps you get things done sooner. As a result, you will have a lot of free time in your hands. Here are some tips to finish your deadlines on time, get ready for exams, and at the same time to have some me-time.

Some tips for time management for college students are as follows

1. Divide & succeed

Split up bigger projects, similar to research papers, field studies, and finals. Breaking your work into easy small parts does the trick. And divide the task into the appropriate number of days. Adding a little extra time once in a while is needed to get the work done. 

2. Find distractions and Set goals

We get distracted easily. Identify what diverts you from what you’re working on.

• Are you passing way too much time using social media?
• Are you used to texting and responding to calls in between studying?
• Do you find yourself whiling away your time aimlessly browsing the web?

Whatever is making you keep your work away is something that you need to avoid. Keep a study time if not whenever you are studying, keep away whatever might cause distraction. Set a few goals and use these distractions as rewards.  

3. Establish Routines

Following a routine helps you get many things done. When is your home the quietest? Use that time to study regularly. The more frequently you do this, the fewer the number of tasks you have to finish later.

4. Plan Ahead (To-Do List)

Identify what you need to do, and then complete the tasks based on the due time. This gives you a set plan for the day. Having a plan will assure you what to do and when.

Except for urgent reasons, it’s important to do work dependant on your mood.

• Do you feel creative? Then focus on writing an assignment.
• Do you feel fresh & have good concentration? You can study for an exam.

5. Learn to Delegate

Your loved ones or roommates can’t study for you. Request them to help out doing chores while you’re studying. This will help you stay focused on studying. You can also use this time as a relaxing time.

6. Start to learn with little things

Seeing a large portion to learn or write frustrates us. As a result, we procrastinate. Starting with small to-do tasks and then on to larger ones does the trick.

• What tasks take less time to finish?
• What needs more time?

7. One at a Time

A study by the University of London showed that those who multitask see a decline in their IQ. It applies to those who didn’t sleep the night before. You’ll be less productive if u try multitasking.

To prevent multitasking, ask yourself:

• What are your common diversions? (Email, social media, electronics, etc.)
• Can you turn off the devices?

Turn off all the devices. Don’t jump to another task before it is complete. This is a little hard habit to stop, but it’s worth it.

8. Time Off

Taking time for yourself is important. Long study/work sessions drain you out. So, give your brain a rest. The National Institutes of Health gathered from various studies about the effects of meditation. The effects of stress-induced conditions are back pain, irritable bowel syndrome, and insomnia. A study also states that meditation makes the brain’s ability to process information more efficiently.

9. Use Breaks Smartly

The time between work & other activities can be used to finish tasks. Many use the Pomodoro Technique, to work in short intervals and take short, regular, timed breaks. For example, you use a timer to work for 25-minutes, followed by 5-minute breaks. Once it is the fourth 25-minutes take a longer break. Then repeat this once again. This method has been proved beneficial for many.

10. Be practical & flexible

Spend 8-10 hours a day working, studying, socializing, and anything else useful you need to do. As a student, you need to spend 35 hours a week on university studies. This includes the time you spend in seminars and lectures. So even if you have a tutor, make sure to use the remaining time for self-study and other tasks.

Sometimes it takes longer than needed to finish the task. So, it is alright to take some extra time.

11. Exercise to clear your head

Here’s a shocking fact, exercise helps the same way sleep does. This aids in focusing and also clearing your head. 

If you’re new to exercise, try to fit in a 10-minute run, regularly increase the amount you do as you go on. 

12. Avoid procrastination

Take time to figure out the things that lead to procrastination. Try to make studying and doing your work enjoyable. And do note that the same method might not work out for everyone.

For some, studying with friends can limit their productivity. But for others, group study aids to increase motivation and avoid procrastination.

13. Attend all the classes & do your homework

Attending classes and staying attentive helps you a lot. It helps as you can take notes to revise later. But when you miss a class it leads to you skipping that lesson.

No one might be monitoring you like on school days. But make sure you’re doing your homework regularly. Reading a lesson in advance, prepping for quizzes & memorizing on a week-by-week basis helps cut down on overall study time. 

16. Practice focusing. 

This generation is prone to getting your content in 20-seconds. But college is not Tik Tok or reels. Whether in the lecture, the reading, or for the exams you need to stay attentive. 

So, learn to focus without breaks for 15- to 20-minute units. It is hard to reprogram your brain. But doing so will prevent having difficulty learning or focusing in general.

Time management for college students – Apps

To create to-do lists:

• Do–This app keeps your to-do lists and calendar in one location and syncs between devices and platforms.
• Remember the Milk–This app helps you manage to-do lists across multiple devices and users

To increase productivity:

• RescueTime–This app runs in the background of your desktop computer or smartphone. This tracks how much time you spend on various sites and apps, and then reports back. You can use this information to change your browsing habits.
• Toggle–Use this free web-based time-tracking app to create tasks and then track the time you spend on them, so you can see where your time is going and adjust if needed.
• Freedom–Reduce distractions and improve productivity with this app that blocks websites and apps on your smartphone/desktop computer.

To set goals:

• Learn how to set SMART goals—those that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
• Learn more about goal setting from The Balance.

Conclusion:

Reading articles & hearing podcasts is easy but to actually follow it is hard. Take one step at a time and start practicing these methods. We might mess up at first, but don’t let that discourage you and give up this habit. Ask your friends for help. Get your daily dose of motivation from podcasts,  affirmations, hand-made post-its, etc… As this quote says, ‘Success is the sum of small efforts.’ Let us use the time we have wisely, take care & try our best.