College is an exciting time! With fresh faces, new things to see and do, interesting classes, and so much else, it’s easy to get lost in all of the different aspects of college life. Because of all this excitement, it’s easy to lose track of time and end up getting nothing done. With this comprehensive guide to managing your time in college, you can boost your productivity and get the most out of your college experience.
Setting Attainable Goals
In order to move forward in life, you need to have goals. Without goals, you’re little more than a ship stranded at sea without a compass or port to sail to. Eventually, that ship will either starve or capsize. With goals, you’re more like a driver with a destination, and you can choose the path you take to get there.
When setting goals, it’s important to start small and be realistic. Sure, maybe you want to be the king of the world someday, but if that’s your goal, no single thing that you do will seem significant in attaining that goal, and something that outlandish is probably not going to happen anyway. For that reason, it’s important to set attainable goals and break these goals up into smaller pieces.
Say, for example, that you want to end up on the dean’s list at the end of the coming semester. Great, but how are you going to get there? First off, you should determine what grade you’ll need in each class to get there, then set a goal to earn or exceed that grade.
After figuring that out, figure out what grade you need for each test and assignment and make a goal to meet those standards. From there, you can formulate a plan to get a good grade on each assignment and test by allocating your time in a way that boosts productivity and takes you towards your goals
Budgeting Your Time
You have a finite amount of time on earth, and each second wasted is gone forever. For this reason, it’s vital to make the most out of your time. As you go through life, you’ll find that there are fewer and fewer second chances and do-overs, and that’s often true of your time in college. With these tips to manage time for students, you can optimize your efficiency and see the best results. Here are some examples of major time-consuming activities and how you can approach them.
Clubs and Activities
Clubs and activities can help you boost your resume, make friends, learn valuable information, and broaden your horizons. Clubs are great, but don’t overdo it! You have to leave adequate time for sleep, study, and all of life’s everyday routines.
Be sure to record when your clubs meet, where they meet, how long they take, and how long your commute to and from your meeting will be. On top of that, account for the time that it takes to properly fulfill your responsibilities within the club. If you fail to do this, then you may be blindsided by the amount of time that this club takes, and you’ll either suffer from this strain, or you’ll let your organization down.
Necessary Everyday Routines
Realistically, how much time will it take you to get ready in the morning? How long is your typical commute or walk to class? What time should you wake up in the morning to adequately get ready and get to school?
These are all important questions to ask, and you need to be honest with your answers. While you may optimistically project that you can wake up, get ready, and get to school in 15 minutes, you have to ask yourself if that’s something that you could do every day? It’s ok if it’s not, but you have to be honest enough with yourself to account for the extra time that your routine may take.
There are many other time-consuming everyday activities that you will have to account for. Major examples include:
- Mealtimes
- Activities and clubs
- Chores
- Bedtime routine
- Sleep
That last one is extremely important. Without sleep, you are not at your best. Always budget extra time for these activities, and never skimp out on sleep in favor of other routines or necessities.
Studying and Homework
Even if you think that you’ll understand everything just fine, always budget ample time to study for each class. If you’re not working, treat studying as a full-time job. If you are working, still treat studying as a full-time job. With the help of productivity student planners, students should write down when they plan to complete an assignment and stick to that time. Consider using planner stickers to make your planning more creative.
If you’ve allotted a certain number of hours to your studies but feel that you’re done in half the time, use the remaining time to review your work and focus on your weaker points.
Work
Unfortunately, the scholarship or loan won’t be enough to pay the rent or put food in your belly, so you may have to get a job. To avoid letting your occupation overtake your studies, try to find a job that is flexible with students. Always account for your time traveling to and from work, and construct your week’s schedule as soon as you receive your work schedule.
Social Life
A healthy social life is important, but don’t let it take precedence over your academic achievement and productive endeavors. It’s fine to have an occasional drink, and it’s also fine to go out and take some extra time to relax. It’s only when this behavior dominates your life and infringes on your success that it’s no longer okay.
If you want to maximize your productivity but need a vibrant social life, there are plenty of ways to blend the two. Study groups, student organizations, volunteering, and professional organizations are all great ways to meet people and make friends while also bringing you closer to your academic and career goals.
Remember, you’re at college to better yourself, and that should come before anything else. In order to avoid spending too much time focusing on your social life, use outings and social experiences as a reward for doing well on a test or achieving a certain academic endeavor.
If you write this kind of reward system down, it’ll help cement your goals and provide some positive short-term incentives to achieve them.
Your Wellbeing
Academic achievement and career success are some key goals, but happiness is the ultimate goal. Don’t forget to schedule a time for things that will make you legitimately happy. You shouldn’t necessarily miss out on going back home to see your friends and family for the holiday just because you think you could study a bit more.
If you’re unhappy, it will drag all of your other efforts down, so don’t put your happiness on hold. Furthermore, devote adequate time to your physical and mental health. Scheduling physical activity at least a few times per week will work wonders for your happiness and mental function.
Learn How to Study in College
You’ll be spending a lot of time studying, so you may as well make the most out of that time. It’s important to identify and understand your academic strengths and weaknesses, and from there, you can formulate your study habits in a way that addresses those weaknesses and makes use of those strengths.
Furthermore, other students, professors, and support staff can help you out. Another great resource is https://getlifeyoudesire.com/. They have a ton of tips to manage time for students and plenty of products that can help you streamline your productivity.
A professional writer with over a decade of incessant writing skills. Her topics of interest and expertise range from health, nutrition and psychology.