Simple and Effective Time Management Tips for Students

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Are you a high school student? Are you a college or university student? Or perhaps you are a full-time worker who is currently seeking to upgrade your skillset with new knowledge? Whatever your background is, here you are, studying, as a student, while you are squeezed in between responsibilities and things you have to do. And the sad thing is that it seems time is not on your side! ⏰ You feel like you are always running out of time, and you wish you could get more of it. Does this sound familiar to you?

If yes, well, you are not alone. I was there, too. 🙋‍♀️ I will share some of the tips and tricks I got regarding time management as both a full-time worker and a master degree student in this post. But before we get down to the list, do not forget to like ❤️👍 this post and subscribe 🔔 as this will help the channel grow! Also, feel free to share this link with anyone who might also struggle with time management.

With that being said, let's get down to the how-to!

Time is like money. If we waste it, we will not have it when we need it. Also, every human being has 24 hours of possession at hand - no matter what background or location we come from. On the other hand, if we budget our time, we will have some spare time to do what we enjoy! Hence, managing our time will give us more freedom, not less.

“Go on walking in wisdom . . . , making the best use of your time.” — Apostle Paul.

In the previous post, have shared how time-blocking our workload can help us better manage time. But how do we time block our schedule effectively? Here are three tips on how to arrange simple and effective time management as students:

1. Priority-based Separation

Parkinson found that "work expands to fill the time available for its completion" or "work expands to fill the time that we allocate to it," which refer to the fact that as the length of time dedicated to a task became shorter, the job became more straightforward and easier to solve. However, even simple tasks increased in complexity to fill up their time (Abdaal, 2020). Based on this, if we squeeze up the priorities within a strict set amount of time, chances are we be more likely to finish it sooner than if we do not categorize them based on their importance 📈

When making priority-based separation, ask ourselves these five questions:

• What needs to be done today?

• What can be procrastinated until tomorrow?

• If I procrastinate, will I be doing it while in a panic and rushed?

• Which tasks are not so important (if I do not do it, nobody dies, and my conscience will not blame me mercilessly) and I can cross out from my to-do list?

• Which tasks are essential (if I do not do it, someone will be terribly angry with me and I will regret not doing it much) and I have to do it soon?

For example, washing clothes is an important task to do, but nobody will die, and my conscience will not accuse me of being a lazy bum if I pay the laundry next door $5 to clean my clothes for me. Rather than spending 3 hours washing, ironing, and folding the clothes all by myself, I can now spend 3 hours tending my website, doing my research, or doing other things I must do and only I can do for myself (StudyLink, 2010).

2. Power Recognition

I only have one body, and so do you, and we are humans, not machines; hence we need time to rest and recharge every now and then. As much as we want to tackle the entire tasks in our universe with our willpower, the truth is, our body has not had enough strength to do everything all at once 💪 Force our body to pass its limit without enough eating nor resting. We will definitely go sick, or worse, dead. Hence, we need to recognize our power, be balanced and realistic (JW, 2014).

When making power recognition, ask ourselves these five questions:

• Which task I can only do on my own?

• Which tasks I can delegate to someone who can do it for me?

• How long will it take me to finish this task without being distracted?

• Which job requires my total concentration, and which I can auto-pilot doing without overthinking?

• Does my body chronotype allow me to be more efficient in the morning, noon or night?

For instance, I am an early bird; thus, I automatically wake up almost every 05;30 AM every day, even without an alarm clock. I try to spend the first two hours self-growth, such as reading books or listening to podcasts. Then, I try to finish my crucial work in L&D or doing my master's degree assignments before 05;00 PM at the latest. After sunset, I make arrangements to do activities that require only light concentration, such as journaling or drawing sketches. I also use this time to relax, tend my garden, groom my dogs, or bond with friends and family.

3. Positive Productivity

Research has found that the brain limits its processing, as it has a limited number of attention channels, and it can only make sense of one sensory signal at a time. The more concentration a task requires, the less room it has for anything else (Eyal & Li, 2019, pp. 124-125). As Abdaal (2020) suggested, we cannot be productive unless we pour out enough concentration into doing something, so we are encouraged to focus on a single task rather than multitask.

However, suppose you are a hyperactive person like me. In that case, there is a trick to multitask and still be positively productive ⭐ the key is to combine two activities that use different senses. For example, if our eyes and hands are driving, our ears and brain can still make sense of the podcast we are hearing. This way, we can use our time more effectively.

Nonetheless, do not feel obliged to multitask if you cannot. This is the core essence of positive productivity🎯 As stated earlier, we are all humans, and we need time to relax and unwind; we need not be multitasking and productive in every second we live if that brings us stress rather than happiness. When making positive productivity, ask ourselves these five questions:

• Do I really have to do this? Or can I neglect this?

• If this is the last day I live, will I be doing it happily without any regret?

• Can I do other valuable things rather than doing this?

• How much time did I spend on actually doing this rather than being distracted?

• Am I happy enough when I am doing this?

When I was in senior high school, I spent my weekends either sleeping or going shopping malls with friends and family, and I was happily productive in making social life. And it was alright! But now, I prefer spending my time waking up early on weekends, doing community service, writing my blogs, finishing my master assignments, chatting with friends virtually, and enjoying a good book while sipping coffee. And I am happily productive in building my self-growth 🌿

So, priority-based separation, power recognition, and positive productivity are my personal tips about time management ⏰ Hope this helps!💕 How about you? What time management tips do you usually implement in your life? Please feel free to share in the comment section!

Reference(s):

Abdaal, A. (2020, April 12). The Principles of Productivity (Not Overthinking). Ali Abdaal; Ali Abdaal. https://aliabdaal.com/the-principle-of-productivity/

Eyal, N., & Li, J. (2019). Indistractable: How to control your attention and choose your life. Bloomsbury Publishing.

JW. (2014, February). How to Invest Your Time Wisely. JW.ORG. https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/g201402/invest-your-time-wisely/

StudyLink. (2010, December 23). Can you work and study… and still have a life? StudyLink. https://studylink.com/articles/can-you-work-and-study-and-still-have-a-life/