Time Management Tips for College Students

As a college student, one of the most important skills to have is time management. If you can’t effectively manage your time, you stand little to no chance at succeeding, regardless of the school you attend. Unfortunately, effectively managing your time is much easier said than done. Read on to discover our best time management tips for college students!

Set Clear and Attainable Goals

Oftentimes, college students tend to think they can bite off more than they can chew, and this typically leads to more problems than solutions. That’s why it is critical you set clear and attainable goals. Setting unclear or unattainable goals will likely result in you becoming overwhelmed with work and stressed out. Our recommendation is to sit down once a week and determine what you want to get done, when you want to get it done, and how long it’s going to take. Doing so will provide you with a clearer understanding of how much time you have throughout the week and help you determine whether or not you can afford to go out with your friends on any given night.

Only Focus on One Task at a Time

Although you may think you are a great multitasker, it’s important to recognize that if you want something done efficiently, you need to be focusing on one thing at a time. Multitasking is an easy way to make mistakes and to not complete any given task to the best of your ability. Stay focused on one task at a time, put all of your effort into it, and once it has been completed to the best of your ability, move on to the next assignment.

Take Breaks

When you have multiple tasks to complete, it can be easy to want to just sit down in one spot for several hours and complete all of them ASAP. However, this isn’t something we would recommend, especially if you have many hours’ worth of tasks because it will compromise your work. For example, let’s assume you have three projects due in one day, each of which takes roughly 2.5 hours to complete. It’s nearly impossible to sit down for 7.5 consecutive hours and complete all of them to the best of your ability without taking a break. What usually ends up happening is you get so burnt out, you rush through some parts of the project and therefore are not putting 100 percent effort into them. To avoid this, take breaks. Go for a walk, listen to some music, watch an episode of your favorite TV show. Doing so will reset your brain and ensure you’re putting full effort into each and every one of your assignments.