Poor time management has a lot of negative effects on learners in various institutions, who are aiming to make it high in their endeavors.
Most learners stress themselves by cramming upon themselves loads and loads of tasks in an endless fashion trying to accomplish so much, with nothing to actually give them a sense of purpose or direction.
Some learners even add certain extracurricular activities to their schedule which they themselves know are not worth their time, but for the sake of friends, they join such activities and they drain themselves mentally.
Well, hassle no more as on this blog, we will provide you with 11 smart ways to manage time as a student.
Time management; what is it ?
In simple terms, time management is the conscious effort to increase productivity by prioritizing needs over wants. Effective time management helps to reduce unnecessary stress and headaches. And as a student, you should try as much as possible to employ this technique in your academic pursuits.
Ways To Manage Time As a Student
Make Use Of App Blockers
App blockers are apps that are developed with the sole aim to increase the efficiency and productivity of people by restricting access to certain apps and most at times websites. Essentially, they guard you from distractions.
So when you find you can not really go by your own schedule, due to an app being a nuisance, consider using app blockers, they will limit your access to these ‘nuisance apps’.
These app blockers also help you to make schedules on the apps you use on daily basis and also they give you the chance to even blacklist and whitelist your apps just to your convenience.
It is important to know that, to make it more effective, they prevent you from uninstalling the apps by requesting you to add the apps to your device administrators. Thereby strengthening your resolve anytime you feel the need to have your way.
Do consider these; DISCLAIMER: we are by no means being sponsored by these apps, just an honest suggestion.
- Blocker Hero
- PawBlock
- NordVpn
- SurfShark CleanWeb and many more.
Set Clear Goals
One other way to get the most of your time is by setting clear and concise goals. Make sure before you venture into the next day, you have made a credible plan on what to do the night before. Doing so will serve as a roadmap for your activities, also keeping track of your objectives.
You should always know the tasks you need to accomplish the next day, as beginning a new day without knowing what you seek to accomplish is like a blind man walking through a gorge, ‘very dangerous’, because you would end the day with little to no accomplishments.
By setting goals, you provide yourself a clear purpose and a sense of direction. You must make sure to arrange your tasks by order of importance.
In the end you would have completed most of your tasks aside getting more precious time for yourself and other hobbies.
To set clear goals that are achievable, consider;
the tenses
- Writing them down
- Keeping a journal
- Being decisive
- Adding deadlines
Avoid Multitasking
When you multitask, you do two or more things at the same time. A typical scenario is when you are doing laundry and at the same time, reading a pamphlet, you can be said to be multitasking.
While multitasking can seem like a good use of your time because you are getting two or more things done at the same time, it prevents you from concentrating on the task at hand. So the more you do this, it hinders your progress, thereby slowing you down from completing your objectives.
Learning and doing other things at the same time prevents you from grasping what you are supposed to retain in your brain, thereby reducing your productivity as a student.
According to Professor Earl Miller, a neuroscientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, multitasking reduces productivity by a whole 40% which is quiet serious. Since our brains are not quite developed for multitasking, he believes multitasking can have untold damages to the brain.
These are some ways to avoid multitasking;
- Focus
- Stick to your priorities
- Be disciplined (very important)
- Use app blockers as much as possible or better switch or your phone.
Be Disciplined
Managing time as a student requires immense discipline, you may set clear and realistic goals as already discussed above, but without discipline you would find yourself going off the intended course.
When you employ discipline as a method to manage your time effectively, you realize that as time goes on, things get simpler and easier.
With discipline you are able boldly cancel out some activities you deem unfit on your routine, as well as build a strong personality as far as your studies are concerned. Discipline in time management has been proved to work both logically and scientifically.
Below are some ways you can inculcate discipline into your time management skills as a student;
- Learn to say no
- Reward yourself
- Divide and conquer with a clear mindset
- Know that mistakes are imminent
- Finally, acknowledge your weaknesses.
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Engage In Group Studies
Due to the fact that lessons are delivered by lectures in most educational institutions,they are done so in an almost hasty and carefree way, thereby prompting learners who do not want to fail, to force themselves to cover more topics frantically.
Since this form of teaching method ( lecturing ) is a cut-across delivery method, learners become stressed trying to grasp everything during lecture periods.
My dear brothers and sisters one smart way you can avoid this misfortune is by engaging in effective group studies, where each member in the group takes at least two topics each and mastering them through research and other means, all these on a deadline so that essentially the next time you meet, members of the group teach in turns.
By the time you realise, you would have finished a whole semester in a matter of a few weeks, saving yourself a lot of time.
For your group to be effective enough, consider these;
- Accept only serious members
- Use strict deadlines
- Immediately suspend lagging members, they will definitely be a liability.
- Finally seek out the help from outside when faced with bottlenecks.
Prioritize Quality Sleep
There is a saying in Ghana that literally translates to ‘sleep early, wake up early’.
One of the 12 smart ways to manage your time as a student is to make quality sleep your major priority. As quality sleeps is said boost cognitive abilities in students, it also keeps you from being a slow learner, thereby saving you the trouble of having to learn intensively once you are home.
If you are in the right shape mentally, you are able to grasp and remember what was taught in class. Hence your only concern after coming back home is to tackle your assignments.
As you are reading this post, it may be that you have no qualms about what you were taught in class and so all you may have to do is to just revise and then do your assignments. All because you make sure to prioritize quality sleep over all else.
In order to get the quality sleep you deserve, consider these;
- Avoid drinking too much water before bed
- Avoid social media before bed
- Do intensive workouts once you wake up every day; they are proven to actually induce quality sleep
- Finally and preferably sleep in the dark with good aeration ( do not try if you are actually scared of the dark )
Extricate Yourself From Useless Clubs
Now if you are the type who is fond of joining multiple clubs because you think it is cool, and you have friends in those clubs and such, I am personally not saying you should not join them, but for the sake of your academic excellence, you must develop the discipline to remove yourself from all those clubs and extracurricular activities that prevents you from achieving your academic dream.
They are real time wasters and although you may actually feel like they are getting you somewhere and of course some will, but then keep those that are extremely important in your schedule and the rest, just get them in the trash so that you can have time for your academic prowess.
As a student your main focus should be to ‘bag’ the A’s and B’s, any other thing is uncalled for.
Expect The Unexpected
Normally learners expect things to go through as planned but just like how life is, there are usually unexpected twists and turns that threaten to ruin our daily routine and it is okay, they can happen since you are not God, and definitely can not see or perhaps predict the future, plan for unexpected events and find ways and means and counter measures to deal with them.
After all, at the end of the day, we seek to get the most out of our time and so, if we fail to deal with petty mishaps, then i am afraid to say we have lost badly.
Therefore we must always be ready for the unknowns that may want to disrupt our plans. Basically, plan ahead.
Learn In Timeboxing
Timeboxing is a cut-across technique, meaning people from all endeavours apply this technique to their daily routines. It is used by business men, teachers, traders, almost people from all field use this method where objectives are arranged to be completed in specified time ranges. And in the case of you the student, you can actually save time by applying this smart technique.
‘How would you do it?’ One may ask.
Well, it is very simple, instead of wasting hours and hours reading a pamphlet or doing an assignment, you can actually set a time limit for the completion of a certain topic or assignment.
Time boxing helps learners to avoid procrastination aside guarding one against multitasking.
Preferably, you can choose to learn a certain number of pages for 30 minutes, say 15 pages. Gradually doing this will increase your productivity and efficiency. Thereby saving yourself more quality time, to do as you wish.
If you want to make use of timeboxing, consider;
- Paying attention to your journals
- Making use of your alarm or preferably your timer
- Monitoring your progress.
Be Accountable
One smart way of making the most of your time is by being accountable to yourself. Most at times people fail at being accountable to themselves hence I recommend making use of a friend or what we normally call an accountability partner.
These people are always there to keep you in check when you are going off the intended course. Why and how am I so sure?
I am sure because in a 2010 study by the American Society of Training and Development, it was found that people are more likely to achieve a goal if they commit to it with another person and that chance for success is a whopping 65% and it actually goes up to a whole 95% when they are being accountable to each other.
One thing to note however is, your accountability partner does not have to be in this with you. All you need is he or she should be able to hold you accountable whether or not you were able to achieve your objectives at the end of the day. And he or she may not necessarily be a friend. It could be that your accountability partner is your teacher, your mom, it could be essentially be anybody you deem fit.
Avoid Junk Foods
Wait! Let me explain. Due to most students being overly busy and not having enough time for themselves, they always resort to junk foods like burgers, chips, basically greasy foods.
What you need to know is, these foods slow down your brain power and and it’s ability to retain information and since we are focusing on saving as much time as possible in a smart way, junk foods are not the way to go.
You should actually invest at least 30 minutes of your time a day and a few ‘mula’ to cook yourself something more healthier, that will boost your brain power.
Advantages Of Managing Your Time As a Student
- It reduces stress
- You get more free time for other hobbies
- It helps you get things done
- And finally, it increases your self confidence.
In conclusion, time management is essential for students who are hell bent on achieving academic success. It is therefore a useful weapon one must utilize well in order to get the most of their day.
