Time Management for Students


Sandglass

  • What is Time Management?

    3
  • Strategies to Help Manage Your Time

    4
  • Create a Routine

    5
  • Prioritize

    6
  • Use Planners or Checklists

    7
  • Eliminate Distractions

    8
  • One Thing at a Time

    9
  • Break Down Large Tasks

    10
  • Take Breaks

    11
  • Wrap Up

    12
  • References

    13


Question Mark

What does it mean to manage your time?

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, time management is the practice of using the time that you have available in a useful and effective way (Cambridge Univ. Press, n.d.). As a student that means setting time aside for homework, studying, and extracurricular activities.



Students Clip Art

Strategies to Help Manage Your Time More Effectively

There are many strategies to try to help better manage your time. Some strategies that will be discussed in this book are: creating a routine, prioritizing tasks, using planners and checklists, focusing on one assignment at a time, and breaking down large tasks.


Create a Routine

One way to get into the habit of managing your time is to get into a daily routine. This means creating a schedule for your day (IRIS, 2013).  For example, after school you may schedule in “homework time”, where you set aside a specific time that you work on homework every day.


Schedule


Important

Prioritize

It’s important to prioritize tasks and assignments (William, 2013). What makes sense to get done first? Factors to consider while prioritizing assignments are when the assignments are due, how long an assignment may take, and how difficult an assignment may be.



Check List

Use Planners or Checklists

Using planners or checklists can be extremely helpful with time management (IRIS, 2013). You are less likely to forget about a task (William, 2013), and once a task is complete you can cross it off and see your progress. Making a list of tasks to do in order (see page Prioritize) will further help you stay organized and crossing out completed assignments can be exciting and motivating!



No Phones

Eliminate Distractions

This means turn off your phone and log out of social media while you are working on homework. Multitasking can reduce the quality of your work and “according to a study published by the American Psychological Association, you actually spend between 20 and 40 percent more time when you multitask” (William, 2013, par. 6).


Focus on One Assignment at a Time

Remember the study on multitasking? That counts here too. Seeing everything you have to do written down in a list may feel overwhelming. Focusing on one thing at a time will help you complete the assignment more efficiently and effectively (10 Time…, 2018).


One


Break Down Large Tasks

Large assignments, like projects, will need more time to complete. If your teacher hasn't already done this for you it is a good idea to break down the project into smaller tasks with their own separate due dates (10 Time..., 2018). A parent could help with this. That way you can stay on top of all of your work without getting overwhelmed or needing to pull an all-nighter at the last minute. Your work will also most likely be higher quality.



Take Breaks

Most people can’t sustain working long hours on end without sacrificing quality. It is beneficial to take breaks between tasks (William, 2013). Try working for 30 minutes, then taking a 5 minute walk, get a snack, or just chill. Set a timer to stay on track.


In this book we talked about strategies that will help students manage their time better. We talked about creating a routine, using a planner, prioritizing assignments and tasks, getting rid of distractions, focusing on one thing at a time, breaking down large tasks, and taking breaks.

Now it’s time for you to try out some of these strategies for yourself!



References

The IRIS Center. (2013). Study Skills Strategies (Part   2):Strategies that Improve Students’ Academic Performance. Retrieved from https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/ss2/

William, D. K. (2013, June 20). 10 Proven Time Management Skills You Should Learn Today. Retrieved from https://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/10-proven-time-management-skills-you-should-learn-today.html

10 Time Management Tips For Students. (2018, January 11). Retrieved from https://gradepowerlearning.com/10-time-management-tips-students/