Trying to balance your time can be a real pain in the you-know-what! Especially for students like you, who have a million and one things to get done and hardly any time to do them.
But giving up is not the solution. Instead, let's look at some easy to implement strategies and time management tools that will help you make the most of the time you already have available and also create some more free time for you.
Tip number one - create and use to-do lists. It might sound obvious, but the first step in getting things done is actually creating a list of the things you want done! How often do you try to avoid writing lists and instead just try to remember the stuff you have to get done off the top of your head? Some people are perennial list makers. But some people never make them at all. If you want to use your time wisely you need to use lists. So use numbers or letters to distinguish between your top priorities and your low priorities (for example number from 1-10 or letter from A-J) and make sure you are very specific in each to-do item (vague to-do items only lead to more procrastination and more time management challenges!)
Tip number two - actually prioritize your tasks. Going to back to tip one, you should understand which tasks always come first and which tasks can always be put off. Think of them in terms of air, water and food. You can last seconds without air, days without water and weeks without food. So how quickly will you die if you don't do the task? That should help you clear up the priority level of the taskand also creep you out a bit.
Tip number three - lower your expectations. We all want to shoot for the stars - but don't put unreasonable pressure on yourself for no good reason. If you're taking too much on and it's taking too long because your expectations are way too high (for example, if you believe that nothing less than an A+ average for all your subjects is the only acceptable standard) then as soon as you slip under that extremely high standard a major meltdown will occur. So be committed to your ambition but not attached to every single outcome. If you are, you will spend way too much time focusing on things that don't always matter.
Tip number four - take regular breaks. It seems to make sense that if you work for 5 hours straight you will get 5 hours of work done. But the problem is that after an hour or so your brain will have turned to mush and a quick freshen up is required. So after 5 hours of non-stop study you will probably be in a catatonic state where you thinking running around your house peeing on "your territory" sounds like a good idea. Instead of that, a ten minute break every hour will really help your batteries to recharge and your mind to rejuvenate itself. Go for a walk, have a chat to someone, listen to some music or grab a cup of java, but whatever you do, stay away from the cat bowl!
Tip number five - focus on one thing at a time. When you focus on multiple things at once there is a strong tendency to start all tasks but get nothing completed. Not only that, but your work also tends to be of a lesser quality because you are not focusing. That is a poor use of time. Just complete the tasks one after the other in a sequence and you'll find that things get completed quicker and with more awesomeness.
But giving up is not the solution. Instead, let's look at some easy to implement strategies and time management tools that will help you make the most of the time you already have available and also create some more free time for you.
Tip number one - create and use to-do lists. It might sound obvious, but the first step in getting things done is actually creating a list of the things you want done! How often do you try to avoid writing lists and instead just try to remember the stuff you have to get done off the top of your head? Some people are perennial list makers. But some people never make them at all. If you want to use your time wisely you need to use lists. So use numbers or letters to distinguish between your top priorities and your low priorities (for example number from 1-10 or letter from A-J) and make sure you are very specific in each to-do item (vague to-do items only lead to more procrastination and more time management challenges!)
Tip number two - actually prioritize your tasks. Going to back to tip one, you should understand which tasks always come first and which tasks can always be put off. Think of them in terms of air, water and food. You can last seconds without air, days without water and weeks without food. So how quickly will you die if you don't do the task? That should help you clear up the priority level of the taskand also creep you out a bit.
Tip number three - lower your expectations. We all want to shoot for the stars - but don't put unreasonable pressure on yourself for no good reason. If you're taking too much on and it's taking too long because your expectations are way too high (for example, if you believe that nothing less than an A+ average for all your subjects is the only acceptable standard) then as soon as you slip under that extremely high standard a major meltdown will occur. So be committed to your ambition but not attached to every single outcome. If you are, you will spend way too much time focusing on things that don't always matter.
Tip number four - take regular breaks. It seems to make sense that if you work for 5 hours straight you will get 5 hours of work done. But the problem is that after an hour or so your brain will have turned to mush and a quick freshen up is required. So after 5 hours of non-stop study you will probably be in a catatonic state where you thinking running around your house peeing on "your territory" sounds like a good idea. Instead of that, a ten minute break every hour will really help your batteries to recharge and your mind to rejuvenate itself. Go for a walk, have a chat to someone, listen to some music or grab a cup of java, but whatever you do, stay away from the cat bowl!
Tip number five - focus on one thing at a time. When you focus on multiple things at once there is a strong tendency to start all tasks but get nothing completed. Not only that, but your work also tends to be of a lesser quality because you are not focusing. That is a poor use of time. Just complete the tasks one after the other in a sequence and you'll find that things get completed quicker and with more awesomeness.
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