Is there anything you can do when it comes to
time management in college?
If you're like I was, you often complain that
there is never enough time to get all of your work done. You have so much to do
and not enough time to do it. If you wish you had more time...
The advice on this page will completely change your life.
Time management is such an important concept.
It is very seldom taught in schools. The beauty of time management is that once
you master it, you can apply it to both college and your career.
There is probably no better way to improve your
grades in college then using your time effectively.
How To Do It
It starts with buying a planner. It doesn't
matter what kind of planner you get as long as you get one. You can easily pick
one up at your college bookstore or Wal-Mart for under $5.
It's vital that you get one.
After that, write down everything you need to
get done the next day. Make sure you write out this list the night before.
Don't wait until the morning to do it.
After you have created your list, organize this
list in order of importance.
A very common way to do this is the
number-letter system. Put number one for your most important task. Put two next
to your second most important task. And so on.
Your number one list is your ultimate
priorities. These are the things that you simply have to do. An example of this
might be homework that is due the following day.
Your number two list is the list of items that
would be nice to get done but aren't necessarily mandatory. An example of this
might be working on a paper that is due a week from now.
Then there is the number 3 list. These items
are completely optional. It's no big deal if you don't get a C list item done.
Here is the secret to doing this. When you wake
up, immediately get started on your first listed item. Don't check your e-mail,
watch the television or any other time waster that you have done in the past.
Get to work on that most important item as soon
as you get up.
You may wake up and not be in the mood to do
this task. But you simply must get in the habit of doing it. It takes a few
weeks to make this habit permanent.
After you complete your task 1 move on to your
task 2. Then go down the list until all of your tasks are completed.
If you are confused at all, here is an example
of what you might write:
- Finish Science Homework
- Write English Paper
- Study for Math Test that's tomorrow
- Do Mathhomework that's due in 3 days
- Study for Science Test that's in a few days
- Write my friend an email
As you can see, it's much more important to get
your A-list done on your B list. Make sure you never do a B item before an A
item.
For this, to work you have to work on your most
important tasks first!
It's also important to get in the habit of
finishing the task. For some reason, humans have the habit of getting 95% of
the job done and putting off finishing it until later.
Don't let yourself do this anymore.
If you wrote a paper, don't wait to proofread
and spell check which later. Get it completely done and print it out. Have it 100%
done and ready to turn in.
Why Should I Do This
If you can get in the habit of writing down
everything you need to do the night before, you dramatically increase the
likelihood that you will do it!
There's something about writing your tasks down
on paper that motivates you to do them more.
And when you always do the most important tasks
first, you sometimes won't need to do some of the B and C list items that you
wrote down.
It's amazing how often you work or study for
something in college that you didn't need to do. You can avoid this by making
sure you do the things that you know you are going to have to do.
As far as getting things 100% done, this is
another very important habit to get into. Something magical happens to you when
you have just completed a difficult excitement.
The harder the assignment, the better you will
feel once you get it finished. However, you only get this feeling if you do
100% of the assignment. It won't work if you only do 95%.
You can use this emotion and great feeling onto
your next task. You will find yourself much more motivated to work on the next
task and every other task to come.
What Else Can I Do?
There is fuel other things you can do to have
better time management in college. You can always increase the speed at which
you do things.
You can start by walking faster to and from
class. This can save you 10-15 minutes a day if you go to a large college where
the classes are far apart.
Try to do everything that you do quicker and
with a sense of urgency.
Moving at a faster rate will save you time. But
more importantly, it will get you in the mindset of getting tasks done as quickly
as possible.
Think about your day and how you can save time.
Think about all the bad habits that you do that wastes your time every day. Try
your best to immediately get rid of those bad habits.
Follow all of the advice on this page, and you
will be completely amazed at how much more you get done every day. And you
won't just be staying busy; you will be getting quality work done.
Comments
Post a Comment