Time Management and Students

Good time management and students' effectiveness go hand in hand. Download this time management sheet and eliminate time-wasters such as procrastination. Improve your grades with less stress.

Are you stressed about what you have to do?

Do you want study effectively and get high marks?

Are you looking to overcome procrastination?

Do you want to get a better balance in your student life?

Poor time management and students' stress levels are highly correlated.

Leaving assignments till the last minute and cramming the night before your big exam are not conducive to students getting good grades.

If you are looking for a way to achieve good grades with less stress then we may have something for you.

Many students know they have alot on their plate and often their response is to just work harder!

But there is a better way and that is to work smarte, not necessarily work harder.

How do you do this?

It is about using your time better and putting into place effective study techniques.

You can't fix something until you can identify it

Students have busy lives.

Balancing your social life with study and other extra-curricular activities is a challenge.

It is stressful being a student with so much to do - and you need good time management skills to be successful.

But how do you know if you have good time management skills?

Often a good place to start using your time better is to collect objective data on your time use.

This is done through a time management log.

A time management log is simply a record of how you use your time.

The benefits of doing this 5 minutes a day for a week can identify how you can reap the benefits of time management .

A time management for students log identifies:

• areas in which you are wasting your time
• triggers that lead to these time-wasters
• time that you spend on low priority tasks
• areas of your life in which you can use your time more effectively.

Instructions for filling out your time management for students log

After you have downloaded your time management log, follow these instructions:

1. Write down each activity. When you start an activity write down the activity (as accurately as you can) and the time started.
2. Enter the priority. If it is important then the activity has an A priority. Your most important activities should align with your student goal setting activities.

   If it is somewhat important it has a B priority.

   If it is not important then it is a C.

3. Identify urgent tasks. For urgent tasks, put a star next to the priority.

   For example, phone calls, cramming for exams, or interruptions would have a * next to them.

4. Comment on each action. The more detailed the better.

   How could the action be improved or what was your energy level?

   Treat this as a challenge as it can be hard work.

5. Keep the time log for a few days and try to keep it for your entire day.

Time management and students' effectiveness start with planning and conducting a student time log of your activity.

Using the time management log to boost effectiveness

How are you using time?

By keeping a time management log you probably identify a few areas in which you may improve your student time management.

Putting your time use under the microscope highlights how you can further boost your effectiveness.

Time Management and Students Activity With your time management log, calculate how much time you spend doing top priority activities. Are you doing them under stress or are you methodical and planned? Examine your time usage through the lens of the time management for students matrix. If you want to reduce stress and plan more, I talk more about the benefits of student planners to boost effectiveness.

A Time Management and Students Story

Joanne was busy and stressed.

With exams the following week and assessments due, she was keen to improve her time management.

Joanne didn't know where to improve her time management, but knew that something just had to change.

I got Joanne to fill out a time management log for three days.

She was amazed at the results - she was spending 2 hours a day on Facebook and talking to friends for another 90 minutes - each and every day!

While she loved Facebook and also a good chat with friends, with exams the following week and assessments piling up, this probably was not a good use of her time.

We identified other areas and triggers that lead to Joannes procrastination.

Joanne used a number of college time management tips to reduce stress and improve her time management.

She was able to identify all the distractions that interrupted her study. She was amazed that she spent this much time on things not related to her study.

Joanne set a goal to reduce her time on the phone and the time spent watching TV.

We also identified other distractions (namely the phone and the automatic notification on her email) and managed them so that she could study without being interrupted.

I talk more about managing email with these tips on email-etiquette.