6 time management tips for busy students
‘Student’ and ‘good time management’ seem not to go together well for many students — I would know. Having studied full-time at university for a total of 6 years so far (with Leeds being my third institution), I have experienced both ends of the productivity spectrum.
In my early days as a university student my time management was non-existent. In short, I was getting managed by time. Work was only completed if doing an all-nighter(s) was the only option left.
After nearly missing a Master’s degree dissertation deadline things had to change big time! The full-blown bad habit could have cost me far more than simply missing an assignment deadline. During my pre-medical school gap year, I had to dive deep to learn about what it took to master time management and become the most productive I’ve ever been.
Here are some tips to help you manage your time better as a student.
1. Think long-term
We usually forget how far-reaching seemingly small consequences can be. We forget that procrastination, no matter how good it might feel when having fun, comes at a price. Leaving an assignment to the last minute and then somehow submitting on time (because you happened to escape the millions of things that could have gone wrong) feels like victory. But what you’ve done is developed a bad habit that could bite you in the backside later on.
I’ve had my fair share of close calls, including submitting through Turnitin bang-on a 3pm deadline and submitting a Master’s dissertation 5 minutes to the deadline (the sarcastic smile on the receptionist’s face, as he slowly turned his head towards the clock, was the final straw for me).
Think about the benefits of starting tasks, assignments or exam preparation early. Here are some of the benefits I’ve experienced: less stress, no extreme behaviour (unnecessary all-nighters, junk food binges in the run up to a deadline or make-or-break exam) and relationship maintenance. Also, not missing out on activities I want to do because of a nagging deadline.
You have to think far into the future about what consequences an action or lack of an action in the moment could lead to. Ask yourself: is the result of an action or inaction something you would feel good experiencing?
2. Do a time audit
How can you make changes to your time management if you have no idea about how you’re really spending your time? We tend to underestimate how much time we spend on certain activities. Completing a time audit will show you how much (or little) time you really spend on activities you should be doing and activities that serve more as mindless distractions.
When you get a true picture of your time use you can then make meaningful and measurable changes. Record whatever task you’re doing in 30-minute blocks based on categories (sleep, eating, lectures etc.) over a 24-hour period on one or more days of the week and one or both days of the weekend. Add up how much time you spent in each category and take an average of the number days you completed your audit on. Use this valuable data to make changes to achieve your study and recreation goals.
3. Use a calendar
Many students I’ve spoken to think that using a calendar is ‘too restrictive’ and removes spontaneity. I beg to differ. I can tell you that using a calendar has changed my [student] life. The degree of control I have of my days has given me the freedom I’ve always wanted. I decide beforehand precisely what I want to do with my time and weigh up what events, requests, invites etc. would be the best use of my time.
People respect my time much more too since they know my schedule is pre-planned. The most valuable thing you have as a student is time. You need to be in full control and decide what goes on at every hour of the day; you could be missing out on great opportunities to have a better student experience that could serve you long-after graduation. Attending too many unplanned events is how you lose control of your time.
Now, spontaneity does have its place (overplanning makes life too rigid), but this spontaneity needs to be scheduled in appropriately to ensure you have taken care of important business first before doing anything else. Treat every appointment with yourself as you would a doctor’s appointment; your future life really does depend on the actions you take today.
There is also that natural pressure that you put on yourself by having tasks scheduled in advance. By not keeping your word to yourself you let yourself down. There is a reason why you scheduled to work on a 500-word introduction of your essay at 11AM for 2 hours; if you didn’t get it started at that time you wouldn’t get it done later on in the day because ‘other stuff’ would take over. Before you know it the day ends and you have nothing to show for it. A calendar might just be what you need to break your procrastination habit. For me Google Calendar works well.
Just in case the above isn’t enough to convince you, consider this: why store details of meetings, deadlines etc. in your brain that you’re prone forget or not remember at the right time? Remember those meetings you missed or were late to because you forgot when they were happening? This doesn’t have to continue to be so! The calendar reminds you about the what? the when? and the how? when you need the information.
4. Use time limits and buffers
Setting time limits for tasks has been a game-changer for me. It is an effective way of eliminating procrastination even if temporarily. This strategy prevents me from getting distracted and puts pressure on me to beat the clock. Even if you don’t finish a task in the time, you’ll be amazed by how much work you’ll have completed.
Use a time buffer between lectures, tasks, meetings and placements etc. so if you still need to work on a task or don’t complete a task on time you will minimise or stop work eating into the time allocated for something else. Plus, you have the added benefit of clearing your mind and recharging before hammering on the next task and can prevent you from running late for the last bus before a 9AM lecture or a final-year exam. The time buffer serves as a safety measure.
5. Make the most of dead time
We all have time periods where there isn’t much going on: on a bus, waiting in a queue, cancelled lectures etc. While it’s tempting to just scroll through your social media feeds these rare and luxurious free time windows are perfect opportunities to exploit. This is especially true if you’re on a time-demanding course.
As a medical student dead time is very valuable so I have optimised my ability to make the most of this time. I use flashcard software that can be used on my laptop and synchronised with my smartphone. This means that when dead time comes up I can go through flashcards for a few minutes (or even a couple of hours) and these minutes add up over time. I use my Kindle to read books electronically and carrying a laptop means I can complete university work or keep on top of business on the go. This has really boosted my productivity and at the end of each day I have a smile on my face. Strategise and make the most of the pockets of time. The minutes really do add up.
6. Schedule your must-do work around fun activities
Many students struggle with finding a balance between work and play, it’s either all work or all play. Now, I understand why. Sometimes work is not enjoyable and we’d rather chill with friends and avoid work altogether or feel as if we’ll get so far behind with work if we just take a single day off. Over time either of the extremes can lead to a situation of feeling trapped.
Daniel Priestley, in his book Entrepreneur Revolution, discussed the importance of scheduling holidays or fun first. Why? It puts a healthy dose of pressure on you to get your work done to earn your place in relaxation.
To me, this is a fair exchange. Self-imposed deadlines are a great motivator as you know that you have a limited amount of time to get the job done. Mini-deadlines are very powerful because they can be used as milestones in a larger project and you reward yourself along the way. I prefer this to the deadline-induced panic that does nobody any favours but only stops you from having fun, especially when you’re having fun. It makes studying and assignments a painful experience and that misses the point of learning.
Scheduling work and play will help you do both to your heart’s content without the guilt.
Until next time.
