My name is Annie Hailey, and I am a Senior here at Tarleton, I have had three years of experience when it comes to time management. My freshman year I learned early on that having a planner and being able to check things off makes a huge difference. I would fill my planner up with every single assignment, exam, holiday, day off, and weekend trip so I knew exactly what I had planned. This worked really well for me until covid hit during spring break of my freshman year. After that I was very lazy my sophomore year and relaxed too much. Soon my grades started to drop, and I knew I needed to get back on track. Since then, I have been back to writing everything down and staying on top of all my work. If I could give any advice to incoming students, it would be to find a perfect balance between your schoolwork and enjoying college life.
Your first year at college is new and exciting. You will want to get involved with organizations and participate in all of the activities around campus. Throughout this time in your college career, you might lose sight of why you are really here, college education. Having the skills to prioritize schoolwork while still experiencing college life will prepare students for the real world after college. Below are some helpful tips to manage your time here in college:
Write down all assignments and exams
Get a planner and write all important dates and deadlines in your planner! You’ll easily see what assignments or exams are coming up. This will give you a plan for your week and to get it done before the due date in case you have other things to do.
Make a set routine
Creating a routine establishes good time management practices. This also ensures reducing uncertainty in your daily schedule. Making the library your new best friend will create a habit of making sure you get your work done. Having a set routine and following through with it will be a great skill to use after college. During my Junior year I was working and had a full load of classes while also wanting to workout. I set a routine where I would wake up an hour and a half before my first class of the day and get my workout in. After that I showered, ate, and headed to class. At the end of my day, I would go to work for about five hours and then come home to do homework. This schedule worked great for me because it gave me plenty of time to do everything I wanted.
Limit potential distractions
In college there are plenty of distractions to take your focus away from school work and other priorities. Some distractions might be as simple as trying to study in your room and the best way to improve this situation is to go to the library or a quiet study room. Changing locations can make a difference in how you understand the content of your study materials.
Stay organized
Avoiding clutter in your personal space and school work can be a huge factor in saving time throughout the week. You know that panicked feeling when you have an assignment due the next morning and you can’t find it? Storing homework, exams, notes, and extra files in a separate binder for each class will make finding what you need easier. A clean and tidy space also improves productivity.
Learn how to say NO
As a new student everything is exciting and you want to be involved in all the fun stuff. However, saying “yes” to going out all the time with friends and participating in activities can interfere with school work. Learning how to say “no” to a social invitation is perfectly normal. The people around you should understand the importance of school and that sometimes you just can’t go out with them. Try to find a good balance that works best for you between school and friends.
Including these tips into your daily life at college will help improve your time management and prepare you for life after college. Some of these might be difficult at the beginning but setting a good routine to follow the tips above will surely set you on the right track to success. These tips sure helped me when I was adjusting to college life, and I hope they help you too!
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