For many students, it is very difficult to cope with the hectic workload. Challenging tasks and limited deadlines may lead to stress, anxiety, and frustration. You have to work hard to turn in well-written papers.
You may reasonably wonder “What do I have to do to improve my academic results without compromising my personal life?” The solution is pretty simple. You just need to boost your time management skills. They will help you organize your working schedule, as well as prioritize your tasks. If you learn to plan ahead and set deadlines for your assignments, you will optimize your studying process. In particular, you will become more confident, organized, and self-disciplined.
In our article, we have collected many time management tips that will help you become more productive. Follow our guidelines and you will get a great chance to improve your academic performance.
How to Manage Your Time? Handy Tips
Tip 1. Set clear deadlines and goals.
Sticking to deadlines is an integral part of success no matter what you are doing. Missing the deadlines allocated often leads to failures. Those students, who never miss deadlines set by their tutors, receive better grades.
First and foremost, you need to understand the goals of your assignments. If you cannot figure out why your professors assigned a particular task to you, you will find it difficult to do it. Also, you need to create a list of tasks and decide which ones you have to do first.
Many students use weekly planners where they write their short-term goals, such as preparation for exams, reviewing lectures, or doing homework. The planner may also help the student organize his or her extracurricular activities, as well as non-academic tasks. It helps students get a real picture of what their day or week to be like.
Also, one may use a yearly planner that will include both the short-term and long-term goals. When it comes to writing assignments, setting deadlines is very important. The writing process includes three major stages: planning, writing, and editing. If you fail to spend a considerable amount of time on any of these stages, you will reduce your chances of receiving a good grade.
A little secret: if you have planned enough time to write a paper but failed to leave several hours for proofreading and editing it, turn to a reliable custom writer or editor for help. The best writing service has a team of experts whose work is to proofread and edit academic papers. They will make sure there are no grammar flaws and formatting mistakes in your document.
Tip 2. Use the Pomodoro technique
This technique was introduced by a talented entrepreneur Francesco Cirillo. According to this technique, one should break down the work into intervals. Each interval is Pomodoro. It was named after the timer created by Cirilo, which had a shape of a tomato.
In accordance with this strategy, you need to:
- Choose the task that you need to complete;
- Set a timer (e.g. 30 minutes);
- Focus mainly on the task;
- When the timer rings, you need to put a checkmark on the paper;
- Take a break for about three to five minutes. During this break, you need to do something that is not related to your work;
- After the break, you have to start working setting a timer again. Repeat these steps until the task is ready.
As for the people, who may take advantage of the Pomodoro technique, they are creative thinkers and students, who are suffering from their hectic schedules. Once trying this technique, you will enjoy your work.
Tip 3. Make your schedule structured
A structured schedule will enable you to maintain the level of pressure that will help you complete your academic assignments. Time blocking is a very efficient strategy that enables students to prevent themselves from doing the same tasks during the whole day.
Many students have to complete various types of assignments. Those students, who prefer to work on various tasks simultaneously, will probably fail all of them. By getting too bored, we may treat assignments inattentively. The studies prove that people are the most productive when they focus on one task at a time.
All of us have the same number of hours in a day. Time blocking allows organizing the schedule in such a way as to dedicate enough time to each assignment. When creating the schedule, you need to spend longer time periods for more analytical and detailed work. The admin-style tasks, such as sending e-mails, will take shorter periods of time.
Tip 4. Stop procrastination and avoid distractors
In the present-day realms, there are a lot of things that will take your attention. The newsfeed, multiple social platforms, or watching your favorite TV show may significantly compromise the quality of your work.
If you have only two hours for writing an essay but you are constantly messaging with your friend, you will be unable to turn in a well-written piece. Thus, you need to organize your work in such a way as to avoid these distractors.
You should not overload yourself with numerous assignments. It is reasonable to organize your schedule in such a way to have enough time for the study, as well as the things that attract you.
To optimize the studying process, you need to leave your phone in a specific place and move to a location where you can work without any distractions.
Although we cannot imagine our lives without phones, it is necessary to limit their use. By making the first hours of your day phone-free, you will be able to do many tasks staying focused.
Tip 5. Have a good sleep.
Believe it or not, good sleep greatly influences our work. Good sleep will enable you to stay at the peak of your physical and mental conditions, as well as have a good mood.
To increase your effectiveness at study and work, you need to sleep in a proper way. You should know that oversleeping will have a reverse effect. This means that you need to find a balance that will enable you to stay productive when doing your assignments.
Wrapping Up
To make your schedule organized well, you need to remember a couple of important rules:
- Time is the greatest value. Organized people are able to reach their goals easier. Spending your time in an efficient way, you will greatly invest in your future;
- Be realistic about your time. Many people fail to understand that time flies at incredible speed. The more time they spend on procrastination, the less time will remain for completing their task. Thus, one should set sound deadlines and follow them;
- Work during the optimal times. All people have different biorhythms. Whereas some of them prefer to work in the mornings, others are more productive at night. You need to figure out what time is the most productive for you and use it for completing your tasks.
Understanding the main time management tips will make your work productive and successful. By using at least some strategies from our list, you will be able to make your schedule organized accordingly.
Finally, we recommend you reward yourself for the successful completion of your tasks. Even small changes will help you move toward a successful outcome. After all, practice makes perfect.