If you’re like me, you’ve probably spent ages scouring the internet looking for tried and tested ways to manage your time. You’ve tried time blocking, the Pomodoro technique and “eating the frog” to get things done, but you still can’t seem to fit everything in – what do you do next?
Organising your time as a student is about more than managing deadlines, arranging appointments in your calendar and “locking in” for hours in the library; it’s about controlling your freedom! And it’s hard.
The internet is full of techniques to help you use your time effectively; this post isn’t about that. Today, I’ll explain how you can use your time better.
The goal of time management is simple – to maximise the amount of life you enjoy while you achieve the goals you want.
I’ll show you how setting priorities, creating a consistent work schedule and prioritising your rest can save you time and live your life to the fullest, all while making sure you pass your exams!
How much time do you have?
Your first year as a student is probably the first time you’ve got total control over your schedule. You, and only you, get to choose what you do with your time. There are an intoxicating number of possibilities and it’s tempting to try and do it all.
Enter a nasty fact: there are only 168 hours in a week.
Given how much there is to do, you probably want to fit more than 168 hours worth of activities into your week! Obviously, you can’t do it all, so how can you fit studying, societies and socialising all into just 168 hours a week?
The answer isn’t magically finding more time by making sacrifices, nor is it rushing everything to try to fit it all in. To spend your time wisely, you simply need to spend it doing the things you think are the most important and avoid doing things that aren’t.
Much easier said than done: let’s figure out how.
1. Set your priorities
The first step of managing your time is to understand what you’re managing it for. What’s important to you? What do you want to spend your time doing?
Priorities help you remember what are the most worthwhile things going on in your life. It can be anything from living adventurously to succeeding in your degree to keeping in touch with old friends. It’s about you and what you think is important, not anyone else.
Maybe this is your first time thinking about what direction you want to take in life, and that’s okay! Priorities change as you go through life, so deciding a few now doesn’t tie you down forever!
Understanding your priorities makes it easier to make the hard decisions about what you chose to spend your precious hours on. When you are struggling to chose between doing multiple things, knowing your priorities will help you chose the activity that will enrich your life the most and avoid things that don’t align with how you’d like to spend your life.
Write down all of your goals and favourite things to do down on some sticky notes. Pick the three most important to you and display them somewhere you’ll see everyday.
2. Be consistent
If we’re talking results, consistency beats cramming every single time. If you want to balance having a social life and being a good student, it’s important to keep consistent study hours and protect your working time from interruptions.
Studying takes loads of energy and is something you’ll be doing a lot, so anything you can do to make it easier is worth it. Having a good routine will make it easier to get into the studying mindset and focus. Better focus will make you more productive with fewer hours, which frees up your time for going to the Students Union!
The point of working consistent hours is to set up this routine and remove how many choices you have to make to get started. It’s a lot to decide if you have to figure out when to study as well as how and where. Removing one of these decisions lets you focus on the important details and be more effective.
As every student soon discovers, working too hard eventually leads to burnout. Consistently working a reasonable number of hours avoids this mental fatigue and reduces the guilt you might about “not pushing hard enough”.
With consistent hours you’ll always know when you’re free to hang out and you’ll never have to worry about when your next study session is. University is as much about your personal development as it is about academic achievement, so it is just as critical you spend consistent hours with your friends and doing activities!
Never do more work today than you can recover from by tomorrow.
3. Work hard, rest harder
Unpopular fact: proper sleep is a life-hack.
A whole load of studies have shown good sleep makes you feel more alert, helps you recall more information and, most importantly, stops you feeling mind-numbingly tired in morning lectures. So get a solid 8 hours of sleep a night.
That’s easier said than done. Your 168 hours a week to spend living suddenly drops to only 112. Now that’s not very much time at all.
Tough. You’ve gotta sleep.
Most of us struggle balancing doing chores, studying, taking care of ourselves and socialising with getting proper rest in the evening. Prioritising your sleep is NOT easy when you’ve got lots of things to do, so you should try maximise the quality of your sleep.
Set up a regular night-time routine. You don’t have to do it at a specific time, but try to keep the hour or so before you get into bed the same every night to prepare your body to rest.
Your routine should be something to help you unwind, take care of yourself and empty your head. Some people journal, some people do yoga, some people play video games. Find what works for you and you’ll get the proper rest to wake up the next day ready to get everything done you want.
If you’re struggling to justify getting 8 hours of sleep a night, remember that sleep deprivation is used as a method of torture. And it works.
Parting thoughts
Thinking about all the things you could do in the next few years can be daunting, let alone planning them! But spending a bit of energy now to find a time management system that works for you is a good investment. Staying sane and healthy, along with building good habits, will make your university experience both rich and productive.
You’re about to spend several years of your life without much guidance and very high stakes – it’s normal to feel out of your depth! I hope that these tips help you find a method of living that works for you while you focus on the hard stuff.
Remember to take care of yourself, because you are the only resource you have. Good luck!