I know, I know. You have no time. Neither do I. Neither does anyone. So below are eight time-management tips for you. And for every student ever.
Time management tips for students:
1. Don’t study, do homework, or work on school stuff for more than 45 minutes straight without a short break. (Use the Pomodoro Technique!)
2. Every time you get an assignment that’s not due the very next day, always start it (even just a little) on the day it’s assigned. Do this, even if you just open a Google Doc, give it a title, and walk away!
3. Break down big assignments into 15-minute chunks. Do one or two 15-minute chunks whenever you can. A “big” assignment is anything that you think will take longer than a few hours to complete.
4. Use small pockets of free time during the day to take care of quick tasks, such as doing short assignments, cleaning up your notes from the day, making flashcards for an upcoming test, studying from your flashcards, etc. You can find small pockets of time in car rides, while waiting to be picked up, while waiting for dinner to be ready, while waiting in the doctor’s office, etc. Bring your work with you to any place that you think you’ll be waiting for a bit.
5. Try to avoid doing your homework at night: this is the time when your brain is less sharp, so some tasks will take you twice as long. (That stinks.) I know some of us get home from activities really late and night time is the only time we think we have to get work done, but go back and read Tip 4.
6. Study for tests a little bit each day (15-20 minutes or so), every single day leading up to the test. (No cramming the night before!!) Your brain remembers information way better when you study in frequent and short intervals. There’s a bunch of science behind this – trust me.
7. Put your phone away when you’re doing homework or studying. Seriously, away. Not upside-down next to you. Put it awaaaaay. Just seeing it in front of you will trigger the “addiction” chemicals in your brain that will make you compulsively think about checking it. (I might lose some friends with this time management tip – I’m well aware!)
8. Study according to your learning style. If you use study techniques that don’t match your learning style, you’ll waste so much time reviewing the same information over and over again. To benefit from this final tip, it’s important to first know what your learning style is. Check out these explanations of visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning styles to see what type you are.
Time management tips for students are similar to (but not the exact same as) time management tips for “other” people. Whether you’re a middle school, high school, college, or graduate student — or just a student of life, lol — the biggest tip of all for managing time is this: Determine exactly WHAT you have to do, figure out HOW MUCH time you really have to do it, and then … DO it.