Once you get onto this particular stage in your life, you will soon realize that extra schedules, responsibilities and tasks are put in front of you.
In case you are unaware of how to handle such matters, you will soon find yourself under pressure and stressed by the time you finish a year in college.
This is why it happens to be vital to set up a proper time management strategy as soon as possible to ensure that you do not lose your sanity.
Here are some time management tips to help you get through college.
1.
Know what your goals are.
Set yourself some goals.
This could be achieved over semester or over a week or everyday or if you want, over a much longer time.
Set separate and clear goals for you extra-curricular activities and your academics.
It is vital that these two objectives are thought up separately and that they do not clash so that it is easy for you to prioritize your various activities which will help you towards your goal.
Work towards the most significant things which should have the highest priority first and work backwards once you have accomplished an objective.
2.
Be organized.
Being well-organized and systematic will really help you achieve your goals in a clear and definite manner.
Think of the tasks which take up a lot of your time which you need not do to achieve your objectives.
Set up a proper schedule which not only lists your academic class schedules, but the different activities and events you take part in which aid you in your quest to attain your objectives.
Always remember to note down the deadlines along with the corresponding objective to ensure that you do not let any objective fall by the wayside.
Stick to the schedule you came up with to develop a routine which you could follow to properly manage time.
3.
Prioritize.
Learn to have your tasks prioritized.
Knowing which tasks need to be done as soon as possible and which can be done later is vital for proper time management.
Never drift from any one task to a different one without finishing it.
It is better to be focused on one task and complete it before moving onto another task.
Ordering your tasks depending on their importance is really helpful.
It makes little or no sense to give priority to a task you like over one which you do not.
4.
Use your spare time well.
What exactly is spare time? It is usually referred to those times when you find yourself with nothing to do wondering how you are going to spend your time.
For example, while waiting for friends to turn up, instead of just looking around, you could do something useful like going through your notes etc.
Similarly, while waiting for your professor to come into the class, instead of talking or just wasting time, you could come up with a draft for your project.
If you are lucky, you may even finalize the draft right there and save a lot of time in the future.
5.
Do not procrastinate.
Procrastination is the nemesis of good time management practices.
It is just a process where you postpone something for tomorrow which you could do today.
In case you plan on finishing a specific task scheduled for today, stick to the schedule.
This will ensure that need not have to rush through it on another day with its own tasks.
By setting objectives and working in a determined fashion to achieve them, you can greatly reduce procrastination.
6.
Make the maximum use of your productive time.
On any given day, you may feel like working more than normal during certain times.
Make the maximum use of these times and use it to perform the most demanding of tasks.
Following the above mentioned steps will help you to manage your time much better.