Seven Time Management Strategies For Students
College often comes with a unique set of time-related challenges as you try to balance educational demands and personal commitments. In addition, whether you’re living in a dorm, a college apartment, or at home, staying focused can be difficult, thanks to endless social opportunities and constant access to technology. You may believe there aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish all that you’d like to do. To help, we’ve rounded up some effective time management strategies for students so you can find ways to make the most of every day. It may also be beneficial to work with a mental health professional who can help you determine the best schedule for your needs.
1. Test various time management techniques
In the quest for maximum productivity, researchers have identified several effective time management techniques. Test them out and see which one helps you stay on track. In general, the best strategy is the one to which you are most likely to adhere.
Time-blocking
Popularized by Elon Musk, time-blocking generally involves breaking your day into increments and mapping out exactly what you will do during each block of time. This technique may lend itself well to college student schedules, where time is already blocked out for classes during the day.
To maximize the impact of this time management technique, it can be helpful to begin with a time audit. Break your day into 15-minute increments and spend a few days recording what you’re doing during each block of time. Once you have this information, you can review the data and determine how you’re currently spending your time and if it lines up with what you want to be doing. For example, you may discover you’re spending much more time on your phone than you realized or that your productivity slows when you go too long between meals.
Once you’re ready to try time-blocking, begin by scheduling the non-negotiables. Mark your class times, mealtimes, and time to sleep. Then, you might move on to school responsibilities, blocking time to study and complete homework throughout the week. Finally, you can include personal time, such as going to the gym and spending time with your friends.
To make time-blocking truly effective, here are a few tips:
- Schedule time to study during your most productive hours.
- Readjust your schedule as you see what does and doesn’t work for you.
- Allow a five-minute break in between each block so that you don’t sense you are completely locked into the schedule and can give yourself time for a quick scroll or email check.
Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro Technique was created by author Francesco Cirillo and named after the pomodoro tomato-shaped timer he used to track his time. In this technique, you stay focused for 25 minutes of deep work, then allow a two- to five-minute break before resuming your work.
While Cirillo found that the 25/5 schedule worked best, there are other ways to implement the strategy. The main point is that you set aside a large chunk of time for focused work with no distractions, and then allow yourself a short break. You might commit to setting your phone on Do Not Disturb for that 25-minute span, knowing that after you’ve engaged in deep work, you’ll give yourself time to respond to texts or check Instagram.
Because it’s focused specifically on your work sessions, the Pomodoro Technique can be combined with other strategies, such as time-blocking. For example, if you scheduled an hour to study for an upcoming test, your study block may look something like this:
- 1:00-1:25: Study notes
- 1:25-1:30: Eat a snack and check email
- 1:30-1:55: Review flashcards
- 1:55-2:00: Check social media
Parkinson’s Law
This concept refers to the idea that work expands to fill the time available for its completion. Parkinson’s Law is less of a specific strategy and more of an approach to the way you view work and deadlines. It can be especially useful for someone who tends to procrastinate or finds themselves constantly busy and, as a result, exhausted.
Here are a few examples of how you could use Parkinson’s Law to more efficiently complete tasks:
- Set a deadline for yourself of 11:59 AM instead of 11:59 PM.
- Go to the library to work on a paper, but leave your laptop charger in your dorm room so you have to finish before your computer dies.
- Set a timer for how long you’ll scroll social media or binge the newest season of your favorite show.
2. Utilize tools and apps
A variety of digital tools and apps are available to help you manage your time.
Calendar
Keeping up with several classes’ worth of assignments and test dates can be overwhelming. Add in the busy social life associated with college–such as Greek life and clubs–and it can seem almost impossible to remember when everything must be done. Using a calendar app to keep track of all important dates can help you stay on top of upcoming events and assignments.
- Color code your calendar by commitment, such as red for schoolwork, yellow for personal commitments, green for club events, etc.
- When you enter due dates into your calendar, set reminders a few days or weeks in advance.
- Collaborate with classmates to share a class calendar so that you can split the work of entering important dates.
- Find out if your institution’s academic platform has a calendar that the professor uses and see if you can sync it to your personal calendar.
To-do lists
Keep a running to-do list on your phone of things you need to accomplish and categorize tasks by the amount of time you think they’ll require. When you find yourself with some free time, check your list and choose a task that you can complete in the amount of time you have available.
Timers
The most basic digital tools can sometimes lend themselves to the best time management strategies. Use your phone clock to set a timer when you’re implementing a time management technique. You can also update your phone settings to set limits for time-draining apps, allowing yourself only a certain amount of use each day.
3. Break your goals into manageable steps
Some tasks on your class-related to-do list may seem so massive that you don’t even know where to begin. “Write a research paper” and “Find an internship” are vague and potentially overwhelming tasks. You’ll likely get farther if you break them into manageable steps with a set timeline.
Here’s what that may look like: You have a midterm coming up in three weeks. Instead of studying aimlessly throughout the next few weeks or cramming the night before the test, create a schedule. Break the content into sections and assign each section a few days to study, limiting yourself to one or two tasks a day. Your plan might end up looking something like this:
- October 15: Study Chapter 1 vocabulary with flashcards
- October 16: Reread Chapter 1
- October 17: Review Chapter 1 notes and lectures
- October 18: Study Chapter 2 vocabulary with flashcards
- October 19: Reread Chapter 2 and attend study group
- October 20: Review Chapter 2 notes and lectures
- October 21: Study Chapter 3 vocabulary with flashcards
- October 22: Reread Chapter 3
- October 22: Review Chapter 3 notes and lectures and attend study group
- October 23: Exam
4. Start with the most important tasks
One popular time management technique is dubbed the Eat the Frog Method after the Mark Twain quote, “If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first.”
When you begin your day by crossing off the most critical tasks on your to-do list, you can prevent them from hanging over your head for the remainder of the day and ensure that they are accomplished, even if something comes up later in the day and your plans go awry.
For college students, implementing this method may look a little different than for people working an eight-hour shift Monday through Friday. You might use the Eat the Frog Method to schedule your study and homework sessions. Make a list of the tasks you need to accomplish, and then prioritize the one you dread the most.
5. Remove or reduce distractions
Take some time to think about what keeps you from focusing on your work. Even well-intentioned tasks, like cleaning your room, can be negative when they prevent you from completing assignments or studying for an important test. Implement policies and routines that remove or reduce distractions and lead to better time management habits, as well as stronger self-discipline. You might choose to do the following:
- Study in the library instead of your dorm room
- Delete apps that often prevent you from focusing
- Turn on Do Not Disturb mode on your phone so notifications don’t come through
6. Take breaks
7. Schedule time for yourself
The demands of college can leave you with little time to take care of yourself. You may believe that eating three meals a day and getting adequate sleep is all you can manage. However, by implementing effective time management techniques, you can regain control of your time and ensure you have the capacity for self-care as well. Spend time doing things that benefit your mental and emotional health. Schedule dinner with a friend, go for a long walk around campus, or engage in a hobby you enjoy.
Resources for time management support
Along with the tools and apps listed above, several other resources can help you effectively manage your time:
- Calendly is available to schedule online meetings.
- Asana and Trello can help you map out small steps toward a large goal.
- Todoist is designed to help you schedule your commitments.
- Freedom can block time-wasting websites and apps.
- RescueTime can be used to audit your time.
It may be difficult to look at your current schedule and find ways to better manage your time. Sometimes, it can help to have an outside perspective. A therapist may be able to help you come up with better time management strategies and identify barriers that are keeping you from practicing time-related self-discipline.
However, if you’re already struggling to find enough time in the day, traveling to a therapist may seem nearly impossible. Online therapy has the benefit of being accessible from wherever you are, and with platforms like BetterHelp, you can schedule therapy sessions at convenient times, whether that’s between classes or late at night once you’ve wrapped up the day.
While researchers haven’t yet investigated the efficacy of online therapy for learning time-management skills, existing studies suggest that both online and in-person therapy can effectively address various mental health challenges and concerns.
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