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The Perfect College Guide to Managing Your Time

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UC Riverside chapter.

With finals week just around it can feel like there is no time for anything.  But don’t stress! With the right scheduling you can learn to organize and control your time, without going crazy.

Get a planner!

Sometimes planners can be a little pricey but they are definitely worth the investment. However, if you don’t have the money or just don’t feel like carrying it around don’t worry you can just use your phone. There are tons of apps for smartphones you can download! Or even a piece of paper works, just as long as you have somewhere to write everything down.  Make sure the dates are written out. Write down everything important you have coming up; tests, appointments, birthdays, etc.  Some things may not seem significant but write it down, these dates can be important later.

Make a to-do list

Trying putting the list somewhere accessible, like your pocket.  Start with the most important task on the top, and work your way down. If you are unable to finish everything on the list for that day then mark it down for the next day. Don’t forget to write-in some time for yourself. And remember to breath and reward yourself when you finish! Also try to figure out how long a task usually takes you to do, that way you have a better idea of where your time goes and creating a daily schedule is easier.

Don’t overdo it

The whole point of planning is to give yourself less stress so don’t overload.  Don’t give yourself too much to do on a day. Schedule in some breaks and don’t pack everything in.  And, expect the unexpected, so try to make your schedule as flexible as possible. If you feel overwhelmed take a step back and reevaluate. You always have tomorrow and the day after that and so on to finish. Finally remember you have as much hours in the day as Beyoncé!

Learn to say no!

In college it seems like there is always some sort of “happening.”  A friend may ask you to go out or that really hot guy from your sociology class asked you to watch a movie, but remember you have that test tomorrow. It can be hard but it is okay to say NO!  Try finding a time that will work for both of you and reschedule. They will understand and you will feel a lot better after you get everything done and when you do decided to go out it will be free of stress.

Turn off your phone

When you are studying try to remove all distractions. It will be really hard at the beginning but after a while you won’t even remember. If you find yourself really unable to concentrate look at something else from your to-do list. Try doing something else, until you get inspired to start on the last task again.  Just remember to STAY PRODUCTIVE!

Have fun!

College is supposed to the best time of our lives, but all the responsibilities and duties that come along with that can blur it. Time management can be hard to get use but after a while it becomes like second nature. Remember to value your time, use every minute! Nothing feels better than having all your work done and doing whatever you want afterwards.

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Daisy E Soto

UC Riverside

Born and raised in sunny California. Daisy would learn the ancient ways of the 'valley girl.' she would go on to graduate from an unknown high school in Fontana and move to Riverside to study with the highlanders. She is in a committed relationship with her English bulldog, Toby and her television. Daisy idolizes authors such as John Green, Jane Austen, and Susan Elizabeth Phillips and hopes she can be a speck as brilliant as they are in the future.
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UC Riverside

UC Riverside