I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all been, in one way or another, caught up in the cycle of having too many things to do, but not enough time. We reach the point at which we think we’ve got the hang of things, but we still find ourselves at 1 in the morning with at least 2 of the 4 tasks that we had for the day prior, left undone. Why does it seem that, no matter how we divide up the hours in a day, they still seem to slip out of our reach? Well, it might be because of two main reasons: either you have too much on your plateーthis is another topic all by itselfーor you need to reprioritize your responsibilities and analyze how it is that you spend your time in between (or during) tasks.
Although I am now starting my second year of college and I am certain that my study habits will change throughout time, I have acquired some techniques here and there to manage my time a bit better. Now, before I begin listing the different methods, I will start off by asking that if you don’t already have an agenda or planner, what are you doing with your life? I mean, some people survive off of sticky notes (kudos to you if you can relate), but I personally prefer a neat little notebook to write all my stuff in. Anyways, here are some tips to get stuff done on time and prepare for this upcoming semester!
Never underestimate the power of the syllabus
It wasn’t until I started college that I discovered the importance behind course syllabuses. Don’t get me wrong, some of them are kinda scary, but they give you all the dates of the quizzes, homeworks, and tests that you are going to have throughout the semester. Now, what are you going to do with these syllabuses? Print them. Seriously, just print them and highlight ALL the important dates on them. Afterwards, you can write down all the dates on your calendar, so that you can keep track of them. A greener alternative would be to digitally highlight the document and put all the dates on a digital calendar. You could try your phone calendar or google calendar for this last step.
Plan accordingly
Now that you have all the important dates written down, you’ll have a better idea of when you should start studying or working on certain things. What I do is that I set a little reminder about two weeks before a difficult test or assignment, and I give myself time to break up the material (for the test) or steps (for the assignment) into little chunks that I can focus on during the days leading up to the due date. Disclaimer: try to give yourself about a day or two before the due date to revise everything and check that you’re good to go. This will help you avoid the all-nighter cramming method.
Write daily to-do lists
Apart from setting up your calendar and planning stuff out, write a to-do list on a daily basis. This will ensure that you only focus on the important and urgent things first. Also, you’ll avoid getting sidetracked with all the other things that you have to do. Just remember to do the things you had agreed on doing that day, and you’ll be fine. A very important note that you also need to remind yourself is to not feel bad if you don’t finish all your tasks on a given day. Sometimes we’re simply tired or unmotivated and that’s totally valid. Just rest up and try again the next day.
Schedule time to focus
Sometimes our biggest problem is actually sitting down and focusing on the task at hand. We think that, if we complete half of our work, then we can take a 10 minute break on our phones. After we have caught up on all of our social media platforms and we turn off our phones, we realize that we have spent close to an hour on our “10 minute break.” To avoid this issue, I just turn off my phone or put it in another room. Now, if you are in a public setting or you can’t turn off your phone just in case you get an important call or message, you could temporarily delete or disable your social media apps.
Another good technique you can use to be able to focus is to use the Pomodoro method. This method consists of setting a timer for 25-30 minutes and solely focusing on a task during this time. Once the timer goes off, you get a 5 minute break. By the time you complete 4 cycles of this mechanical process, you can then take a 30 minute break, and repeat everything until you complete all the tasks for the day.
Wake up with the sun
Another thing I started doing was waking up earlyーevery single day . While I would wake up around 7 am on weekdays, on weekends I would get up at 8 am. This helps you establish a routine and start your work earlier in the day. Think about it this way: if you finish your tasks early, you’ll have the rest of the day to either catch up on other things, or just relax. There are only so many hours in the day and it’s important to use as many of them as possible, while still getting enough rest, of course.
Getting organized during the semester can be a bit complicated at first, but just keep in mind that with time and practice, everyone eventually finds what works for them. Just remember to plan, prioritize, and take things one day at a time!