It’s that time of the year again—the leaves are turning brown, pumpkin spice lattes are in season, and we’re all burnt out from schoolwork. Reading week is the perfect time to rest before midterms begin and to assess where you are standing academically. The good news is, there’s a solution. Here are a few effective time management strategies you could start implementing to get a better balance between your studies, social life and most importantly, time for yourself!
1. Time Blocking
Multitasking sounds ideal in theory. We want to finish everything at the same time, but productivity-wise, focusing on one single task can help you finish your work not only faster but with a better learning outcome. Setting out a few hours separately just for finishing one task only can help you optimise your efforts. You will end up finishing it faster, so you’ll have more time to yourself and other commitments!
2. the Eisenhower Matrix
The Eisenhower matrix can help you organise your tasks into four separate blocks: important, not important, not urgent and urgent. At times, having lots of things to do at the same time can be overwhelming, even more so when deadlines overlap. The Eisenhower matrix can help you visualise your tasks so that you can prioritise them and complete the less urgent tasks later on.
3. pomodoro technique
Have you ever struggled to get started on assignments? The hardest part is getting started, and the stress that compounds from thinking of how much there is to complete makes initiating the task even harder. But doing bits of the assignment or readings for a few minutes is better than not doing anything at all. The Pomodoro technique was designed exactly for this purpose. You could follow this technique by, for example, studying for 20 minutes and then having a 10-minute break. Repeat the cycle till your task is complete. It can make it easier to concentrate, especially if you get fidgety by sitting for long periods of time at your desk.
Being more organised through these time management techniques can not only put you up to speed with your coursework, but it is also a form of self-care. You can get more time to take care of yourself, spend time with loved ones, and of course, not feel the dreaded anxiety that comes with being behind on schoolwork.
