How to Improve Time Management Skills as a College Student

Developing effective time management skills as a college student is critical to your academic and social success in college. Your success or failure in college is greatly affected by your effective use of time. But being a college student is also a very time consuming job. Therefore it is important to learn good time management skills and habits that will not only help you on the road to academic success in college, but will transfer into other areas of your professional and personal life. The steps in this article will help you manage your time effectively, improve time management, and practice effective time management skills.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• time

1. Plan enough time for study. As a general rule, in college, you should study at least two hours outside of the classroom for every hour that you're in a class.

2. Develop the habit of studying at the same times each day. The creates stronger study habits.

3. Get a weekly or monthly planner - depending on your preferences - and write all due dates for assignments and test dates. Then, two weeks before the assignment due date, write "start on the particular assignment". One week prior to the due date, write "finish such and such assignment". This will allow for weekly reminders leading up to the actual deadline.

4. Use your free time immediately after class wisely for copying notes and reviewing the material.

5. Study for 20 to 25 minute intervals and then take a short break. Research shows that studying in shorter blocks or intervals of time and then taking a break is more beneficial than studying constantly for hours. Therefore, review material in smaller blocks of time.

6. Schedule a one hour weekly review and use weekends if possible.

7. Remember to have some unscheduled time and be flexible. This will allow you time to do things you want to do.

8. Participate in extracurricular activities. Plan to have some fun in college. You need a balance of both academic and social life to be a well-rounded individual.

Tips & Warnings

• Take one day off from any academic or school related work each week and don't even think about it.
• Take short power naps if you need to at some point during the day to help recharge your battery.

[anneonamountain]

on 10/31/2009 This is a good article, especially for young undergrads. For older grad students, I think step 8 is a particularly good suggestion, that I need to take for myself. I tend to feel guilty when not working, and end up frittering away the time I'm not working instead of actually scheduling in something fun. The author of Eat, Pray, Love says there is a difference between not working, and having fun. She's right!