So here are my top 5 tips for managing your time!
1. Use a planner, agenda or calendar.---Having some type of visual reminder of your assignments and activities can help you to see when you're going to be very busy, so you can plan extra time to study, or book time off of work. Things won't sneak up on you if you know they're coming! Plus the YFS has been giving away FREE agenda's so really you don't even have to spend money to get organized.
2. Make a list of EVERYTHING you have going on.
---Sometimes people only make a list of their assignments, but you do more than just school work, so make sure to include all of your assignments, extra curricular events, family and friend commitments, work hours and anything else that you have going on.
---Setting priorities among your list of things to do will indicate how much of your time you'll need to spend on something. This helps if you're especially busy with school, work and family commitments; being able to say "doing research for this paper is more important than going to my club social this weekend" helps you to manage your time more effectively.
**Personal Story: I always find it difficult to rank my more "fun" activities because I really want to do the fun stuff. Don't be discouraged if you find that your list looks "assignment heavy" that's what BREAKS are for :)**
4. Set deadlines for yourself so you can track your progress.
---It's important to keep your motivation up, so reward yourself when you finish something on your list. It's important to remember to be honest with yourself on how much of a reward you deserve. Spending 10 minutes working does not deserve a 2 hour movie break...or maybe it does? Honestly I'm still working on this one :P
These are the time management tools that I use to try to keep myself organized and on track. They work pretty well for me, but if you know of something else that works really well or you want some more info about other tips feel free to post in the comment section I'd love to hear from you!
Good Luck :D
4 comments:
Great tips!
Thanks for the tips, Nicole! You’re right, rewarding yourself when you complete a task is pretty effective even if it was just a simple task. In my case, since I work from home, I always take a break if I can finish a task - it’s one good way to motivate myself and carry on the next task on my list. So talking about “list” what I used is a time tracking software, it automates the process so you can simply enter the task name and switch from different tasks while the time is being recorded. It doesn’t only track the time, it tracks your productivity as well.
Thanks Derik!
I have some assignments coming up I'm gonna give the "Time Doctor" a shot to see how I like it! It looks a little intense but I'll always willing to try something new in order to increase my efficiency.
Take Care,
Nicole
Really great post, I was able to relate to this. I run my own video production firm in Boston and as I've expanded the business I have found it difficult to manage my time. Great tips, best of luck in the future!
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