Tips from a York Veteran on Managing your Time!

I've been at York now for going on 6 years...yep I know that's A LONNGG time, but in that time I've learned so much about how the importance of time management and the difference it makes in your career as a student and your sanity as a person!

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.

3. Rank the items on your list in order of importance.
---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. 

---You don't have forever to complete the things on your list, therefore you have to set a deadline in order to complete things. Having a person deadline will help you to see how much you've completed. It also feels really good to cross things off your list!

5. Reward yourself when you complete a task on your list!
---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