Tips For An Effective Time Management Skill For A College Student

Tips For An Effective Time Management Skill For A College Student

Have you ever wondered why you are cramming every time your final examination is nearing? Your choir group is having a practice on Friday afternoon and at the same time, you and your classmates will have a group study at the same day.

What will you prioritize? Difficult, but it is the reality among college students today.

Time management is a vital factor in fulfilling a successful college career. It is a well-known fact that college life is full of surprisesons of homework and projects, almost endless examinations, and other things with regard to studying.

If do not use effective time management skills, you will have quite a hard time organizing different appointments and commitments.

Unlike in your high school classes before that you are dealing with the same subject matter every day, most college classes do not meet on a daily basis.

There will be times that your next class is due for another 2 to 3 hours, so you still have time to play a game of Frisbee. If you have habits like that, always watch out for the time, or else your college life will end up sooner than you have expected.

Here are the following tips to help you maximize the use of your time dealing with different activities and at the same time minimize your stress level.

Tip No.1: Use a time chart.

In time management, time chart is always recommended. It helps to find the best time for different types of activities you will engage in. College students have a unique time management challenge in particular portions of their schedule that are fixed and with lots of free time in between.

It will help you to add some additional structure to your schedule based on the times that you think is best suited for different activities.

For instance, you can set studying some mathematical and design problems during your free time in between two light subjects. Not only you have managed your activities, you are also keeping your mind away from possible stress that you may acquire.

It also adds more balance to your schedule. Some students focus too much on studying and forgetting other types of activities like sports, recreation, and social events.

Tip No.2: Prioritize

Prioritizing is one of the most common time management problems. Deciding what activities must be done first or second is difficult, especially when all of these activities are all you priorities.

It is essential for college students to select and prioritize the activities they want to spend their time with.

In case that you cannot figure out which must be prioritized, here are the guides that you can refer to. Knowing your priorities will help you fix your schedule much better.

? Reward: Ask yourself what things give you the greatest joy. As you sort through your personal priorities, look on the aspect of personal fulfillment.

You will find that there is satisfaction in doing what you are gifted. In other words, do the things that you think will give you something good in the end.

? Requirement: When you feel plagued by obligations, all you have to do is to stop first and try to sort out your "must dos" from your "choose to dos?

It is a well-known fact that you have obligations. Certainly, you are not asked to perform all the obligations in this world. Ask yourself what are the things that you are required to do.

? Results: When sorting your priorities, ask yourself if what things that gives you favorable results in return. Spend most of your time working in things of your greatest strength.

You will not waste your time and effort in doing something that you know will not give you the favorable result that you want.

College is a great time to have experiment with new things. Setting priorities will help you balance these new experiences with focus for the things that really matter to you.

Tip No.3: Be careful with over-commitment and attempting to do too much.

Exerting too much effort on a certain activity can lead to excessive stress, pressure, and eventual burnout. Remember that when you take on something, you are declining everything else that you could have done with that time.

Tip no.4: Write things down.

The habit of writing things down using an effective time management system will help you remember even the smallest detail of your activity especially during your classes.

Avoid memorizing. Our brain is just like a recordable compact disc wherein a new recording will erase everything previously recorded.

Enjoy your college life. Use your time management skills and get rid of messy schedules.

By: Tim Ng

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Tim Ng is a seasoned educator and successful motivator. Tim frequently guides young people in time management forums. For more advice on what effective time management is all about, please refer to effectivetimemanagementforstudents.blogspot.com

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This post was written by admin on February 24, 2009

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Time Management’s Doom Loop

Time Management

Time Management’s Doom Loop is analogous to Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity: Doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results.

Time Management’s Doom Loop Day: Wake up. Jump out of bed. Get on the treadmill. Glimpse at your spouse as you pass each other in the hallway cause you are late for work. Shout at the kids to, "hurry up!" Drop the kids off. Go through the robotic motions of your job. Get off work. Grab a quick bite. Bicker with your spouse (a little or a lot). Sit in front of the television or the Internet until it is time for bed. When your head hits the pillow your mind races through the day, then moves on to tomorrow as you try to get to sleep. The next day?

Repeat…

Time Management’s Doom Loop is what many Americans find themselves revolved in.
This seems grim and it is. Many American have been doom-looped! Some reasons? Money is tight. The economy is stuck. The wars America is currently engaged in. Fuel prices going north. Housing markets going south. Our children are at risk. We are at risk. Drug and alcohol abuse is on the rise. Domestic violence and crime stories have become an accepted part of the daily news stories. This is real stuff and it has nothing to do with managing our time better. Doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results? This is insanity.

Time Management’s Doom Loop is insanity! Time Management does not address how to change.

Time, by the way, cannot be managed. Managing time is like trying to manage a raging river. A person who jumps in (or falls in) a raging river has only one option - to survive its deadly current. Are you trying to keep from drowning?

Stop for a moment and ride the current. Let me throw you a life vest. This life vest is a new concept called, "Energy Management."

Energy is something you can manage.

Time management has duped all of us. Do not feel bad. Life today is like a white-water rafting trip on the raging river. Many are just trying to survive its current. Without the right equipment, however, this rafting trip is simply too dangerous.

You are your equipment.

How are your energy levels? Low? High? Balanced?

Energy management provides a life worth living. When a person’s energy levels are balanced, a person becomes ready to fully engage in life’s process. When a person is out of balance he or she is back in the loop - the doom loop.

Too high of energy levels within a person creates madness. Life becomes chaotic. Busy, busy, busy doing what? Busy for what? More often than not, those who are overly busy use this as an excuse not to engage in the richness of life, which seems like a distant fantasy.

Too low of energy levels within a person creates apathy and lethargy. Life becomes robotic. Not much to care about. More often than not, those who are depressed use this as an excuse not to engage in the richness of life, which seems like a distant fantasy.

Energy levels, which are too high or too low, become the excuse escape.

If you do not want to change - don’t. At least now you can blame the doom loop.

If you do want to change, welcome to Energy Management.

Ask yourself the following two questions:

1. Why am I doing what I’m doing? Explain it to yourself and see if it makes sense.
2. Do I like what I’m doing? If yes, keep doing it. If no, do something about it.

Write five things in your current reality you would like to change. This is called you current reality because it represents, today.

Write five things in your ideal reality you would like to see change. This is called your ideal reality because it represents your possibilities and potential.

Bridge the two realities together with your "why" answer. Manage the energy you invest in your time and the time you invest in your energy - this will give you the highest returns.

By: Dorlon Peckham

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Dorlon Peckham is a foremost authority on Time Management illusions. He teaches others how to release the overwhelm associated with trying to manage time while offering proven strategies on managing their energy instead. His step by step guide has helped countless numbers of people find more time, more money, and more prosperity in general. He is the creator of the brand "Pearl Planner". To receive a FREE instant step by step ‘Pearl Planner" guide, go to : The Pearl Planner

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