Most students out there start every new academic year with a goal of academic excellence. But a majority of them fail to establish routines or create and follow realistic plans that will enable them to achieve academic excellence. Despite having so many hours in a day and a week, many students do not consider effective time management and end up bungling their grades.
Time management plays a crucial role in the improvement of a student’s academic achievements and performance. Time management skills as a student are as vital as academic performance and should, therefore, not be taken lightly.
When you have time management skills as a student, you will be able to attend lectures, take tests, do your assignments, projects as well as other academic tasks effectively.
But, before going into the nitty-gritty of time management, it is essential to take note that academic excellence transcends making good grades. It is the total improvement of your intellectual abilities as well as your skills in service to humanity.
Without much ado, let us take a look at some useful time management tips that will help you get organised to handle your day-to-day activities, thus reducing stress levels while improving your academic excellence and performance:
List them all
This is the first thing you must do to improve your time management skills. Although this tip may be apparent, it is a surprising fact that students tend to leave out the most critical parts and leave them until the last minute. This exercise usually has an impact on the quality of their academic work as well as their overall grades.
If there are any deadlines you must meet, ensure that you include them in the list. Once every item has been listed, start taking note of how much time each listed item will take out of your day.
Add up your priorities on your favourite organising tool – You can make use of a timetable, pin-up planner or calendar and add up your list of priorities to it. You can visit the Google Play Store or iOS App Store for a variety of time management tools that you are conversant with.
You should also take the period when you are at your best – or most alert – into consideration so that you can fit in your study periods around them.
It is vital that you also create time for socialising as well as catching enough sleep. Get as much as seven to eight hours of sleep every night so that you can remain alert and focused during study periods.
Attend all classes
This may seem rather obvious, but lots of students tend to skip classes, and this is a bad habit that could tell on your time management skills as a student.
This is because it takes a lot of time to learn more about the subject matter discussed in class on your own than if you were present in the class during lecture time. You may end up jotting down notes written by your peers in class, thus taking up more time than you can afford or put to more productive uses.
Be as realistic as possible, but be willing to be flexible
Full-time students have nothing less than thirty-five hours a week to dedicate to lectures, seminars, studying, working, and socialising. Ideally, you should spend a minimum of fifteen hours every week to participate in tutor-led learning and spend at least additional twenty hours on studying independently.
You should also take note that there are some things you cannot control in life. For instance, that lecturer may decide to spend five to ten more minutes in class, and this could eat into whatever schedule or time you have lined up for the next activity.
Therefore, you should give room for a little extra time if you spend more extended periods on a task than you usually do.
Avoid distraction and procrastination
One of the best ways to avoid procrastination is to consider all the different locations you have been for studying.
- Which location offered to the most serene environment that allowed you to focus on your studies?
- Which place had a lot of distractions that ended up ruining your study time?
- What can you do to improve your study time and make it more enjoyable?
What works for one person or friend of yours may not necessarily work for you. This is why it is highly crucial that you study yourself before taking any action. Some students thrive better when they study in groups while others prefer reading on their own. So, find your rhythm and work accordingly.
Get some exercise in between study sessions
You may not want to believe this, but regular exercise can boost up your brain power and focus your state of mind in between study sessions. By engaging in extra-curricular activities, your mind becomes exposed to additional stimulation.
Ensure that you fit in a ten-minute run from time to time, and then increase the time as you go on. Exercises will take your mind off studies for a time, and when you come back to them, you will be ready and refreshed to tackle them head-on.
How effective is your organisation?
It is not enough to organise every hour of the day into “time blocks” to help you achieve whatever you have drawn out for the day. You should continuously review and reassess your schedules so that you can determine whether or not you need to make some changes. Having enough time to complete university tasks as well as have enough time for relaxation and socialising is essential to building up your academic excellence.
Finally, stay away from social media as much as possible during your study period. It is a distraction that you can do without until your timeout period or short break. Social media can be addictive and can take up your time without you realising it.
Effective time management skills as a student will do you a lot of good, in school and after school as well. When you manage time effectively, it will be evident in your school work as you will attain academic excellence at the end of the day.
