In this modern age where distractions are abundant, time management skills have become crucial for meeting due dates, reducing burnout and balancing academics and life outside of studies. Without the capability to efficiently manage time, one’s capacity to study effectively and complete work may be diminished, which can lead to suboptimal results for exams or reduced work quality. By identifying and replacing undesirable habits, you will be able to maximize the amount of effective work and studying done, ultimately improving your overall performance when you’re in exam conditions or other times when it matters. 

Improving Your Time Management With Planning & Prioritization 

Create a Master Schedule

One of the most common strategies and tools to ensure that you can maximize the amount of time you have is through the use of a master schedule. This comprehensive plan allows you to clearly outline all of your commitments and activities, including regular classes, study sessions, and extracurricular and leisure commitments. Through proper planning and management, you will be able to ensure that you have enough time to balance your academic responsibilities while keeping parts of your schedule open for self-care and leisure activities. 

For students, physical planners, digital calendars and time management apps are commonly used as master schedules to ensure you can stay on top of your commitments. By having a macro view of your obligations, you can plan accordingly to ensure that you avoid any last-minute stresses, and deadlines while being able to pencil in unexpected obligations should they arise.   

Prioritize Your Tasks

Just like the questions on your exams, it is highly likely that your tasks will be valued differently. For instance, should question 5 on your exam be worth more than question 4, investing more time into question 5 would be wiser. While in exams, questions may have identifiable quantifiers as to how much a question is worth, such as a score, it can be difficult to see how much a section could be worth. The skill of prioritizing tasks will help make the management of your time easier as you will have a stronger grasp of how much time you should invest into each task.

A common strategy you can consider is to categorize your tasks on the Eisenhower Matrix. Named after former US president Dwight D. Eisenhower, the matrix has four quadrants – urgent and important, important but not urgent, unimportant but urgent as well as unimportant and not urgent. With this in mind, you can make more informed decisions to allocate time in your master schedule, leading to better overall time management. 

Combatting Procrastination & Distractions

Identify Your Time Wasters

When it comes to studying and preparing for your exams, procrastination and distractions are two common challenges you will face that will get in your way of maximizing your studying time and effectiveness. Even with time management tools, students may still face the temptation of activities that can redirect their attention, such as social media and multitasking. Identifying these distractions allows you to minimize the chances of being tempted, allowing you to make the best use of your time.

To reduce the chances of being tempted, you can consider using website blockers or apps that limit your use outside a certain hour. Additionally, you may want to consider setting timers while you study to alternate between dedicated study sessions and breaks for catching up on social media. Through management of time this way, you will be able to get a healthier balance of both. 

Avoiding Burnout

One thing to focus on when you’re making your study schedule is that you may want to factor in the possibility of burnout. In short, burnout occurs when you’ve taken on too many tasks without breaks or opportunities for self-care. Even if your time management skills are top-notch, when facing burnout, your productivity and morale will decrease, reducing the overall effectiveness of your study sessions.

The Pomodoro Technique is a time management strategy that involves breaking work into short, manageable intervals. Typically 25 minutes long and separated by short breaks, this technique allows students to focus on one task at a time without being overwhelmed. These short breaks allow them to re-energize before continuing with their task while maintaining higher levels of focus and motivation. 

Taking Advantage of Your Time

Optimize Study Sessions

Ideally, you should be looking for a study space with minimal distractions, such as a quiet room, the library or simply a specific corner of your room. By reducing the amount of temptations and distractions such as unwanted background noise, you will be able to make the most of your study sessions. If you have to travel to such places, you may want to factor in transport time while planning your master schedule. 

In addition, you should be making the most of your time by actively using learning techniques that can maximize your learning. As you will need to go through many pieces of information, some of which may not be completely relevant, skills such as note-taking and summarizing can be extremely beneficial for research-related tasks. As for exams, you may want to consider looking for practice questions and past exams to have a better idea of what questions may appear on your test. 

Making The Most of Your Free Time

Not only should you factor breaks into your study schedule, but balancing your free time is just as important. When it comes to time management, you can also make the most of your idling times. For instance, when you’re commuting, rather than simply using the time to scroll through your social media, you can consider making it into an opportunity to improve your learning.

With the rise of educational videos and podcasts, students listening can make the most of every moment when they’re not behind a desk. You can also take the time to review study notes and flashcards during your commute so that you’re passively absorbing information during these times. By reviewing what you’ve learned, you minimize the need for exam cramming. 

Takeaway Points 

Time management is an essential skill that requires not only careful planning but also commitment and dedication. Picking up these skills and strategies not only helps with studying, but also managing workload in the future. There are many resources and tools available that you can use to make the most of your time, but keep in mind that pitfalls such as distractions and burnout exist. By keeping a well-balanced schedule, you can make the most of your time inside and outside your studies.