Whether you’re a first-year student finding your footing in a new academic environment or a seasoned professional navigating the complexities of a demanding career, learning to manage your time effectively is a crucial skill. The ability to manage time well can be the key differentiator between a stressful, chaotic experience and a fulfilling, balanced one. We will dive into why staying organized and on track is important. These strategies will be invaluable if you need to improve your academic performance, enhance your professional productivity, or find more time for yourself.
Why is time management important?
For college students, effective time management can transform the daunting challenges of academic work into manageable tasks. When attending school online, having that self-discipline can be hard. Applying time management skills to your schoolwork is an excellent approach to boosting productivity and achieving academic success. This allows you to balance your studies, extracurricular activities, and personal life more effectively. On the other hand, for professionals, mastering time management can lead to increased productivity, reduced stress, and a better work-life balance.
What challenges come with time management?
Managing time effectively is challenging due to procrastination, distractions, lack of clear goals, poor planning, and over-committing. Understanding these challenges is the first step. Developing a good time management strategy is a great skill to tack on to your skill set.
Time management strategies
Here are some tips from our staff, students, and Instagram followers.
Set clear goals
Writing out your schedule and priorities is a great way to visualize what you need to accomplish. @Megan.Kellerman gave a tip, “Don’t set unrealistic expectations.” Give yourself a realistic timeline to complete each priority, ensuring you do not set yourself up for failure with overly ambitious deadlines. This can keep you on track and help keep your motivation flowing!
Prioritize tasks/break down tasks
Write out all your tasks and list them by importance and due date. Write out step-by-step directions for yourself to follow while doing a task. @morgan_greenwood_, one of our Instagram followers, suggested “Focusing on one thing at a time.” You can track your progress and stay motivated by breaking your tasks into manageable steps and setting time-bound targets. Goblin Tools is a great resource for learning how to break down projects.
Avoid multitasking
Caroline K, a student employee, suggested “Focus on one thing at a time. Work completely on that task until it is finished, then move on to the next.” Caroline also mentioned, “Refrain from overloading yourself with tasks to minimize your time feeling overwhelmed.” Research from the Cleveland Clinic, Why Multitasking Doesn’t Work, shows that multitasking is largely ineffective and can reduce productivity. It suggests that attempting to focus on multiple tasks simultaneously can lead to decreased efficiency and increased errors.
Create a schedule
Organizing tasks by creating a detailed schedule is another great time management strategy. Write down your tasks for the week by due date/or importance to help you catch up on your tasks. It’s also important to give yourself breaks as needed, check out the Pomodoro® Technique – Time Management Method.
Review and adjust
Periodically review all the strategies you have decided to implement into your routine. Make sure they will fit your needs/wants/schedule, and adjust it as needed. One of our Instagram followers, @extraboneeden had another great tip, “Always set aside personal time!”
Mastering time management is a continuous planning, prioritizing, and adjusting process. There are multiple other techniques not covered in this blog. Feel free to check out Top 10 Time Management To Tips Work Smarter, Not Harder. Incorporating time management strategies into your daily routine can profoundly impact your life. Not only will you be and feel more productive, but you will also experience less stress and a better school-life balance. Start small with one or two techniques.
What time-management strategy will you try?
Gradually incorporate more strategies into your routine as you go. By taking this incremental approach, you can avoid feeling overwhelmed and give yourself the space to discover what works best for you. As you implement these strategies, you’ll likely notice a significant increase in your efficiency. Starting with a couple of techniques can make the process feel more manageable. It’s important to remember that adjusting and trying new approaches is okay as you learn what works for you.
Miami University Regionals E-Campus acknowledges Grace Osterbgerber for compiling and writing the content of this blog. Grace is a sophomore majoring in Digital Commerce. Top banner photo credit: Caroline Kerby.
