Time Management
Managing Your Time
Like most other skills, time management needs to be learned, practiced, and perfected. It is something that most people struggle with as we juggle many tasks and responsibilities and it can often be challenging to prioritize. It is a skill that requires organization and commitment to master. Luckily, it is conquerable with enough effort, planning and strategizing.
Before jumping too far ahead, once you get to college, you will quickly realize the differences in the way you spend your time in high school vs. the way you spend your time in college. Once you arrive at college, your daily life is re-structed in a way that will be new to you after coming from 12 years of spending your day in a certain way.
| High School | College |
|---|---|
| School is Monday- Friday from 8:00am- 3:00pm. | College courses typically do not meet every day of the week; for instance, a class may meet Thursday & Thursday or Monday, Wednesday & Friday. Classes may be held at times that will seem untraditional compared to high school; they may even be in the evening. You schedule will likely vary greatly from day to day. |
| Homework is often due the next day. | Due to the variation in your schedule, homework assignments may be due a week after they are assigned. Some teachers might not have any assignments through the semester, and opt for a few larger assignments. It will be up to you to make sure these are assignments are turned in, as they might be “out of sight, out of mind”. |
| All out-of-school activities and responsibilities are based on your 8:00- 3:00pm schedule. | Because your school schedule will now vary, you might be able to fit a part time (or even a full time!) job into your day or perhaps take on an internship. It will be your responsibility to juggle these obligations and be sure to schedule them around your class times. |
The freedom of college can be both a blessing and a curse: we are no longer locked into the traditional schedule we had been for our entire pre- college lives. However, you are now starting out without any structure at all; it is up to you it create it.
Getting Organized
One of the biggest challenges with organizing your time is that there is no “one size fits all” format, yet everyone is expected to do it. Based on your learning style that you explored in Chapter 3, how can you best organize your time to suit your styles?
Creating a Calendar
Although styles will change, in both school and in the work place, it is pretty universal that you will need a calendar. By using a calendar, you will not only be able to know where you need to be at a designated time, but you will also know when you are available to set aside time with friends, attend campus events or make time for self care.
In order to do this, you can use a physical calendar; many are sold with dates and times, as well as sections for goals and journaling. Writing out your schedule by hand can be extremely helpful for more visual learners, as it also gives you opportunity to use symbols or highlight certain things. This could be great for the IFSJ, ISFP, INTP or ENTP learner.
For those with hard to read handwriting or those who simply hate to carry things, a digital calendar might be the way to go. These calendars will often give you the option to repeat events as well, so you may be able to write in a class and a time that it’s held once and have it repeat throughout the semester. It is also possible your college will provide you with one of these services and teachers might invite you to events as well. This could be helpful for the ESFJ, ENFJ, ESTJ or ISFJ learner.
Whatever method you choose, it is important that it works for you- don’t worry about the methods that suit others.
Some resources that might be helpful for you:
- Google Calendars
- Outlook Calendars
- Fantastical 2
- Woven
- My Study Life
Finding the Time
Even when you feel overwhelmed, you will find that there are ways that you will be able to spend your time wisely. Watch the Ted Talk by Laura Vanderkam below to understand the choices that we make and how they can impact our schedules.
