how to manage time in college

are you one of those students who believe that As are only achieved through overloading yourself with too much work to an extent of not getting the required amount of fun and sleep? lack of play and sleep are the fruits of poor time management. top performing students use techniques that most students don't use (yet simple),  which enable them to have more fun and sleep time at the same time achieve excellent grades. This is why people get surprised  to see winners of the most scandalous award  topping their classes when ever the dean's list is pasted. lets get each other clear hear, this statement has come to make realize the secret which a guy who spends most of his evenings boozing get good grades uses not to encourage the irresponsible behavior. this article covers some of the time management techniques which you can use to achieve excellent grades without burning out.


1. use time management tools
the time management tools that we will cover in this episode are the calendar and a to dos list. if you haven't started using the above mentioned tools yet you are missing the most important component of time management not only in your student life but the entire success journey since they will help you to be organised, track your progress and you won't forget important tasks just to mention a few.

the calendar       
 you can choose a regular calendar, Google calendar or any notebook. on this calendar you write all assignments with their due dates, exams with their specific dates, school activities and other extracurricular activities with their dates.

a daily to-dos list

A to-dos list is a piece of paper which contains all the tasks to be completed in a day.it also contains tasks which you haven’t scheduled yet. You must walk with your to do list everywhere so that you should know what to do at every specific time the day. You should also write down every new task on the list so that you can schedule their time and transfer them to the calendar later in the evening.

a calendar and a to dos list in action (Case study)

on Monday Jonathan wakes up at six o'clock just as he does every day. he checks whats on the calendar for this day and he finds the following tasks.

• develop an outline for  biology essay
•   return a library book
• review chapter  2 of physics
• a date with Rose

he rips a paper out of a note book and he starts allotting tasks to specific times of the day. after completing that exercise his  to dos list looks as follows: 

8:00- 10:00 algebra class
10:20- 11:30 develop an outline for the biology essay
11:40- 11: 50 return a library book
12:00-13:00 lunch
13:30- 15:00 study chapter 2 physics
15:00-16:00 read for the computer systems class
16:00-17:30 computer systems class
19:00-21:00 nice time with rose

Jonathan starts the day by going to the algebra class as on the list. at the end of the lecture the professor gives an assignment due Wednesday the following week. He doesn't bother himself memorizing the date, instead he writes it at the back of his to dos list ready to be transferred to the calendar later in the evening.By doing this he frees his head to perform other tasks, 100% assured that the date is saved (trying to save things in your head only keeps your brain busy at the end of the day you find yourself forgetting the task).

developing an outline, returning a library book, studying chapter 2 physics and reading for a computer systems class go successfully. after the computer systems class he sees a message from the chemistry group members saying that they will start doing the group assignment on Wednesday. he also records this at the back of  to dos list just as he did with the assignment due date. 

before meeting rose he allots the tasks he recorded during the day onto the specific dates on the calendar. after that he takes a shower ready to meet rose as planned. because he has completed all the tasks he planned for the day he is able to chill with rose to the maximum( play hard) because he knows that every thing is in control. he will also sleep from 9:30 to 6:00 which is the required amount of sleep.

  2. Concentration
one big thing that distinguishes a top performing student from an average student is the level of concentration while studying. top performing students know very well the importance of investing maximum concentration when studying. according to cal Newport, there is a big difference between studying and pseudo studying.

a student sitting on his bed with a book in his hands enjoying the music coming from the next room is pseudo studying. the same applies to a girl who is busy thinking about a relationship break up with his boyfriend while studying. the amount of work one can accomplish per given time is directly proportional to the level of your concentration.
 

in order to achieve maximum concentration when studying you have to eliminate internal distractions and reduce external distractions. internal distractions include factors within yourself that will cause your mind to wander while studying such as stress. external distractions include factors you can't control such as a noisy environment. check out 5 brilliant ways to maximize concentration.

planning and organizing your study
planning and organizing your study determines the quality and the quantity of your work. most students skip this important step. before going for your study, know what you want to achieve after that study session, where you want to study and the resources you will need for your study.

knowing what you want to accomplish after the study session conditions your brain for the task and its a good way to check if your study session was successful or not. most students do just study and retire when their study time ends. this way you won't be able to see if you have benefited from your study session or not. set goals for each study session.

you should organize the environment and the resources you are going to use during studying. searching for a calculator while you have already started studying will only eat your valuable time. prepare these things prior to your study session.

Be there

“80% of success is showing up” Woody Allen

this is the basic secret to any success. regular class attendance saves your time to study the material. no book can explain the material better than a human being directly. if you don’t understand something ask right away . leave all those lame excuses and attend classes so that you learn the material better and save the time you could spend trying to figure out what is and whats not on your own. if the class is too big and you can’t ask a question see the professor in office hours or ask a friend.

use downtime wisely.

after submitting that big assignment which used to give a dozen of night nightmares, most students toss their school work aside and wait for another assignment to remember it . by doing this, work piles up and it will force you to pull all-nighters when the exams approach. it's good to reward yourself after accomplishing such a big task but you should remember that the journey doesn’t end here. A day off your studies is enough to revitalize your mind. always remember to “hustle while waiting” to enjoy more in life

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