Time is the scarcest commodity
Learn to manage your time to make more time for things you love
With the midterm season in full swing, students face many issues struggling to manage their time and schedule their days to accommodate classes and studying. That said, it is important to note that managing time is a life skill that comes with a lot of trial and error. It can be something for first-year students to navigate throughout their university life as embarking on this new journey comes with its own set of challenges.
Navigating coursework, assignments, and extracurricular activities demands a structured and well-thought-out approach to ensure short- and long-term success. There are many ways to manage time effectively with a million things to do outside coursework and maintaining a full-fledged life too.
One idea is for students to make a mental list of their priorities. While students may feel energized, it is very important to manage their time to prevent burnout and unneeded stress. This means one needs to make a list of what is most important for them to do first, and this can vary from semester-to-semester – or even day-to-day.
For example, “I have a club party coming up but have an assignment due the next day. Should I go clubbing and figure out the rest later?” This dilemma could be simply answered with an effective priority list. One can finish off their assignment first, delay gratification, and feel the fun is well deserved and achieved when it’s finally time to engage in that stress-free fun. This conviction to choose the less desirable option takes practice and strength to overcome the urge to procrastinate, but even if it is implemented once, the possibility of taking it further is there.
Students can also make effective use of their time by time blocking. University students have a lot of deadlines in addition to any other extracurricular commitments. It is important to block off time immediately for studying time. Time blocking can be used for deep work too.
Deep work means work that requires complete concentration, with no distractions, for a short period of time. Deep work helps a person reach peak productivity, and in this way one can complete a task in less time than by working on it continuously for hours.
Planning your day during exam season is another way to manage your time. With midterms upon us, students need to make sure that they plan their days effectively to minimize distractions. This comes with practice and focus. If one can prioritize their tasks and block off time to do those tasks during their day, they will effectively have everything planned for their day.
Pareto’s Principle, or the 80-20 Rule, is a useful tool that could help students when studying for exams. The principle states that 20 per cent input can create 80 per cent of output. When applied to something like time management, spending 20 minutes of your time on the most important task will lead to a greater chance of success in those tasks, instead of spending that same time doom-scrolling on social media. In essence, spending your time on the most important tasks will help you out the most.
Hugh Culver, in his book Give Me a Break, described boulders, pebbles, and sandboxes that could be related to the Pareto principle and implemented successfully to manage time and ace midterms. Culver described the boulders in one’s life as the long-term goals that take time but count towards 80 per cent of the output produced. Pebbles are those small, short-term tasks that are required to fulfill the boulders.
The sandbox is the activities that take 80 per cent of the time but count only 20 per cent towards the output. Similarly, during exam preparation and to stay on top of coursework, one should stay away from sandboxes that waste time, and focus on pebbles to fulfill the boulders. This includes doing assignments on time and being present in classes for lectures and quizzes. This also includes segmenting study preparation strategies to focus on those topics that cover 80 per cent of the exams.
Taking effective breaks can make or break a person’s productivity. To be productive, one needs to make time to recharge throughout the day. Breaks can include going for a walk on campus or spending quality time with friends doing activities that do not involve discussing academics. Students also often do recreational activities on campus by using the amenities provided by the University of Regina, like the gym and pool. These are great resources for someone to revive from the exam stress and unwind.
While there are so many things to do, there are also things you should not do. Minimizing your distractions can help prevent procrastinating. This includes distractions like social media, which can take up time otherwise planned for coursework. There could be other distractions that could hinder people from focusing on academics, including personal activities that do not cater to one’s long-term goals, the boulders. Distractions and procrastinating will delay one’s process of attaining their goals.
As the list continues, it is worth noting that these approaches are just a few of the many ways to manage your time. People may have their own way of coping with time management and staying on top of their coursework. Mastering the art of time management is not merely a skill but a cornerstone of academic success. Refining this process is an ongoing process and there will be a lot of unlearning and relearning.
One will fail, while others might succeed, but it is all about picking up from where you left off. The commitment to effective time management will not only empower you to conquer your schoolwork but also instill valuable skills that could be transferred to any aspect of work, including working style and personal life. For first-years, it could be something that will take time, but it is an essential foundation to set oneself up for success.
