All students start their new semester with high expectations. But somehow, due to unrealistic plans or inefficient time management, they fail to get the expected results. You know time passes away like air. If one doesn't pay attention, it will fly away even before you know it. So it is essential to manage the time that you have been given in a semester in a way that you do not regret letter. There are many time management best practices that can be tried to effectively manage your time. Let's discuss some of them.
TIME MANAGEMENT- STUDY GUIDES AND STRATEGIES:
There are many time management best practices that can be helpful to one and all. Some of them are:
Divide time in blocks and breaks:
When you are clear with your course and school schedule, you need to divide your time accordingly. It is always advised that you must divide your time into blocks. Let's say in a block of 30 minutes, 50 minutes, etc. The blocking of time depends on you. If you start to become restless in as early as 20 minutes, divide the time in the block of 20 minutes. If you can tolerate and remain positive to up to 50 minutes, it is best. Divide your time into blocks for a whole week.
After that block, give yourself a break for listening to music or having a snack or do something of your choice. The breaks must be smaller.
Study at a certain place each day:
Some people are able to concentrate more in open spaces and some in close spaces. Everyone has their own choice of place. Search a place for yourself where you feel zero or least distraction.
Make a weekly review of your work:
This is very important. Feedback is very important for every work you do. It keeps us on the right track. Make a weekly review of what you achieved or did against what you were expected to do. Studying time must also be included in the review.
Prioritize your study keeping the study of the difficult subject first:
While you study, it is necessary for you to know what is more important and what is not. Try doing important tasks first. Together with it, keep one thing in mind, always start with the difficult assignment, subject or task. It is because when we start fresh, our energy levels are high which helps to learn or understand the difficult subjects or topics with ease.
Review notes and reads chapters just before the class:
How does it affect time management? Well, it helps in two ways. First, it shows your interest to the teacher and secondly, it becomes easy to understand the chapter in the class if you have once read it before the class. When you quickly grasp the subject matter in the class, it reduces the time to learn it after the class.
Review lecture notes just after the class:
Actually, when we take notes in class, we feel that we have done a good job. But when we revise we find loopholes. When we revise, we get an idea of what we have not included, and at the same time, we got to know which points we have understood well and which not. It helps us to understand our notes well so that we do not get confused at the last moment of revision during the examination.
USING EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT TO IMPROVE YOUR STUDYING:
As we have already discussed, time management skills are required to be honed if we really want to be successful during the examination. Time management doesn’t seem to be difficult when we approach it as a concept, but it’s very difficult when it is approached practically. It requires some upfront time to prioritize and organize the study time.
Time management will be efficient only if you also include some study skills strategies also. See, one needs to be a quick learner. Not everybody is a quick learner, but by adopting and developing certain study skills strategies, one can become a quick learner in a good time.
20 TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS FOR STUDENTS:
We have discussed in detail what needs to be kept in mind while trying to manage time for studies and getting success.
Here, I am giving a quick recap of those points in the short form for your ease. Please go through them and stick to them for proper time management.
1.) Divide study time in blocks.
2.) Take a small study break.
3.) Don’t waste the commuting time.
4.) Keep a time log for a month
5.) Follow up and review your study plan.
6.) In case of confusion, directly talk to your teacher.
7.) Keep a list of all the things that you plan to do.
8.) Distance yourself from social media while you study.
9.) Turn off all the notifications in your mobile device, tablet, PC, etc.
10.) Keep a clock on your desk and stick to the time you have set for each study session.
11.) At the beginning of every study session, write down what you intend to accomplish. Keep it practical.
12.) Make a weekly review of your studies.
13.) Decide in advance that at what time you are going to accomplish the homework assignment given to you.
14.) Say ‘No’ to what is not important.
15.) Detect the time when you are most productive. Handle the complicated tasks at that time.
16.) Keep your study table clean to avoid all distractions and keep everything organized.
17.) To make your brain work better, sleep, or at least 8 hours.
18.) Read the chapter going to be discussed before the class.
19.) Revise or reread the notes after the class.
20.) Write down the assignment and test dates just on the calendar beforehand.
TIME MANAGEMENT & STUDY STRATEGIES- WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
So we have talked in detail about how to manage the time. But why manage the time? Some students just study and get success though they do not plan much, so why is there so much hullaballoo about time management? Actually, some students are really gifted with time management skills. Though they do not spend much time thinking about how to manage the time, actually manage the time effortlessly. We must not compare ourselves with them, as there are only a few students of such kind. We all require to manage time by providing some effort as we cannot do so effortlessly.
As habits and morals are developed and acquired during school time, so we need to take care of all the aspects of personality development, including time management. Let us now approach the same problem of time management with another perspective. No student time management studies can ever help any student if he/she is not motivated to manage the time. See time ticks away quickly. We can direct the time, but cannot force it.
Do you know why time management is important for students? There are various reasons for it.
1.) It helps to keep them on time and eliminates the possibility of procrastination.
2.) It helps to generate value in the time we devote to studies. Some students devote the time to study but they are not productive. Time management increases productivity.
3.) During exams, a student needs to complete a paper in a limited time. Time management helps to practice for that time.
4.) Time management reduces stress for students and they face the exams with confidence.
5.) Effective time management leaves time for entertainment and fun activities. In a way, with time management, life seems more balanced.
TIPS FOR MANAGING YOUR STUDY TIME:
I have discussed ample study tips for managing your study time. There is another way of remembering these tips i.e. by asking yourself certain questions. I hope that if you ask yourself these seven questions, you will get all the motivation to manage the time and get directions to do so.
The questions are:
1. What do you have to do?
2. Have you fixed a schedule for what you have to do?
3. Are the schedule and planning realistic and flexible to meet the changing demands?
4. Is planning effective?
5. Are you procrastinating?
6. Are your mind and body supporting in your task?
7. What is disorganized in the way?
Answering these 7 simple questions will help you in the long run to schedule your time and manage it effectively. Remember, once you learn the time management skills, they are going to help you in the long run. So don't approach this as a short term problem.