One of the hardest parts about college is learning how to manage your time effectively. With multiple classes and other activities to take care of it often seems like there is not enough time in the day to get everything done. Here are our top ten tips to save time while at college.
1. Do Not Try To Multi-Task
We have all heard people boasting about the ability to multi-task and how they get so much done, and it makes us all want to give it a go. However, scientific research has proven that unless you are someone who is naturally adept at multi-tasking, then you cannot train yourself to do it. It is better – and more efficient – to simply focus all of your attention on one task until it is complete.
2. Keep Your Room Clean
You probably thought that when you moved away for college your days of being nagged to clean your room were over! Sorry, to disappoint, but we are going to step in and take over from your parents and tell you to tidy your dorm room. When your room is tidy you will be able to find everything much more easily and you will not waste time searching for things.
3. Ditch The Drawers
While we are on the subject of tidying up, research suggests that we can find items much more easily if they are stored on shelves instead of tucked away in drawers! Since everything is visible it also encourages you to keep things tidy!
4. TV And/Or Music Is Not Helping You Concentrate
You can insist all you want that having music or TV on in the background helps you to concentrate while you are studying or working on assignments, but scientific studies have proven that this is not the case. In fact, audio-visual stimulation is likely to slow you down and break your concentration. Once you get into your work you will no longer notice the silence and you will complete it in half the time!
5. Use an Essay Writing Service
If you are struggling with completing your assignments on time, then you can make use of essay writing services to free up some of your time. Instead of sitting for hours trying to produce an assignment you can pay a professional writer to do it for you. This is particularly useful when you have multiple assignments due around the same time!
6. Set A Timer For Boring Tasks
When you have an assignment to do that it really boring it is easy to sit around for hours staring at the wall for 20 minutes before writing two lines and repeating this pattern on a loop. If you count up the amount of time you are actually working on the task, it is likely to be a fraction of the time you have used. Instead of wasting this time, what you should do is set a timer for 25 minutes and work consistently until the timer goes off, then you can allow yourself a short break. If you are a competitive type of person then you may even find that you try to beat the timer when completing the section you are working on!
7. Get Plenty of Sleep
One habit that lots of students get into is staying up late for all night study sessions. It might seem like a good idea to push through your tiredness and get that essay done even if it means not going to bed until 5am, but being tired actually kills your productivity! It is much better to get some sleep and maybe set your alarm clock a little earlier to complete your work before class. You will get through it much faster when you are well rested.
8. Do Smaller Tasks Quickly!
If you have a lot of small things to do, sometimes you can accomplish lots of them in a quick, frantic burst! Give yourself 30 minutes and challenge yourself to cross off as many of these small tasks from your to do list as you can! This really works well and you have probably done it before without realising. For example, maybe your new boyfriend or girlfriend calls to say they are stopping by in 20 minutes! You have likely run around your room straightening it up before fixing your hair and changing your clothes! It’s amazing what you can achieve when you do it at break neck speed!
9. Do You Really Need To Do It At All?
Another huge time sucker is doing tasks that you do not need to be doing. When you are trying to avoid doing something you do not want to do – like writing an essay – you will find yourself thinking of unnecessary tasks like sewing on a button, rearranging your bookcase or tidying out your computer files! When you have assignments due, ask yourself if you really need to be doing these tasks right now. If the answer is no, then you shouldn’t be doing them! All you are doing is wasting time!
10. Get Yourself a Planner or Diary
Another great way to make sure that you are using your time effectively is to use a day planner (Remember The Milk) or diary (Day One) to plan what you have to achieve each day. This will help you to be more efficient and you will save time by knowing exactly what you should be doing and when.
These are just a few of the tips that you can use to save time in college so that you are maximizing your efficiency and using your time effectively. This will make