Life as a student can be hectic. Most of the time you have to juggle assignments with part-time work, social life, and studying for exams. There will be days when you feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day. You’re not alone. Time management is a skill that all students have to master, and one that will see you through college and into your career too.
Time management for students isn’t about taking short cuts or rushing through tasks without a proper break. That‘s just a ticket to burn out. What you need is to learn time-saving strategies that will allow you to work smarter and more efficiently.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through time saving tips for students—how to optimize your time with tools and techniques, identify areas where you’re not using your time effectively, plus how to focus on the tasks that need doing.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Use smart shortcuts to work efficiently
When it comes to taking shortcuts, many students who can afford it either get a tutor or pay to get homework done. These can be really helpful, especially if you’ve got so much to juggle with so little time. But if you’re on a tighter budget, there are ‘smart’ ways to take shortcuts using technology.
You can start by looking for productivity hacks, tools, and apps that will suit your typical routine as a student. We call these smart shortcuts, because they leverage technology to optimize your time by reducing repetitive tasks, allowing you to work smarter, not harder. Examples to check out include:
- AI tools: Now, we’re not suggesting you use AI to do all the work for you. AI tools can be extremely useful in helping you plan and check through your work. ChatGPT, for example, can help you generate ideas for a report or create a structure for your assignment, allowing you to spend more time to refine your work. Grammarly, on the other hand, is an AI tool that checks your work for spelling and grammatical errors, saving you time on long proofreads and making sure you haven’t missed any error.
- Templates: Utilize templates to set out your work. You’ll find free templates online for personal statements, practical assignments, and even theses. These save you time without impacting on the individuality of your work.
- Batching tasks: A great technique for saving time is grouping similar tasks together and doing them all at once. For example, start and end the day answering emails. Don’t waste time answering them as they come in. Block time for research and planning so they're all done together. If you’re going to the library, make sure you get all the resources you need to cover everything that needs to be done for that week.
Understand where your time goes
A key aspect of saving time is to know where you’re wasting it in the first place, then identifying when you’re most and least productive. Find out where you spend most of your time and see if there are things you can do differently.
Track your daily habits
You’ll find numerous time-tracking app that will allow you to easily schedule and organize tasks and create plans for the weeks ahead. These apps usually give you an overview of how long you spend on each activity, which will help you evaluate your use of time so you can get a better idea on what and how to improve, and where you can use time-saving techniques.
Tracking your daily habits like this allows you to see where you’re wasting time. Do you have periods where you aren’t actively working because you’re using social media? What might seem like a short amount of time can quickly add up, and tracking your time really highlights where these occur.
Identify time drains
We all have that time of day when we feel most productive and times when we just want to slow down. Knowing when these occur and the habits that underpin them can be a great help when it comes to scheduling tasks.
It’s also good to build an awareness of the common student time drains that hint at the times when you’re least focused and productive. Time drains to look out for include:
- Procrastination
- Multitasking instead of staying focused on one task
- Lack of sleep
- Using phones and digital devices
- Social media
- Unrealistic expectations
Prioritize like a pro
Once you’ve identified the drains on your time, you can start working on a plan to prioritize tasks that are most important. You’ll find numerous methods and techniques for this. Here are a few:
- Eat the frog: This is a popular approach that teaches you to do your most dreaded task first, to get it out of the way. If you need to eat the frog, do it first thing in the morning when you’re most productive and then the rest of your tasks will seem easy in comparison.
- ABCDE method: This simple process encourages you to categorize your tasks— your most important task in A, then B for those that are important but not urgent, C for those that are less important, right through to E tasks that can be eliminated, then you work through them in that order. This is the same approach as the 1,2,3 method.
- Get better at saying “no”: Part of making sure you have enough time to prioritize the most important tasks is to work on setting boundaries and saying no to anything that will put too much pressure on your schedule with little reward. As well as knowing when to say no, think about tasks that you can delegate to others or save for a quieter ti
Build a smart schedule
We’ve looked at the need to prioritize and schedule your time, but what does that actually look like? These days you’ll find apps that can help you plan your day, or if you prefer, you can use a good old-fashioned paper planner.
There are numerous ways to plan your time. You could take each day and block time depending on the number of tasks you need to complete that day. Don’t forget to include time for breaks and meals, and some buffer time for anything unexpected that may arise. For more flexibility, you could create a weekly schedule. Whatever you choose, blocking time for tasks and activities reduces procrastination and time wasting. Check out the following helpful tools:
- Online calendar: Using calendar apps and tools, such as Google Calendar, is an excellent way to manage your study time, stay on top of classes, schedule meetings, and to simply keep you on track.
- Customizable workspace: Apps like Notion are digital workspaces that allow you to schedule tasks, organize projects, and connect with others.
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Pomodoro timer: Pomodoro is a time-saving technique you do focused work in 25-minute bursts with no distractions, followed by a break. You can download a timer, use an app, or just time yourself on your phone.
Master the art of focus
One of the biggest barriers to using your time effectively is the daily distractions that are part of our everyday lives, such as smartphones, social media, and other digital devices. But by cutting these distractions, you can maximize your time and productivity. According to Data Reportal, we spend an average of 2.5 hours scrolling on our phones. Imagine how much more time you could have if you just eliminated this one thing.
Think about introducing focus strategies. We’ve looked at the Pomodoro Technique to block time. You can also try techniques like playing deep focus music that works by stimulating your brain, coordinating neural activity, and facilitating a flow state.
Additionally, think about finding a workspace that’s distraction free. Ideally, this will be away from an area you use for social activity to create a distinction between work and play. Put your phone away, turn off notifications, and use noise cancelling headphones if you’re sharing your space with others.
To sum up
We all wish sometimes to have more time in a day, but what if that’s actually possible by making a few simple tweaks? How well you manage your study time is down to your discipline and the strategies you put in place. They don’t have to be massive. Just scheduling time in a calendar, blocking time for priority activities, or using a timer to stay focused on a task, will make a big difference on how much you can get done in a shorter time frame.
Are you ready to make your time work for you instead of the other way around?