It’s not uncommon to feel like you have a million things to do but not enough hours in the day to get them done.
As a college student, time management will quickly reveal itself to you as an essential skill. Between classes, sporting events, extracurricular activities and some remnants of a social life, time becomes a valued commodity.
I personally struggle with procrastination when I really don’t like what I have to do (i.e., math). College quickly taught me that time is of the essence. I needed to just buckle down and get stuff done before I drowned in work. After struggling with time management my first semester of college, I learned to put my phone across the room and focus on the task at hand. The world is not going anywhere while you finish your to-do list.
I’ve found that, somehow, it feels like deadlines for every class end up around the same time. There will be weeks where you have two papers due, a huge exam to take and five chapters to read before it is even Wednesday. Weeks like these are when time management crawls to the top of your most-important-skills list.
This semester, I have tried to complete all of my homework, readings and assignments early. The amount my stress level has decreased is amazing. Being a journalism major, I am used to working on a tight deadline. I’ve tried to make my own deadlines for all assignments. This has not only given me more time to do other school-related things, but has also given me time to enjoy things outside of class. When you work hard, you can play hard.
Fall semester is the extreme example of needing the skill of time management. Fall means football and football means losing a whole day (gameday) to do homework. Believe me, you do not want to be that person who has to miss the pre-game to finish last minute homework you forgot to do. Get homework over with before the big game. I could not stress this enough.
Fall is also the best time to fall into a good routine. During the first few weeks of the semester, you’ll find what works best for you — when to get up, when to exercise and when to do what homework.
I have found that writing everything down works best for me. Once syllabus week is over, I go through and put all the important dates for my classes into my calendar on my computer. My roommate finds that a physical calendar on her wall works best for her. This technique helps to visualize your week ahead and how you should be efficient with your time.
Another friend of mine likes to plan out his time day-by-day. There are several ways to be productive in the few hours you have in a day.
You have an economics test Monday? Get your homework done for all your other classes early so that you can focus on studying for that test. Plan out your days based on your calendar.
Time management can be hard, but once you have the hang of it your life will become less stressful.
Be a master of managing your time. Get your work done so you’re not rushing to complete that discussion post an hour before it’s due. It is possible to finish your work ahead of time, and I can almost guarantee you that it will make your life so much less stressful. College is hard, but this skill makes it all that much easier.
Kacey Finch is a UF journalism sophomore. Her column appears on Wednesdays.
