Time Management Tips for College Students.

Arguably one of the most important aspects not only to college, but to life is time management. Time management for college students is one of the essential items that you will need to master in order to be successful and because it is so important, we have come up with these time management tips to help you out. You might ask yourself; Why is time management for college students so important? "I went through High School with relative ease and I never studied or did my homework. Even when write me my dissertation "

So, why exactly do you need to manage your time?

Well the truth is you don’t. You and everyone else who is or is about to embark on the college quest should know that you can make it through college just like you did in high school. Granted it will be a little more difficult for you, but you still will be able to slug your way through your four years. These time management tips will really help you to not just slug your way through school but will will help you excel to reach your full potential. Please take my advice. My name is Alec and I am a cellular and molecular biology major at Winona State University. I am also getting a minor in biochemistry. And on top of that I belong to the Pre-Professional Club, Biology Club, Karate Club, Paint Ball Club, and I work as a Resident Assistant. If you don’t think that I’m an active member in all of that then think again. Karate meets once a week, Paint Ball once a week, Biology and Pre- Professional meet about once every two weeks, and working as a RA is about a 10-15 hour commitment per week as well. So, you might ask yourself how I do it all along with studying, hanging out with friends, eating and sleeping and going out to party on the weekends. I’m going to say the words one last time to refurbish it into your brain: time management. That’s how it’s done. Trust me when I tell you that these time management tips really do work. This characteristic is essential for college student success.

So how do I manage my time?

What does time management mean to me?

Time Management Tips for College Students Continued...

There are many different ways, but here are some that have worked well for me. If you’re a super genius or you don’t have much on your plate, you don’t need a planner because you can remember everything like I did in high school. However, when I was in high school I wasn’t involved in 4 clubs and working full time (not to mention a full load of credits). So, now I use a little Five Star planner that I write everything down in. I mean everything. This is one of the most essential time management tips that one can possibly retain. It is essential because when you’re busy you will forget so many different things. I’m talking about people you have to call, the professor you have to talk to, the groceries you need to pick up, everything. I don’t know about the University that you go to, but Winona State University gives everyone a planner that has: school days off, home football/basketball games, and things that a regular planner (one that you would get from a store) wouldn’t tell you. Lots of people use those and really like them because of those reasons, but I use a Five Star planner. Mostly because there relatively small and they have a really hard plastic cover with the metal spirals covered by a synthetic cloth so that they don’t unwind or get bent over time.

Things in your back pack get beaten up pretty badly so I recommend something tough. Another cool aspect to the five star planners is the perforated tab corners. You can fold or rip them off once you’re done with the week. That way you’re not stuck wasting your time trying to find what page you’re supposed to be on every time you reopen your planner. Some people don’t even use planners. I see success with just using posted notes. That’s right. A lot of students just take one or two posted notes and make a list of things that they need to do on that day. Really anything can work it’s all about experimenting and finding what work best for you. Just remember; even more importantly than making a list of things to do is after you make the list make sure you don’t procrastinate and get it done. The last planner that I have seen in common use is the I-calendar from Macintosh computers. If you know how to operate a Mac and own one this might be the way for you. I’m not the best person to talk to you about Mac’s because I have been a PC guy my whole life, but I’m certainly not going to bash the Mac because I have seen firsthand a lot of the cool stuff they can do. Many a student organizes their daily life and manages their time with the I-Calendar. The only down side to this is that you have to buy a $1000 computer where as it’s a lot cheaper to buy a $5 planner. You don’t necessarily have to buy a Macintosh computer though; Microsoft has the same kind of planner material as well. You will use your computer everyday for most everything so you should choose your computer wisely. Your computer could be the time management technique that works best for you.

One of the easiest ways to master the skill of time management for college students is the Five Star planner. Get a Five Star planner and actually use it. A lot of people have planners, but don’t actually write a lot of stuff down in them so they are really useless. Just remember the most important thing to helping manage your time is some kind of tangible list that you can look at and not just have memorized in your brain. As well as keeping some kind of organizational list on what needs to be done; make sure to actually do the things that are on that list otherwise you are no better off than when you were running around with no idea of what to do and when to do it. Once you master the skill of time management and understand these time management tips you will be on the road to success.