Time Management in University (How to streamline your activities when you are in university)

Do you find yourself often declining your friends’ offers to hang out and have fun because you are swamped with too much work? Ever sat inside the library during exam season glancing outside the window and watching with envy as the people around you, go have fun or get done with studying before you? The reason you often find yourself in this situation could be your time management skills, more specifically your lack of them.

As a university student, managing your time is one of the most crucial skills to have under your belt. After all, most of us don’t only have to study, but work part-time and sometimes participate in club activities too. Managing all this simultaneously can at times be daunting and seem impossible but fear not! There are plenty of ways to become skilled at this and they don’t require much effort on your part either.

Start On Your Academic Work as Soon As It Is Assigned

If pulling three all-nighters in a row because you haven’t been able to complete a project or assignment is a common occurrence to you, then you should consider starting your work as soon as it is assigned. Though you may be tempted to leave it for the last minute – because that’s when the pressure of actually having to turn in work, kicks in – there are plenty of advantages to starting work early. For one, you have plenty of time to ask your teacher, who would otherwise refuse to help you (especially when there are three hours left to the deadline), about bits you don’t understand. You also have enough time to finish before the deadline. This means that on the days leading up to the submission deadline, you will be relaxed and could even take the time out to do something you like instead. This leads us to the second tip you can follow to manage your time better; reserving time to do things you enjoy.

Allot Time for Things You Enjoy

Just like working is important, so is relaxing. If you don’t take out time in your day to do things that aren’t related to studying, you will find yourself burned out more quickly. You’ll not only be less motivated to study, but you’ll also have a harder time concentrating while studying too. Therefore, make sure you reserve a small slot – it can be as small as 10 to 15 minutes or as long as three hours, experiment with what works best for you – of your day to do something you enjoy and relaxes you. You may have committed your time to activities related to your academic career, but that should not deter you from giving yourself time too.

Don’t overcommit

Lastly, don’t overcommit. You don’t have to be involved in three different clubs, take up ten courses in a semester, and have three part-time jobs, to be a successful university student. While taking up activities outside studying is definitely a good thing, taking up too many can make managing your time very difficult and, in some cases, impossible without unreasonable sacrifices – such as consuming your spare time for friends and family, or leaving no time for sleep.

Therefore, make sure that whatever activities you chose to pick up, do not eat up all your spare time and are worth the time you are putting into them.

The Takeaway

University life passes by in the blink of an eye, therefore each second of your time is costly. Learning to manage this time can be difficult but not impossible - all you have to do is start work as soon as it’s assigned to you, make sure you spare time during your day to do things you enjoy and, not overcommit by taking up too many activities outside university-related ones. This way you will have enough time to, not only do everything you need to do but also be able to do everything you want to do too.