Time management makes
the difference between the successful student and the unsuccessful student.
Successful students are excellent time managers. Unsuccessful students are poor
time managers. Learning how to manage your time wisely is the key to academic
and career success!
The successful student
has 24 hours and the unsuccessful student also has 24 hours. But it’s the way
they both spend their 24 hours that determines their outcomes during
graduation. Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder and CEO of Facebook said, “You get what
you spend your time on!”
School is good! But, school doesn’t train students to manage
their time wisely. In fact, most teachers are horrible at time management. Time
management skills and disciplines are not learnt at school and this goes on to
affect the career life of students when they graduate.
Here are 7 time-management
tips that can help you organize yourself and academic activities prudently. The
best part is: this time management tips
will make you a successful student and make your career life successful!
1.
Set
academic goals and prioritize them for the term, semester or the final grade at
graduation
“Success is goals. All
else is commentary,” said Brian Tracy. The very step toward managing your time
is to set goals for the term or semester or final grade at graduation.
Your goals must be
SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic & Time Bound). If you
will achieve any goal in this semester/term what will it be? What result do you want
to get at each subject you’re studying? What do you want as your final result?
Evaluate your previous
performance and set your academic goals for the time. Your goals should also be
personal and be in the present tense!
You should then
prioritize your goals based on their level of importance to you. Name the most
important once as “A” tasks, the less important as “B” tasks and the important once as “C”
tasks!
Example:
·
I get 6A’s in this term/semester (A1)
·
I read 5 story books in this term/semester
(B)
·
I learn 100 new vocabularies in this
term/semester (C)
·
I get the first position in Math this
term/semester (A2)
·
I get the first position in English this
term/semester (A3)
Action Exercise: Set 10 goals you would like to achieve by
the end of the term or semester.
2.
Make
a “to do” list monthly, weekly and daily based on your long term academic goals
It’s not enough to have
goals. Goals must be backed by objectives and consistent actions to become a
reality. So you must set sub-goals called objectives and work on them daily to
achieve the long term-goals.
To manage your 24 hours
wisely, you must plan your day daily. This is best done in the evening before the
next day. Plan your monthly activities from your academic goals for the term/semester.
Plan your weekly activities from your monthly goals. Plan your daily activities
from your weekly goals.
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| Source: Bulldog Academic Resource Collection-Slideshare |
Action Exercise: Sit down
and write your “to do” list for the month, week and finally your day.
3.
Prioritize
your list according to their level of importance and urgency
Put the most important
tasks you have to do in your list at the top. Prioritize your monthly, weekly and
daily academic goals. Organize your list according to their level of importance. Make sure you include your errands, routines and study schedules!
Remember:
·
“A” Tasks: Most Important Tasks ( your
highest value tasks)
·
“B” Tasks: Less Important Tasks ( your
high value tasks)
·
“C” Tasks: Important Tasks ( your valuable
tasks that also needs to be done)
·
“D” Tasks: Delegated Tasks (tasks you
should delegate for others to do)
·
“E” Tasks: Eliminated Tasks (things you
should stop doing)
Use numbers to further prioritize
“A” tasks into A1, A2, and A3 etc. Do the same for your “B” tasks and your “C”
tasks!
Action Exercise: Prioritize and organize your “to do” list
according to their level of importance and urgency to you!
4.
Focus
on high value tasks and discipline yourself to complete them.
If you evaluate your list well, you'll see that you must focus on only A, B and C tasks only. You see,
your priorities determine your level of focus. So focus on high value tasks,
the most important things that must be done for you to achieve your academic
goals.
It’s not about working
hard. It’s about working smart! And working smart requires you to focus and
work on high value tasks that will generate the most results and bring you
closer to your goals.
Action Exercise: Focus on A, B and C tasks on your daily to
do list and complete them.
5.
Discipline
yourself to focus on one task, complete it and get to another on your list.
Discipline is the key
to success! It requires you to do what must be done whether you feel like doing it or
not! Once you have planned your daily activities, the next step is to work on
them one-by-one, from the most important to the delegated ones.
Action Exercise: Develop the habit of self-discipline and
focus by working on your goals and lists according to their importance and
complete them.
6.
Motivate
yourself to accomplish the tasks by setting rewards for accomplishment
Procrastination is not
your best friend. It’s your enemy! As a student, you must learn to motivate
yourself and get things done at the right time.
One of the best ways to
overcome procrastination is to set deadlines for your tasks and award yourself
when it’s completed.
Companies reward
workers with pay raises and bonuses to motivate them to do their best and
complete tasks at the right time! You’re the CEO of your academic life, so
reward yourself as well.
Action Exercise: Set rewards down for accomplishing your
weekly, monthly and terminal academic goals.
7. Set
time in the evening to evaluate progress,
meditate and plan the next day
Evaluation is as good
as execution because it’s when we evaluate that we measure our progress and
find better ways of reaching our goals. So spend time to evaluate your progress
towards your daily, weekly, monthly and seminar/terminal goals!
Spend at least 30
minutes in the evening to evaluate and measure your progress. Mediate or listen
to something inspirational and motivational. Then plan for the next day based
on your weekly goals. Post tasks that have not been performed on the next day’s
schedule!
Action Exercise: Spend time in the evening daily to evaluate progress,
meditate and plan for the next day.
Success is habits! As
you work on and apply these 7 time management tips for students, in at least 30
days, you will begin to form the time management skills crucial for your
academic and career success!
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