9. Time Management

Within the first few days of starting college, many of us students realise that managing our time is one of the most challenging and difficult aspects of being in college. With so much to do and keep track of, it seems that there just isn't enough hours in the day. We then find ourselves falling behind on some tasks more than others. Time management can truly guide students to a successful and task full week. The first step of time management is to analyse how you actually spend your time so you can determine what changes you want to make. I made a timetable for my entire week to acknowledge what I needed to change.

Some time management strategies that I used are:

• Prioritise- avoid time wasting
• Be specific- make the tasks specific as possible
• Break the task into bite-size chunks
• Use all available time
• Structure the environment- identify a place you are happy with and  can actually get work done with little distractions
• Establish a routine

Many people mistake time tracking for time management. But, keeping track of how you spend your time isn’t time management. Time management is about making changes to the way you spend your time. However, we need to keep in mind that no matter how organised we are, there will always only be 24 hours in a day and 168 in a week. Even though sometimes it doesn’t seem to be enough we just need to be wise with how we spend our time.

Remember a balance of having fun, studying and taking breaks is vital!