The problem for any student is a lack of time. They sacrifice their sleep for another incomplete paper or another chapter of a term paper. Over time, it begins to feel as though it is simply impossible to maintain a routine and combine it with studying.
Then the extreme measures begin: a lot of coffee and energy drinks, searching for the answer to the question: “How to manage it all in one night before the exam?” and various pills.
But few students know that the solution to all problems is time-management.
A little more specific about time management
Time management is a technology that helps you consciously control your time, thereby increasing your productivity.
Time management has a certain structure and even coefficients for calculating the loss and waste of time. But we will not go into such details.
Time management techniques
Learn to plan
In this case, your best friend is a planner or diary. They come in different sizes, so carrying them around is no problem. You can also use organizing apps on your phone or laptop.
It’s best if you prepare a to-do list in the evening, so you know exactly where to start the day, rather than wasting more time making decisions in the morning. Of course, you can change it throughout the day, prioritize some things for today and put others off until tomorrow (but don’t overdo it).
If you have some big tasks coming up, we suggest dividing them into tasks that are easier to accomplish. This way you visualize the process and it will give you more enthusiasm.
Make penalties for overdue deadlines
Of course, you can have a nice diary, write down your day minute by minute, and then calmly send it off to rewatch your favorite TV series. To avoid this, you need to learn how to set deadlines, for failure to comply with which also need to come up with a system of penalties.
For example, you didn’t go for a run, so you’re deprived of sweets for a day or even two. The main thing is to figure out what kind of deprivation will motivate you to meet deadlines, then the process will be more fun. And if you’re afraid you won’t be able to do it yourself, ask someone close to you to supervise you.
Divide things up into several groups
This method was invented by the 34th President of the United States, Dwight David Eisenhower. He was a very busy man, so he came up with his time-management method, which is actively used today and is called the Eisenhower Matrix or Priority Matrix. Let’s take a closer look.
Always divide tasks for the day into groups according to their level of importance. If you can’t decide what should be the most important, just think of the worst thing that will happen if you don’t do it.
For example, if you don’t learn a topic and answer it tomorrow, you will incur a debt. Such a task gets the status “important, urgent”. Sometimes such tasks can be assigned to an essay writing service, this guarantees a good grade.
These are followed by “important, non-urgent”. These are tasks that will eventually become urgent but will be difficult to complete. Then they will require many times as much effort and time. To prevent this from happening they need to be given time.
The next group is the “urgent, unimportant” cases. These are things that take a lot of time. You can try to pass them on to someone else. For example, you could ask a young person to go to the shop for you.
And the last tasks are the “non-urgent, unimportant” tasks – those that are not going to be of any use. They are best discarded or at least minimized because they actively eat up your time.
Use the 1-3-5 rule
Simply put, you can complete one big task, three medium tasks, and five small tasks in a day. That is a total of nine tasks, no more and no less.
This rule will help you spend the most sensible limited time resource. In this way, you will gradually get your work done without tiring yourself out.
The Pomodoro system
It is great for people who find it very difficult to concentrate and stay focused. Also, this way you can control your time.
The original method was this: you take a timer and set it for 25 minutes, then actively work on the task without any distractions. When that time has elapsed, you rest for 5 minutes and then repeat the four cycles. After that, you can take a break for half an hour.
These days, things are a lot easier because there are phones with mobile apps. For example, Clockwork Tomato, a timer app on Android, helps the brain to switch intelligently and rest. The classic version is based on 25 minutes of work/5 minutes of rest, but this ratio can be changed.
Eat a frog
This method was invented by motivational speaker and self-development author Brian Tracy. “Frogs” for him are unpleasant things to do, even though you don’t want to do them. So Brian suggests that you “eat a frog” first thing in the morning to shed that weight early and thus ensure you’re in a good mood.
Fresh or Fried
A method from blogger Stephanie Lee. Fresh or Fried translates to “fresh or fried”. It means your brain is fresh at the beginning of the day and fried by the end. So you need to identify your peak time to get all the important things done.
At the end of the day, when your brain is already “fried,” take 15 minutes to make a to-do list for tomorrow. Toward the start of the day take the main errands and the alleged “frogs”, which we discussed above, to the “New” bunch.
Put less urgent tasks in the latter part of the day, as they will be less of a burden on your brain. Repeat it every day.