Six Time Management Tips for Freshmen

Often, we keep piling small tasks on our schedules until items start tumbling off unfinished by their deadline. 

Before you know it, you bail on your day at noon, head to your room, transform into a human burrito and binge that show everybody’s been talking about. Now, while there’s nothing wrong with that occasionally, everything is wrong with that if it becomes your typical day.

Once we’re overwhelmed, we all hope we’ll magically reform and start new projects on time or complete homework on the day we receive the assignment. Unless we identify a strategy to manage the workload, however, we usually abandon that dream when class ends.

While it’s OK to want to binge your show or do other things instead of your homework or a project, you’ve got to figure out how to do it all in college in the time you’ve got. Follow these tips, and you’ll experience the satisfying feeling of accomplishment when you log into Netflix instead of that depressing emotion of defeat.

1. Write Everything Down

Develop the fundamental habits of note-taking and journaling to collect thoughts and assignment due dates. You wouldn’t pour a drink without a glass. Why let your ideas or important dates drain away?

2. Stay Organized

Keep your planner and computer organized. Keep a separate notebook or binder for each class so it’s easier to track notes and assignments. Organization leads to success.

3. Plan and Prioritize

It might not make intuitive sense to start a paper that’s due in two weeks when it was assigned to you today. But nothing frees up time in your schedule like prioritizing and completing tasks little by little. Writing just a couple of paragraphs a day can earn you an A+ on that five-page paper instead of the C- you get by pumping it out in one sitting just before class starts.

4. Determine Whether You’re an Owl or a Rooster

While knowing how to operate is important, knowing when you operate best is crucial, too. Schedule studying or other important tasks for times you produce your best work or are most efficient.

5. Use Your … Cell Phone?

Our phones can do just about everything except get up and walk. From shutting down your social media for an hour or two to keeping track of your class schedule and due dates, programs designed to help you succeed in school fill the app stores. Find a few that can help you write everything down, stay organized and plan and prioritize.

6. Keep Trying New Things

Solving problems in your school, home and professional life is an ongoing task. There are plenty of ways to identify solutions. If one method fails, try another. Keep going until you find something that works for you.

By Kamia Addison