Manage Your Time
Manage Your Time 
College offers opportunities, new chances, and many choices. If you know what you’re trying to accomplish, it’s easier to manage the possibilities and make good decisions.
What if you treated school like a 9-5 job—budgeted time in your daily schedule for classes, a couple of breaks, and a 30-minute lunch, and then used the rest of the “workday” for study time? Imagine how much free time you’d actually have each night if you dedicated a good portion of each day to reading, reviewing, studying, and homework. Need an office? The library might be a great office space to work from each day.
What if you treated school like a 9-5 job—budgeted time in your daily schedule for classes, a couple of breaks, and a 30-minute lunch, and then used the rest of the “workday” for study time? Imagine how much free time you’d actually have each night if you dedicated a good portion of each day to reading, reviewing, studying, and homework. Need an office? The library might be a great office space to work from each day.
Making the Most of Time
College offers many options. Can you do everything? Of course not. Remember, time management isn’t about doing more things; it’s about doing the right things. The key is to plan.
- List the things you need to do.
You might make separate columns -“this month,” “this week,” “today,” “by the time I’m 80,” whatever. Write down assignments, work, personal stuff, errands, everything. - Determine how important and urgent everything is.
Label each item with these two words (or their opposites): important, urgent. Important, meaning it matters. If it affects your final grade, your health, your relationships, or one of your goals, it’s important. Urgent, meaning it needs to be done now. - Number the items on your list.
Things that are important and urgent get number 1s. The 2s will be things that are important but not urgent. Unimportant stuff (more and less urgent) get 3s and 4s. - Schedule.
Use your agenda to help you keep track of your priorities for the month, the week, or the day. Copy the little numbers you assigned for each item on your list too, and stick to the 1-2-3 order when you actually get down to business. - Get to it.
Put your plans into action. Do important things first so that they don’t become big issues.
Helpful Hint
Remember, one of the most important things you can do to be successful in school is to go to class.
| Urgent | Not Urgent | |
|---|---|---|
|
Important |
1. Do Today Class at 1pm Homework due tomorrow Study group Work tonight |
2. Plan Study for test Advising appt. Exercise Update resume |
|
Not Important |
3. Avoid Unplanned social activities Interruptions Distracting text message |
4. Reduce Binge TV shows Scroll through social media Online videos |