Time Management | 7 Tips from a College Sophomore

First, a disclaimer: The daily schedule of the average college student is in no way comparable to that of individuals with careers and families, and I don't aim to make this comparison. What I aim to do, however, is provide lessons I have learned over my college experience that have a universality to them in hopes that they inspire some measure of positive change in the life of another individual. I have never once felt that I have mastered time management. On the contrary, I have, to a substantial extent, managed to increase both efficiency and effectiveness in my daily routine.

As one of Mercer University's 3000 undergraduate students, I have consistently struggled at time management. As thousands of other college students who attend small institutions may know, getting involved in virtually everything the school offers is fairly easy, and seemingly the norm among the general student population. I have classes and several meetings every day, yet I still have to reserve time for communicating with family, relaxing and spending leisure time, and studying for classes. To add to the load, I have an on campus job. In the past, I would skip meals because I would forget they existed; I would run from meeting to meeting and class to class with minimal human engagement; and I would sacrifice doing what I loved for doing what I was supposed to because I signed up for it.

Below are some of the lessons I've learned and some tricks I've implemented in my daily routine.

1) Effectiveness and Efficiency are the two universal characteristics that apply to any action. Simultaneously maximizing these two characteristics is the first trick to time management.

• Effectiveness: performing actions that are in accordance with the mission, purpose, and vision of an individual or collective body.
• Efficiency: performing said actions with minimal use of resources, time, and energy.

Example: It would be efficient for a bank teller to give $500 bucks cash to every single person who pulled up to the window, but this wouldn't be effective.

Another example: It would be effective for a bank teller to, six or seven times, personally analyze every individual check that came in, but this wouldn't be efficient.

Lesson: When scheduling your daily routine, always have the mindset that you want to maximize effectiveness and efficiency. Too many times do we sacrifice one for the other (often subconsciously), and this can take away time that could be spent performing other significant tasks.

2) Cut-off time

One of the best things I have ever done is implement a time where I shut off everything for the night. Whether it's school work, studying, or club/organization planning, I stop, put everything away, and get ready for bed. Prior, I would stay up until 3am or 4am (and wake up early) to knock out all of my work, not recognizing that my efficiency decreased with every minute past midnight. When you set a specific time for shutting down, you manage to reserve a consistent, solid sleep schedule.

3) Sleep is your best-friend

When you implement a strict cut-off time, you indirectly implement a sleep schedule. For example, I never work past 11:30pm, and always wake up at 6:30am. When you are able to get a good night's rest, you wake up the next day with more energy and efficiency than you would if you stayed up late the previous night and slept in the next day.

4) Reserve time for leisure every single day

The biggest problem I have dealt with so far has been burnout; I am working so much that I lose excitement for what I am doing. For many, this burnout effect leads to complacency and a loss of passion. We all need to reserve time every day to do something we love, to try out a new hobby, or to spend alone. Reserving time for yourself is one of the best ways to keep your passion alive and to recharge yourself during a busy workday.

5) Urgent and Important (yes, thank you Stephen Covey)

Especially with the development of technology today, we are constantly being distracted by little, insignificant things (texting, emails, social media, etc.). When doing any type of work, always give it your undivided attention. Put your phone on "Do not disturb," turn your email notifications off, and close your social media tab on your browser. When you focus your mind completely on the task at hand, you will find yourself working at a much faster pace. Pausing your work to respond to your friend asking if you saw Klay Thompson drop 37 points in one quarter (which is incredible) is not necessarily what is most important at the moment. When you learn to divide tasks into what is important and urgent, you learn how to go about conquering your workload.

6) Break your workload into small, manageable pieces

Procrastination, we all can agree, is the biggest temptation of them all, yet we all accept the fact that it is completely illogical. The best way to convince yourself to not procrastinate? Break up your workload into small, manageable pieces over a scheduled timeline. Have a cumulative final coming up? Study chapters 1-3 today and tomorrow, 4-6 the next two days, 6-9 the two days after that, and review all of them a day or two before the exam. Breaking down a huge workload into smaller chunks avoids mental exhaustion and ensures efficiency in your scheduled work time.

7) Be your own manager

The biggest reason we fail to accomplish most of the goals we set for ourselves is because we don't hold ourselves accountable. Example: the gym rush at 6pm you've seen since New Year's Day will be non-existent in 2 week's time. In order to fulfill your goals, you have to completely commit yourself to them. Time management requires the same attentiveness.

-Ponch, a college sophomore still struggling with time management