Time Management Techniques from an Ultra-Successful College Student

Being able to manage our time the right way is what makes the difference between achieving our goals and not achieving our goals (remaining motionless and unfulfilled). According to Google’s definition, time management is defined as “the ability to use one's time effectively or productively.” During my freshman year of college, I struggled with time management. I would always ask myself, at least a two million times per day, “what have you done today?” During this time, I, like most of the people who confuse productivity with being busy, would have an answer to my question, and that answer consisted of many trivial chores. I wanted to be a standout performer on the football field and make A’s and B’s in the classroom, but how was cleaning my room, doing laundry, or updating my Facebook status going to help me achieve that? This was a serious problem that needed to be fixed.

See, I was getting things done, however, I was not making any progress, nor was I practicing effective behavior, actions that bring forth results. I always carried a to-do list around with me, which was okay because it kept my focused, but I was focusing on the wrong things. For anyone to be productive, they must complete tasks that move them towards their end-goal-- and this in itself, the behavior that is moving them towards their goal, is effective behavior because, over time, if they keep getting closer, then inevitably, the byproduct of this behavior will be the accomplishment of their goal (the desired result). So if we want to know if we’re being productive or not, we should ask ourselves this, “what have I done today that has moved me closer to my goal?”

Once I learned this and paired it with a few time management techniques, I had more free time, was happier, achieved more, and was able to add more to my schedule. You too will be able to do the same if you see being productive as making progress and utilize some of the time management techniques in this article.

1. Have an End-Goal

In order for any of us to be productive, we must have an end goal! It is impossible to make progress or accomplish anything if it does not exist. This is like playing basketball without a hoop (feel free to tweet that). How will we score or know if we’ve won?

Having an end goal allows us to direct our time, focus, and energy for a cause. Not setting a goal is the first step towards not being productive, and it is also the most common mistake that we make. Contrary to popular belief, we do not have to write our goals down, put them on our mirror, or keep them in our wallet, but from my experience, it does help if goals are down on a piece of paper and are in sight.

Even more, having a goal gives us something to chase after during the day, a reason to wake up. When we set goals, our actions have purpose, and when we have purpose for what we do, we now have meaning; and who doesn’t want to live a meaningful life?

2. Beat Procrastination and Do the Worst Thing First

When we think of the longest and or most strenuous task on our list of things to get done, we, as human beings succumbing to human nature, almost always continue to put it off until the deadline is so close that we can smell it or until it’s too late. This is what almost everyone in the world, from time to time, suffers from; it’s called procrastination.

What we need to know about procrastination is this: procrastination is nothing but a byproduct of our brain’s response to avoiding pain. Think about it. When people are about to do something painful, like ripping off a band-aid that has been on their arm for a week, how often do you see them just rip it off? Most times, they are trying to brace themselves. It is the same when we put off work; we are trying to brace ourselves… but sometimes that is the only thing we are doing and never get to the painful part.

If we want to beat procrastination, we must use what we know now and put it in reverse by writing down 2-3 reasons why we want to do something. Usually, we only want to do things that benefit us, and when we see completing the task as beneficial, we will be motivated to it instead of dreading it. Once we are done with what we see as the worst task, as the day goes on, it only gets easier.

3. Meet “For-The-Day” Objectives

Objectives are tasks that we must complete that will move us closer to our goal(s). These objectives are to be taken seriously and strategically implemented. The 80/20 principle which implies that 80% of results come from 20% of the task we must complete is a very effective philosophy to live by. This is how it works. Write down 10 things that you can do each day that will help you move closer towards your goal, and once you have your 10, circle the 2 that are the most significant, then, focus on doing those 2 things everyday to the best of your ability.

   From my experience, trying to complete any more than three objectives per day leads to fatigue. Tim Ferriss, the author of the best-selling book The 4-Hour Work Week, in his book, writes that he has come to the same conclusion.

   Objectives are the small goals that help us accomplish the big goal. If I wanted to read a 300-page book in 30 days, then my objective for each day would be to read 10 pages per day for those 30 days.

4. Prioritize !

Prioritizing comes right after setting our goal(s). This is what makes the difference between someone who is busy, accomplishing meaningless, trivial task and deceiving themselves into thinking they are productive, and someone who is consistently productive, moving closer to their goal as each day passes.

   Prioritizing is simply choosing which task are more important. Just because you checked something off your to-do list does not mean you are being productive. If I wanted to write a book in ten days, I would never get it done if I focused on taking out the trash, washing dishes, or walking the dogs. Not all task on our to-do list are equal, and we should not treat them as such.

5. Time-Block

When we time-block, we plan to take part in completing tasks during particular time frames that we have set aside to do so. An example would be if we wrote down in our daily agenda that from 7:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. we would spend that hour doing nothing but writing an article to be published on linkedIn.

   The most successful time blockers make their schedule the day before. In order for us to have a productive day, it is wise to spend our time before we actually get it. Typically, people write down what they are going to be doing ahead of time in an agenda or notebook of some kind. I time-block my days on a note-card, so I can conveniently refer to it many times throughout the day. If I feel as though I am getting off track or if I forget what I am supposed to be doing, being able to reach into my pocket for my schedule seemed appealing to be and has proved to worth it.

The best time to begin the next day, from my experience, is during the middle of the day. Most people plan the next day at the end of each day. For me, I noticed that when I tried to do this, I was too tired. Sometimes, I would never get to it; so instead of continuing to plan the next day at the end of each day, I started planning my days during lunch, dinner, or in class when I got bored.

6. Schedule Time to Reflect

   Getting the right things done is important, and it is beneficial, however, spending all of our time going as fast we can is not always the best thing for us. When we take the time to reflect, we can truly determine if what we are doing is what we want to do. Believe it or not, most people are doing something, not because they want to, but because they were told it was the right thing, everyone else is doing it, or something else along those lines. Many of these people have not taken the time necessary to determine what they actually want, and if you ask them if they like what they are currently doing, most will say they don’t. Even more, if you ask them what they want to do, many of them would not be able to tell you because they don’t know. So, take the time to reflect and ask yourself is what you are currently doing what you want to do, why are you doing it, and what do you really want to do.

About the author

Julian Colvard is a education major at Clark Atlanta University who has accumulated over $100,000 in scholarship money, is a collegiate football player (and is one of the captains for the Clark Atlanta University football Panthers), a fitness trainer in the Atlanta University Center (and has worked with over 40 students), real estate entrepreneur, and public speaker, teaching students within the Atlanta Public Schools system about what it takes and how to win at college.