Introduction

What is the biggest issue that most college students will tell you that they face? Fighting against the clock. As assignments pile up, invitations to social events increase, and pressure to spend time with family mounts, it becomes a challenge for students to juggle their time and allocate the appropriate amount to each. Plus, this is not an issue that only plagues college students, some working adults still face it even now. This is especially the case if you are an adult working a part time mba singapore. As such, this is a guide on how to conquer time management and use it to your advantage. 

Tip #1: Pen down anything and everything

In a single lecture, the professor can drop many important details for the student. How many times do we put too much faith in ourselves to take note of it mentally? The answer is, too often. This is especially so when we have packed up and are ready to take off until the professor drops a date for your assignment or class test. That’s when we take a “mental screenshot”. However, out of the many times we have done that, the mental shortcut fails us just as many. So, save yourself the mental torment when it actually does fail, and just make it a habit to take down everything you hear. Especially if it contains dates or times of assignments and exams. 

Another note on this is, at the start of every semester, write down the important dates that will usually be available in the syllabus given to you. Then, it is also a good habit to check it once or twice across the semester for any changes.

Tip #2: The mobile phone is multi-functional

Of course, the issue still remains that taking all your stuff out again to take notes is troublesome and extremely offputting. So what is another tool convenient enough for you to utilize in situations like this? Something that fits snugly in your hands. That’s right, your mobile phone. We already depend on it for many things like ing, ing time, why not use it as a reminder? Not only that, but most mobile phones also have a calendar whereby you can directly input the event into the day itself. Other than that, there are also applications that temporarily block off your access to social media to mitigate distractions. You can also to-do-lists on your mobile device to keep track of what needs to be done.

Tip #3: Routines are boring but they are effective

Many think that following a routine lacks excitement and true enough, it does but it works. It lacks excitement precisely because it provides certainty. With certainty, we have some form of control over our own schedules and when we keep up the schedule, we know little things will go wrong. So, you can start off at the start of the semester, and of course, it will not be perfect. This will require some trial and error to achieve a more stable schedule. After that, you are settled, and things will not always go according to plan, there might be some changes and sacrifices here and there, but it’s better than having no plan at all.

Tip #4: Keep fit and healthy

This piece of advice may seem like it should be in a fitness guidebook or something similar. Well, hear us out, it has reasonable foundations. Having a fit and healthy body just means that your body has enough energy. With sufficient energy, you have a more active mind when it comes to doing your work. This also helps with stabilizing your circadian rhythms ensuring that you are well-rested during the night. All in all, this will help improve focus during the day and recuperation during the night.

Tip #5: Organization is key

This is by far the most straightforward and simple advice we have and there really is no other method to go about this. What we mean are simple things like having separate binders, notebooks, or files for different classes which makes it easier to organize. This is especially important for those who have multiple classes in a semester. You could even print out the syllabus to be used as the cover page for your files to keep track of important dates as well.

This can also be applied to the online realm where it covers keeping your folders and notes in their proper designations. It is also good to ensure that your desktop is not cluttered with notes and documents making it difficult to sieve for the ones you need.

Tip #6: Go old school, use checklists

This is pretty much an unoriginal tip but one that most people neglect. Not only do you derive gratification from crossing or checking off tasks from your checklists, but it also helps keep you on track during the week or semester as well. To make things simpler and more discernable, you can even color-code them according to the subject or level of urgency or even level of importance. This way, if you do run out of time, the color-coding will help you to prioritize.

Tip #7: Keep your mental wellbeing in check

There are times where we put too much faith in ourselves and overload because we just want to do everything despite the short amount of time we have. This is often the reason why we are unable to manage our time well because sometimes, we simply do not have enough time. So, the important thing here is to pause and reflect if we are putting too much burden on ourselves. If you are not confident in your own answer, you can even check with your family or friends. We need to learn to acknowledge that we sometimes have limitations and our mental wellbeing holds priority over these material obsessions. Having too much of anything is never a good thing and we should always look towards balance.

Conclusion

Hence, the above are all the tips that we have for how to better manage your time and do note that there needs to be some trial and error as there is no one size fits all solution.