By Zaneta Gudowicz, MSc Management (International Business)
Time is precious, isn’t it? Especially now in December, when most of the students are in a rush dealing with deadlines and exam revision. So, how to become more productive during this busy period?
In this case, you’ll need good time management! These are my top five tips to help you to achieve this.
1. Write everything down
Write down each of the deadlines of your assignments, exams etc. in either a calendar notebook, daily planner or schedule organiser – anywhere that you would check every day. Notebooks and organisers have become popular, so there are plenty of choices with different variety of design in shops.
If you would prefer to get reminders about upcoming deadlines or meetings, you can use your laptop’s calendar, Google Calendar, or apps created for time/project management and productivity, such as Trello, Wunderlist, or Evernote. There are loads of them available, so search and find the one that’s right for you. You can use traditional or more ‘technological’ solutions. Personally, I am a fan of writing in my planner, but mixing it up might be a good idea too – find a way that fits you the best
2. Prioritise short- and long-term goals
Once every assignment or exam is written in one place, it is a good moment to set your short-term goals. These should be done as first, and as soon as possible to give yourself more time for preparation for exams, or writing individual essays. Those short-term goals can be things like group assignments or short essays, and completion of these easier things will make you feel like you’re progressing. Once you’ve tackled some of the smaller tasks, you can move onto the bigger, long-term goals.
3. Prepare a to-do list for every single day
Of course, it is not necessary to list every single activity you’re going to do, but just point out things which should be done on a particular day. You may make two separate columns, such as ‘studies’ and ‘spare time’ (such as shopping, cleaning, meetings, etc.). I find the best time to make these lists are before I go to sleep, so that I know exactly what my next day will look like.
4. Start your day with your MITs (Most Important Tasks)
If your classes or part-time jobs are not held in the morning, it is an excellent time to spend on your most important and challenging tasks when you are full of energy, and your brain had enough rest. Afterwards, you have more free time during the day. You will also be less stressed that you have not done something that you had to. Having said this, I have some friends that are more productive in the evening, so it’s really important to get to know your strengths and how you work!
5. Don’t be afraid to reschedule your plans
We know that not everything goes well and smooth as we planned. However, it is crucial to not become overstressed and don’t panic jsut because you had to postpone something. Reschedule your plans in a way that will be convenient for you – if you’ve taken the time to plan ahead, it’ll be easy to modify your plans and still meet deadlines.
Those are my tips which should be helpful for everyone who is struggling with deadlines! Good luck!
P.S. If you’re interested in time management and productivity, I’d recommend you read the book Eat That Frog!