Time Management Strategies for Students; 24 Systems to Unlock Your Productivity
If you’re in charge of setting your own schedule (or if you’re looking at a lot of open-ended studying in your near future), you’re going to want a way of organizing your time. While we all like to pretend we’re the type of person who can just sit down and work until whenever, not many people can actually do this.
The best way to motivate yourself to sit down and work is to commit to a schedule of some sort. Your weekly schedule will sort out your targets and goals for the end of each week. How you organize your time in between A and B will come down to your time management system.
Here are some popular time management strategies to try out to see what works best for you
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1) Time Blocking
This is pretty much what you’re given when you show up to your first day at a traditional classroom-based course. You schedule what you will cover each day as well as the approximate start and end time of each of those things.
This one’s a lovely way to really see the shape of your week so you can mentally prepare for each day. You won’t necessarily get the timings right on the first try, but the more you work on your courses, the better you’ll get at it.
2) The Swiss Cheese Method
The thought behind this method is to make a bunch of little indents in your massive task so it slowly becomes less and less intimidating.
Essentially, you start with a full, dense block of cheese…then you take a bunch of little bites out of it until it’s small enough to devour hole.
You don’t even have to plan, schedule or organize for this method. Just pick up the task, do a random little thing and move on. Eventually, as things start looking less intimidating, you’ll likely start spending longer and longer as you start seeing the end in sight.
3) The Salami Slice Method
This one follows a similar principle as the Swiss Cheese Method. There’s nothing wrong with only eating one slice of pizza at a time (though NO JUDGEMENT if you do!!), so why judge taking multiple seatings for a large project?
The main difference between this and the Swiss Cheese Method is that it’s a little more organized and methodical. The cheese method is usually more random.
4) The Pomodoro Technique
This one’s particularly popular with coders and students alike. It was initially developed as a study technique to avoid that endless dark pit of unending working.
The basic Pomodoro Method timeline is:
25 min. work; 5 min. break
25 min. work; 5 min. break
25 min. work; 5 min. break
25 min. work; 20-30 min. break
This technique stresses the need for a timer to hold yourself accountable for work and study breaks. It also recommends having a notepad to jot down any distracting thoughts that need to be dealt with later.
If you still time on the timer after completing a task, it is expected that you use that time to review what you just did and possibly start reviewing for your next task.
To find out more, check out my Beginner’s Guide to the Pomodoro Technique, or else watch the video below!
5) The Rule of 52 and 17
Are the pomodoro bursts too short? Or maybe you hate the concept of a 5 minute break because it’s just not enough?
A lot of really smart people swear by the 52/17 method. You work solidly for 52 minutes and break for 17.
Other than the lengths of time, it’s pretty much the same as the Pomodoro Method.
6) The 1-3-5 Rule
This system makes you acknowledge that you can’t do a ton of massive projects all in one day. You get to pick 1 big thing, 3 medium-sized things and 5 small things.
It’s great for those who really enjoy checking things off lists because you’ll get to cross off 9 things every day!
If you’re saying now, wait Nadya, I have 4 big things and no little things….does that mean I’m doomed to failure??? Absolutely not. Break some of those huge tasks into small and medium sized tasks and count THOSE as wins.
7) Don’t Break the Chain
This may depend on your goal, but it’s a pretty simple system if you only have one specific task in mind. It’s perfect if you’re studying for a big test and you want to avoid cramming everything at the very end.
Put up a calendar, and stick a big, red X on every day you do the task. The goal? Don’t break the chain!!! The great thing is it doesn’t necessarily judge the quality of the work, it just keeps you accountable for acknowledging it and doing SOMETHING.
8) The Now Habit/Unscheduling
This one was developed and explained in a book called The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play by Neil Fiore
This method is all about fighting off procrastination by doing THE THING for a tolerable length of time, and then rewarding yourself with something you enjoy.
In this strategy, first you schedule your non-work commitments (such as meals, exercise, socializing, etc)…THEN you write down the work things you want to accomplish. Then on the first day, you immediately start by completing 30 minutes of one of the TASK tasks, so you earn one of the more enjoyable things.
The theory is that breaking down huge tasks into small, 30-minute segments is less intimidating than looking that huge task in the face and trying to do the whole thing. It’s the “something is better than nothing” approach.
9) The Ivy Lee Method
This one’s all about pre-planning your priorities BEFORE you’re in the moment of actually having to do them. This way you can make these decisions without the bias of “if I decide this is the most important thing, then this is what I have to do NOW.”
At the end of your work day, spend a few minutes and write down 6 things you’d like to do tomorrow. Write them in order of priority. The next day, you’ll start at the top of the list and work your way down. Anything left at the bottom can go on the next day’s list.
10) The To-Done List
This one’s pretty straight forward. Keep a list of the things you’ve DONE. While it’s hard to think there could be something more motivating than crossing something off you’re to-do list, there definitely is. Your growing to-done list will become your friend in no time as you learn how quickly it can validate and motivate future work.
11) Franklin Covey Time Management System/ The Eisenhower Matrix
This is one of the principles discussed in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. (If you haven’t read this book yet, you should check it out - it’s pretty groundbreaking).
This one’s a pretty complex one and you’ll find it easier if you purchase some of their tools (planners or software). Essentially, you organize tasks into the following categories:
Urgent and important
Not urgent but important
Urgent but not important
Not urgent and not important
From there, their system helps you prioritize tasks and meet deadlines.
12) 7 Minute Life
The principle is simple, but it can make a world of difference. Dedicate 7 minutes at the beginning and end of your day planning and reviewing what happened. Sometimes all you need to organize and prioritize your world is to step back and look at things without the haze of simultaneously trying to get it done.
13) Getting Things Done
This one also has a book: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
This one is possibly one of the looser systems, but that also makes it the most versatile. It focuses on 5 key steps:
Capture (write down what you need to do)
Clarify (break those things down into actionable steps)
Organize (re-arrange the actionable steps based on their category and importance)
Reflect (look at that list to see what to do next)
Engage (do it)
It’s so simple and complex that you KNOW there’s a lot to unpack!
14) Time Tracking
Essentially, this one’s the reverse of the other methods. It’s more a way to analyze your time management and make useful changes going forward.
Over the course of the day, log everything you do and how long you spent at it. This includes work and other things such as exercise and social media.
Once you have everything written down, you’ll have a better idea of how long everything takes and what areas you might want to consider re-arranging. You’ll also become better at scheduling your days because you’ll have a better idea of how long things will realistically take.
15) Eat that Frog
Ok, so, if you HAVE to eat a frog, wouldn’t you rather eat it first thing in the morning so that the rest of the day could ONLY get better?
This is the principle this technique is based on.
As with most of the other techniques, you write a list of everything you need to do, and the steps that must be completed in order to do that. Then, once you know what has to be done, tackle that massive big frog first…and the rest will seem like pieces of cake!
16) SMART Goals
While not necessarily time management, it certainly is a useful technique for productivity. It involves setting goals with the following characteristics:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Timely
By using this method, you’ll be able to define simple goals that are easy to work towards because they’re clearly understood. No more general “I’m going to get better” goals for you!!!
17) Kanban Board
With this method you’ll organize and move tasks to different columns whether they’re “to do”, “in progress”, “done”….or maybe another category or two. Physically moving the tasks as you’re working and completing them is a fantastic motivator…and a big, dedicated board helps you keep a visual frame of reference of your progress.
Many people use a whiteboard or sticky notes, but a proper Kanban Board is always the best option because of the clarity and ease.
18) Fresh or Fried
Am I talking about onions? I’ll 100% take fried!!
This technique acknowledges that a fresh brain is usually better at handling challenges than a fried brain. Tackle your most challenging tasks when your brain is fresh, and save the easy things for the end of the day when you can barely keep your eyes open.
19) The Bullet Journal
It’s hard to deny the fad that is bullet journaling…and it’s certainly not popular for no reason! The key elements of bullet journalling are organizing your current tasks so you can plan for the future…and as you go, there’s a backlog of the past to help you with those projections.
There are sections for things like daily tasks, long-term goals, schedules, plans, mind maps…pretty much everything you could possibly think of that could be useful.
It is also super trendy to make it visually appealing and share your journey with the world of social media. The traditional journals have a dot grid pattern to allow for complete flexibility in the design department.
Try out this Fella Bullet Dotted Journal Kit to get you started!
20) The 10-Minute Rule
This one’s more about how you plan your day rather than how you organize it. It goes on the principle that all tasks can and should be broken down into 10-minute tasks. This way, anything you have to do doesn’t seem overwhelming.
When you first start with this one, use a timer to really learn how long 10 minutes is. It’s actually quite a bit of time if it’s focused work!
Getting used to breaking things down in this way might take a little getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, there will never be another massive project on your list!!
21) The 10-Minute Rule
Wait - didn’t we just HAVE a 10-Minute Rule??
Yup.
But, guess what - there’s another one!!
This one’s based on the idea that if you have something major to do, sit down and only commit to doing 10 minutes of it. Once you’re 10 minutes in, decide whether or not you’ll keep going. Most of the time, you’ll want to keep going.
Kind of a little psychological trick, isn’t it???
22) MIT - Most Important Task
This concept is highlighted in Josh Kaufman’s The Personal MBP: Master the Art of Business
In a nutshell, at the end of the day, decide on 2-3 most important tasks for the next day. This will help you start off the next day on the right foot.
23) Biological Prime Time
This theory goes on the principle that everyone has a certain time of day when they’re most productive. What you need to do is figure out what time that is for you, and use it to your advantage! Are you better at 7am or 2pm? How about 11pm? By finding out your ideal study times, you’ll be able to capitalize on your brain’s highest functioning time periods.
Since I’m sure you want to know, check out: How to calculate your Biological Prime Time
24) Do It Now
Does this sound a little overbearing? Perhaps…but it’s a system that’s great at crossing off all the little items on your list so quickly that you barely even knew they were there!
The principle is simple: if something will take 3 minute or less, DO IT NOW!
I hope one of these time management strategies solves your productivity challenges.
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Do you want to learn how to combat distractedness and boredom at the same time?
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Who is Nadya Corscadden?
Nadya holds an MA in Musical Theatre and is no stranger to the home learning scene. Having spent a good chunk of her younger years in distance education (and opting for some correspondence electives at university), she has accumulated many tricks to help maintain focus and inspiration. She has a passion for independent learning and wants to help anyone and everyone find their stride in this atmosphere whether it’s homeschooling or simply studying for that next big test!
She is also a triple threat singer, dancer and actress….and can’t wait until stages are alive again!