What is it?
Time is a resource which cannot be changed or stretched so we need to learn how to manage ourselves and make the best use of it. Time management is really the management of a combination of skills like self-awareness, motivation, communication and organisation.
Why is it important?
In life, generally, and especially while studying, you are likely to have lots of demands on your time. That might be pressures at work, assignment deadlines, or family and other caring commitments. Having some tools to help you prioritise and manage tasks effectively can relieve the stress of juggling multiple deadlines or demands.
We all manage and use our time in different ways. How we spend our time, where, and on what is a very personal aspect of our lives. When working in groups, it is important to remember that others may have more or less time available than yourself, or they may have other priorities for their time that need to be accommodated and respected.
The ability to manage your time effectively is important. Good time management leads to more efficiency and productivity, less stress, less wasted time, and ultimately more success. Here are some benefits of managing time effectively:
- Stress relief – Making and following a task plan makes you feel less stressed and reduces anxiety.
- More time – Proper time management gives you extra time to spend in your daily life.
- Ability to realise goals – You will find that you achieve your goals and objectives in a better way.
What do I need to know?
- How do you spend your time? Do you have clear priorities? Do you have a schedule? Do you have a plan?
- What takes your concentration from the task in hand? Do you look at your phone every time it beeps? Do you have a space to study, away from noise? What are the distractions you can reduce, or remove, while you are studying?
- Have you scheduled in enough breaks? Regular breaks are important for study. Stepping away from your work can enable you to think through an objective in a different way, provide clarity or just enable you to refocus.
- If you are working while studying, you may find that you have competing demands on your time. You may have an assignment due at the same time work is expecting an objective to be achieved. These can be alongside social or personal demands. A clear plan and getting started early can help with this.
- Do you have a schedule for your study? Do you know key dates? Knowing these details can enable you to prioritise, which will aid your time management.
- Writing an assignment can be more time-consuming for some than others. Once you have a couple completed you will get to know how long it takes and you can adjust your schedules accordingly. People frequently underestimate the amount of time it will take them and end up rushing to meet a deadline.
- Don’t procrastinate. Are you spending too much time talking about getting started on something, rather than just getting on with it?
So how can you improve your time management?
- Set goals – Ask yourself which goals are important to you right now and what needs to be done to achieve them. Make sure they are realistic and measurable.
- Make a to-do list – Don’t try to memorize your schedule. Write it down somewhere and tick items off when you complete them.
- Prioritise – move less important tasks lower down on your list.
- Delegate when necessary – learn to say 'No' to new tasks if you are over-burdened already!
- Calculate the time spent on each of your tasks – evaluate how your time is spent over the course of the day. Is it time well spent on the right things?
- Avoid distractions – Turn off your phone and close the door. Give yourself chance to concentrate if you need to.
- Take breaks often – Give yourself permission to stop every now and again and take a complete break, even for five minutes.
- Avoid procrastinating – Stop putting off that task. Get it done and tick it off the list.
- Keep an eye on your deadline – To estimate how long you actually have to study before the deadline, start from the due date of your tasks and work backwards. Remember to factor in holidays, etc. It helps to develop a structure to your day and make study a habit.
Time management for the neurodiverse
There is a useful website called Differently Wired that provides tips to help with time management. It covers priority management, creating a structured workflow, estimating how long tasks will take, time boxing using the Pomodoro technique and focus management.
How to prioritise and categorise your tasks
The Eisenhower Matrix takes reference of a quote made by President Dwight Eisenhower about the principles of importance and urgency to organize priorities and workload.
The method was designed to facilitate the categorisation and prioritisation of tasks, enabling better time management. It helps you organise your tasks into four priority categories:
Do, Schedule, Delegate (give to someone else) and Don't Do.
