I will confess that I am not the best person to give advice on time management. One of my issues is that I am loath to say no to a friend who asks for my help, or say no to a professor or colleague who needs my assistance. I really like to help others, but that can become a real burden when I have my own assignments and work. So my first suggestion for better time management is to know when it is time to say no to others (politely). Simply explain why and don’t feel bad. They will understand.

My second issue that affects my own time management is sleep. Unfortunately, sleep is one of the few things that is free that we still never seen to be able to get enough of. I, myself, have very poor sleeping habits and I can feel the obvious effects of it on my ability to complete tasks on time. Being tired slows you down physically as well as mentally. For those of you, like me, who have poor sleep habits, I recommend planning to do your assignments soon after you wake. Whether it is in the morning, or late at night (like me), working when you’re most rested may allow you to do more in a shorter amount of time as opposed to trying to drag yourself through an assignment when you’re tired.

Finally, and this is the suggestion that most people will shake their heads at, turn off or silence your devices and close your social media down while you’re trying to work. Being able to maintain focus is an extremely simple way to boost the efficiency of how you use your time when doing things like studying or completing assignments. For a student, breaking focus while working is like a drummer breaking rhythm while playing. It takes time and effort to regain your place and forward motion. Time and effort that would be better spent on your task. Each text that you answer or send, each tweet that you read or post takes you out of that focused mindset.

Thank you for reading my post. I hope one (or all) of these suggestions will be helpful to someone.