Improving Time Management: Tips that Will Help College Students Start the Year Off Right!

Editor's Notes

1. Between academics, work, social activities, sports, clubs, family responsibilities and volunteering, college students face endless pressure on your time. And although it is important to be well rounded and maintain a full and satisfying schedule, juggling so many commitments can often lead to burnout and fatigue. It’s no wonder that, in our Spring 2015 Student Engagement Insights survey, 78% of students reported that they have struggled with time management at some point during school.   Luckily, with a few small changes, you can start the school year off right, gain more control over your schedule and kick procrastination to the curb. And the best part? Successful time management can have a major positive impact on grades and classroom performance. In addition, students who improve their time management report less stress, better focus and improved quality of life. Keep reading to review our top time-management tips!
2. Make a Schedule: Once priorities are established, the next step in successful time management is to create a schedule. Writing down a concrete schedule is an extremely helpful tool for tracking time. Each week, evaluate upcoming assignments, projects and activities, and design a schedule that makes time for the priority items. This will help you stay organized, focused, and in control of the most important items on your to-do lists.
3. Take Advantage of Small Chunks of Time: Taking advantage of a ten-minute commute on public transportation, a 15-minute break before class, or even just 5 minutes waiting for a friend can add up to very valuable study time. Mobile study tools, like Cengage Learning’s MindTap Mobile App, provide students with flashcards and quizzes to test your knowledge while on the go, allowing you to turn short-periods of time into small study sessions.
4. Study Smarter: Oftentimes, even after countless hours reviewing coursework and notes, your grades don’t show improvement. This could be a result of ineffective study skills. One helpful step: integrate self-testing into your study habits to be sure you truly know the material, and quickly identify areas where you need more work.
5. Go Digital: Take advantage of the digital resources available to you – and activate (and use!) them early in the semester, rather than waiting until crunch time. Many digital tools, such as Cengage Learning’s digital learning solution MindTap, use a combination of reading, multimedia, activities and assessments, to engage users and maximize understanding and retention. MindTap also includes features like scheduling, notifications, and messaging to help you stay organized and on top of upcoming deadlines. Studies show, students that use MindTap get better grades than those that do not.
6. Prioritize: The first step to time management is taking stock of all the different activities, commitments and responsibilities that make up day-to-day life. Taking an honest look at the big picture is essential to identifying priorities and possibly cutting unnecessary or superfluous activities out temporarily. From there, you can more easily identify the priorities that are most important and make sure they take precedent over less pressing commitments.
7. Get Organized: Organization is key to successful time management and being organized also helps to avoid unexpected interruption. Before settling down to study, be sure you have all the resources and tools you need to complete the assignments you will be working on. There is no greater nuisance to hitting a stride only to realize a missing textbook or forgotten computer charger.
8. Schedule in Fun Time: Time management does not equal all work and no play. Actually, students who effectively manage their time tend to have more time for socializing and fun since they aren’t wasting precious time procrastinating or being unproductive. Making sure to schedule some free time each week is not only important to overall happiness but is also key to maintaining high levels of productivity.  
9. What do students who get A's have in common? (Hint: It's not a bigger brain.) Build your digital toolkit with Cengage Learning. Go Digital. Get Ahead.