Effective Time Management For Students Starting College

Effective time management for students

Effective time management for students are needed by anyone starting out their college life because it is full of responsibilities.

Have you ever run out of time to do something that you really need to do? If yes is your answer then maybe you did not manage your time very well.

Proper time management for college students is about making the most of your schedules and it should guarantee that you do it. This is one of the most important skills you’ll need in college. You will be very busy with your studies at the same time, you have to balance it by socializing with other students.

When you have successfully passed the university exam and you are excited that you will be able to meet new friends that will company you and perhaps have a boyfriend or girlfriend whom you’ll spend a good time with.

You should keep in mind that just entering the college level is the beginning. The hard part would be finishing it in “one piece” because of the challenges you’ll have to overcome. This is why effective time management for students in college is needed which can make these things easier.

While your college experience can be fun, it can also be frustrating at the same time especially when you’re having a hard time with your professor or teacher.

You may have thought of the following things when you first visited your college school campus:

  • Wow! The campus is so big I wonder how many classrooms does it have.
  • I have to get ready for my classes but I also want to socialize and join parties.
  • I’m feeling scared around. Help me!
  • Now that I’m in college. What’s next for me?
  • I need to know where the restroom is.

Making the Right Balance

Sometimes it is not about how smart you are if you want to make it through college. It may not be about how high your grades are during your college entrance exams. And it is not all about just studying.

You may have to socialize with other people in college. College gives you that opportunity but you are also required to study. These things are all part of effective time management for students so you can keep yourself "well-rounded" and balanced with the ways of college life.

You should see that you have to learn to balance your time between studies and socializing.

Some college students "study their minds out" but some students do not make it through college because of stress. Yet some students think of the college university as one big party organization. These students either do not know how important it is to socialize and some are just plain lazy to study or does not know the importance and value of education.

Being a genius has its benefits but an important key is needed to be successful in college. So what is the secret to get you through college? Effective student time management in college is the key.

You have to bring balance on everything in your college life. You have to learn managing everything like:

  • Morning routines
  • Preparing for your classes
  • Studying and reviewing
  • School organization activities
  • Spending time with your friends
  • Resting and sleeping

You should understand that effective time management for students is not all about studying but also the awareness on relieving the stress of being in college.

Ways of Effective Time Management for Students

1. Set your goals. Know what you want to achieve and make it your priority. This can be anything, whether you want to achieve the goal in a day, a week, or a semester. Ask yourself what your academic goal is.

Making goals can make it easier for you to look straight ahead instead of juggling the subjects that you think is easy which could be very stressful and often results in not achieving your goal.

If you have more than one goal then it is a good idea to sub-divide it into manageable pieces. List down what you want to achieve in one week and for the next week.

2. Prioritize. Once you are determined on the goals you want to achieve, you'll need to prioritize the activities required by your goal.

As part of time management for students this will help you determine what particular task needs to be accomplished first and what tasks can be set aside in the meantime or postponed. To achieve your priorities more efficiently use a calendar to mark important deadlines.

3. Time management planning is there for you to follow. You should not stray from it. The key to time management in college planning is following it.

Some college students get easily tempted by their acquaintances to go to a party while the student is studying or in the process of achieving his or her goals. They usually think that they can put off their schedule until tomorrow. This usually results in too many things to do the next day which results in stress and frustration.

This is against the principles of effective time management for students.

4. Make use of extra time. For example, instead of doing nothing in a class waiting for the professor to arrive, try to think of the last assignment.

If you are going to compose an essay you can use the time to think of a good topic for it. This is a great way to manage your time into manageable pieces and it is a great way of student time management in college. This also gives you more time to spend with your friends.

Just remember that the sooner you get a task done the better, instead of letting it wait. Effective time management for students is doable as long as you give enough effort for it.

You probably thought that a day is too short for you to finish all your work and you could wish that there are more hours in a day. However, that is impossible to happen. The best thing you can do is to utilize what little time you have.


Effective time management for students makes it easier for you to adjust to the life of the college world. You should make a time management schedule so you can set priorities straight and you can avoid being stressed out of trying to accomplish everything at once.



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