Time management tips for students
University timetables often leave you with a lot of spare time. Big gaps that you’re tempted to fill with film-watching, food-eating and fun things that definitely don’t involve studying. This is why time management is important for students, to ensure that you’re making the most out of your days and working towards that First.
In this handy guide, we’ll explore some time management skills that are helpful for students. We’ll cover simple, practical techniques that are easy to adopt into your schedule, to help you towards less stress, better grades and more rewarding free time.
Why is time management important for students?
Having a healthy arsenal of time management tips in your back pocket is important – especially for students. There’s a lot going on at uni – between lectures, seminars, studying, work and your social life, you need to know how to organise things into manageable blocks.
Some benefits of developing time management skills include:
Balancing academic studies with extracurriculars and your social life. You want to get the best out of every experience at uni, and poor time management might mean you miss out on opportunities.
Reducing stress and preventing burnout. Everyone works differently. But there’s nothing worse than being faced with a 4,000-word essay with a 12am deadline – at 9pm the night before.
Improving study effectiveness and boosting grades. You do your best work when you’re not rushed. It also does wonders to have everything planned out in front of you, so you can make the most of your study time.
Enhancing personal discipline and responsibility. You’re not at sixth form anymore. University professors don’t often chase you for missed deadlines – it’s up to you to stay on track.
Ten time management tips for students
Dipping an initial toe into time management shouldn’t be daunting. With the right, customised plan and study tips, it should become second nature. But where do you start?
Here are some of our favourite quick time management tips and techniques for students.
Set clear goals and prioritise
Setting both academic and personal goals can help you stay motivated and focused. Picturing where you want to be or what you want to achieve can help move you forward. Towards what? Well, that’s up to you. Think of it like organised manifesting, but you actually have to put the work in.
When setting your goals, make sure to prioritise them based on time constraints like deadlines, how important the tasks are, and how difficult you might find them.
Use a planner or digital calendar
A good way to set these goals and deadlines, and also to fit life bits and pieces around these, is by using a planner. Whether this is paper or digital is up to you, but having something in front of you can help keep you on course. Popular online scheduling tools include Google Calendar, Howbout, Notion and Trello.
You can use these to create daily, weekly or semester plans, mark out deadlines and include tasks in your day-to-day. Get creative with the colour coding, treat yourself to some stickers – but don’t use it as an excuse to procrastinate. There’s definitely irony in taking three hours to colour-code your calendar and then not getting anything else done.
Create a weekly schedule
A key time management tip for students is to break things down into manageable chunks. Creating a weekly schedule is a great way to do this, as it allows you to focus on what needs doing each day.
Fill in your lectures, seminars and study sessions, and dedicate different blocks to reading, relaxing and socialising. Whether you use a wall calendar, diary or one of the digital planning tools mentioned above depends on how you work best. We recommend trying a few different approaches to see what works for you.
Practice the Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro Technique is one of the popular time management techniques for students that encourages you to work in small, focused bursts – called Pomodoros. It’s great for people who struggle to ‘get going’, and are often struck down by the procrastination plague. It can help you kickstart your creativity and focus and rewards you with regular breaks.
How it works:
Choose a task to focus on.
Set a 25-minute timer and get to work.
After the 25 minutes is up, take five minutes to relax.
Keep repeating these steps a few more times – or until your task is complete if you’re happy with the pace.
Once you’ve done around three 25-minute bursts, take a longer break (15 to 30 minutes).
Try using the Time Stream web app to help track your Pomodoros.
Break tasks into smaller steps
A big assignment, presentation or even a book you need to get through can feel daunting when you first sit down. A good study tip is to break these tasks into smaller, more manageable steps to help you avoid feeling overwhelmed.
Try combining this with the Pomodoro Technique to get you started so you don’t end up putting off picking up your pen. Don’t forget to reward yourself with breaks, treats or with doing something you enjoy as you start getting through things.
Minimise distractions
From phones to people knocking on your door asking for a chat, there are plenty of self-sabotage opportunities. Even when you’ve locked yourself away to get your head down, the screens are always calling.
One of the most important time management tips for students is to limit your screen time and phone usage. This can create a more effective and productive study environment. If you’re struggling, try heading down to a dedicated study space in your Unite Students accommodation.
Set time limits for tasks
You don’t want study or writing to feel like a slog. The longer you spend on a task, the more tired you’ll become, and the more the quality of your work and concentration will drop. Like the Pomodoro Technique, try setting time limits so you don’t overdo it.
By limiting your time, this will help you focus your productivity and prevent things from dragging on indefinitely. You don’t want to forget to eat or push on into the night!
Learn to say "no" when needed
Saying no is vital to getting things done. You may feel pressure to socialise with friends when you’ve got things to do, but it’s healthy to set some boundaries when you know you’ve got a deadline coming up.
Plan personal priorities in your planner and leave yourself some free time. This will help you say no to things that clash a little much or too often, or that don’t align with your goals. Of course, having fun and being with friends is also important, but it’s up to you how you organise that time.
Establish a routine
Getting into a realistic routine can help keep you on track and build healthy habits. Not every day has to be the same – as you’d soon find yourself getting bored and losing your drive – but having even the bones of a routine will help make the difference.
Perhaps you can create a ‘light’ routine that only includes ‘must-dos’ – for example, breakfast, showering, study, exercise. Or, you could plan your routine to the letter, with distinct blocks for study vs. free time.
Make the most of apps and technology
Apps and tech can make time management for students a whole lot easier. Some good tools to take a look at include:
Rescue Time. Runs in the background and tracks how much time you’re spending on certain apps and sites. It breaks down your screen time so you know where you need to make changes.
myHomework. A popular student planning app that helps you track upcoming assignments, exams and homework tasks.
Evernote. A comprehensive app that syncs notes and checklists across multiple projects. You can type, take photos or record audio and keep everything in one place.
Remember the Milk. A smart, yet simple to-do-list app that helps you track progress. It syncs with your email and calendars and sends you handy reminders.
Forest. Something a little bit different. This app tracks your focus time and, the more you focus, the more your forest grows. It helps you visualise your progress and give you a little reward for staying on track.
Three study tips to improve time management
Try out study strategies and find one that works for you
Everyone works and studies differently. So it’s a good idea to test out a few study tips and time management techniques to see which ones work for you. For example:
Active recall. This technique encourages your brain to retrieve, or ‘recall’, the information, rather than stuffing things in. It works by writing and answering questions, which forces you to recall the information.
Spaced repetition. This involves re-reading and re-absorbing information at spaced intervals. These intervals increase the closer you get to your exam date.
The PQ4R method. This helps you read books more efficiently and helps improve your memory. It stands for preview, question, read, reflect, recite, review.
Try regular review sessions to help information sink in
Regular review sessions help you to avoid last-minute cramming. You’re more likely to remember information if you revisit it over longer periods. Consider utilising the spaced repetition method here to help you along.
Give yourself a break
Study breaks help maintain your concentration. If you read and revise consistently, it doesn’t give your brain much of a break and you’ll probably find you stop absorbing information as well. Plan breaks into your study schedule so you don’t forget and give yourself some time to re-set. Plus, you deserve it!
While you may be eager to get going and stuck into your studies, it’s important that you take time for time management. For students, harnessing these skills can make all the difference between cramming and feeling overwhelmed, and taking things at a smooth, steady pace.
Our advice is to try out a few different methods, find the one (or ones) that works for you, and then go from there. Good luck with your studies – you’ll smash it!
