Organization and Time Management
With school, athletics, friendships, family relationships, romantic relationships, self-care, and other obligations, life gets busy. It can be very overwhelming to manage all of these commitments. Oftentimes when we get busy, self-care tasks fall by the wayside. For this reason, time management skills are important to get everything done each day, manage stress, and leave time for self-care. Here are some tips to help you manage your time.
1. Make a Master Schedule:1Some people prefer paper planners, others use online calendars such as Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook Calendar (available with your university e-mail). This may seem tedious at first, but it really helps take your mind off all of the things you need to do because you know that your commitments are written down and that you made a time slot for them. This way, there is no need to unproductively worry about the task you need to do until your calendar tells you it's time to get to work. Making a schedule also helps you plan ahead, which helps eliminate all-nighter studying sessions and the stressful ordeal of finishing a final project 1 minute before it's due.
- 8-Day Planned Study Tracker
2. Make To-Do Lists: A task list can be made on the electronic calendar, or you can make a paper list, or Google Keep and Microsoft To-do are two (of many) list apps. There are a number of options for what kinds of lists a student athlete might make. Separate, color-coded lists in your list app can be made for different types of obligations (school, home, athletics, social). Or, a to-do list for the day could be made each morning. Another option would be to make a list for the week. You could also make a list at the beginning of a study session to help you stay on task and finish everything you need to get done. Cross off tasks as you complete them to keep track of what you have left to do. Pro tip: if you are feeling overwhelmed looking at you lengthy list of things to do, pick the easiest task and do it first, then cross it off. This will help you get the ball rolling.
- YouTube: Organizing with Google Keep & Calendar
3. Prioritize Tasks:1 For each item on your list, ask yourself: Is this something I must get done, should get done, or could complete? Put each task in a category according to its priority. You can use a (1),(2),(3) system; an A, B, C arrangement; or M, S, C (for Must, Should, Could); or a color-coding system unique to you.
Student Success - Time Management
4. Organize Your Work: With so many classes, it can be challenging to keep assignments, notes, and exam times straight. Make sure to keep your notes organized and labeled according to the class they belong to. This will help you be more efficient when it's time to study for an exam, and help you keep track of all of your notes.
1. University of Northern Carolina. (n.d.). Stress management through time management. Retrieved from: https://campushealth.unc.edu/health-topics/stress-and-anxiety/stress-management-through-time-management
Developed 2021 by Quinn DeStefano, OTD Student
Reviewed 2021 by Aaron Grusonik, MA, Psy.D
1. Make a Master Schedule:1Some people prefer paper planners, others use online calendars such as Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook Calendar (available with your university e-mail). This may seem tedious at first, but it really helps take your mind off all of the things you need to do because you know that your commitments are written down and that you made a time slot for them. This way, there is no need to unproductively worry about the task you need to do until your calendar tells you it's time to get to work. Making a schedule also helps you plan ahead, which helps eliminate all-nighter studying sessions and the stressful ordeal of finishing a final project 1 minute before it's due.
- Block out exam times and any other fixed time commitments, such scheduled meetings, practice, and class times. At the beginning of the semester, it can be helpful to sit down for an hour or two, go through your syllabuses, and put all of your assignment due dates, exams, and sport competitions into your calendar.
- You can color code your fixed commitments using highlighters or colored pens (example, physics is pink, math is blue, practice is yellow. Or, exams are pink, assignments are blue, competitions are purple, and practice is yellow). Find what works best for you!
- Block out time for your tasks of daily living such as eating, sleeping, hygiene, grocery shopping, self-care, and walking to class
- Plan ahead, and block out study time for each test or assignment.
- Start by planning at least one hour blocks for study time, and schedule larger blocks of time for major projects. You may be able to stay on task for a 4-hour chunk of study time, or you may need to break the 4-hour chunk down into 1-hour chunks per class. Another option is to write a to-do list for a large chunk of study time to help you stay on track. There is no wrong way to do this, just find what works best for you.
- Know your high energy and "down" times during the day and use them wisely.10 If you are a morning person, try to do most of your brain work (studying and homework) in the morning and save your toilet-cleaning for the evening, and vice versa. If you know that you will be too tired to study after practice, then study before practice, or reserve a "nap time" slot after practice so you can study later.
- 8-Day Planned Study Tracker
2. Make To-Do Lists: A task list can be made on the electronic calendar, or you can make a paper list, or Google Keep and Microsoft To-do are two (of many) list apps. There are a number of options for what kinds of lists a student athlete might make. Separate, color-coded lists in your list app can be made for different types of obligations (school, home, athletics, social). Or, a to-do list for the day could be made each morning. Another option would be to make a list for the week. You could also make a list at the beginning of a study session to help you stay on task and finish everything you need to get done. Cross off tasks as you complete them to keep track of what you have left to do. Pro tip: if you are feeling overwhelmed looking at you lengthy list of things to do, pick the easiest task and do it first, then cross it off. This will help you get the ball rolling.
- YouTube: Organizing with Google Keep & Calendar
3. Prioritize Tasks:1 For each item on your list, ask yourself: Is this something I must get done, should get done, or could complete? Put each task in a category according to its priority. You can use a (1),(2),(3) system; an A, B, C arrangement; or M, S, C (for Must, Should, Could); or a color-coding system unique to you.
Student Success - Time Management
4. Organize Your Work: With so many classes, it can be challenging to keep assignments, notes, and exam times straight. Make sure to keep your notes organized and labeled according to the class they belong to. This will help you be more efficient when it's time to study for an exam, and help you keep track of all of your notes.
- Computer organization: Often, notes, lectures, and assignments are electronic. Having your files scattered accross the desktop can be overwhelming and make it more difficult to stay on track with schoolwork. Here is an example of how to organize your classes:
- In documents, make a folder for the semester (example: Fall 2021) then make a folder for each class within that folder (example: Physics I, Philosophy, Abnormal Psychology, and Speech). Within each "class" folder, keep your notes organized according to the exam. You could have something like, "Exam 1, Exam 2, Exam 3, and Assignments." Each time you go to class, download the lecture, take notes on it, and save it in the folder in which it belongs. This way, when it is time for the exam, you will know exactly what to study. You will also be able to keep your classes (and semesters!) separate. If all of your assignments and notes are stored on your computer, it is a good idea to back them up on a hard drive or with Microsoft OneDrive.
- Physical organization: If most of your notes are taken in a notebook or on printed-out lectures, it's time to invest in a set of folders or a 3-ring binder with dividers. There are several ways you can organize your classwork:
- Make one binder for Tuesday/Thursday classes and one for Mon/Wed/Friday classes, and label dividers within each binder according to the class.
- Make one binder per class and label it accordingly. Then, label dividers within the binder according to the exam (exam 1, exam 2, etc.) and place your lecture notes where they belong according to the exam they will appear on.
- If you don't like binders, you can organize with folders. The advantage of folders is that you will carry around less paper each day. The disadvantage is that it can be more difficult to stay organized with them. Get a file folder for each class, then get a pocket folder for each exam within the class (don't forget to label them with a permanent marker or sticker) and keep all of the lectures for the exam in its respective folder. When you finish an exam, store its pocket folder in the file folder for later use. You can easily color code the pocket folders; get a blue folder for each exam in physics, a green folder for each exam in philosophy, and so on. You can even correlate your color-coded folders with a color-coded planner, if you're feeling exceptionally fancy.
More organization/time management resources:
- Time Management Worksheet (PDF)
- Time Management Tips (PDF)
- 10 Tips for Time Management
- Prioritizing Strategies (PDF)
- Helpful handouts: Purdue University Academic Success Center
References
1. University of Northern Carolina. (n.d.). Stress management through time management. Retrieved from: https://campushealth.unc.edu/health-topics/stress-and-anxiety/stress-management-through-time-management
Developed 2021 by Quinn DeStefano, OTD Student
Reviewed 2021 by Aaron Grusonik, MA, Psy.D
