Being a STEM student can be a lot of work. With so much to do and so little amount of time to waste, it is important that you are able to manage your time well and work consistently throughout the school year. Luckily, Studentosity has a variety of resources to aid students and help them in achieving their goals. Be sure to check out our website and Instagram page for more information.
In this blog, we will be covering the 3 primary tools that will help you in planning your time. By investing in these resources and sticking to them from day 1, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a time management master.
Written by Sanchit Kaushal
Tool 1: Term Calendar
As Student Academic Success Services (SASS) at Queen’s University states, it is helpful to start with the big picture and zoom in when it comes to time management. First off, we recommend that you set up a calendar to use for the entirety of your semester. Although apps like Google Calendar and iCal are great, a whiteboard or a notebook will be just as effective.
We recommend creating your term calendar at the very start of the semester. To use this tool effectively, you should be entering all known deadlines and due dates from day 1 to give yourself a brief overview of what the next few months will look like. This way, you’ll be able to see what’s coming up when, and be aware of quieter and busier weeks to plan out your commitments. On your term calendar, you should include due dates for assignments, tests, quizzes, projects and exams. These can often be found on your course outlines or syllabus, and you can ask your teacher for more information if needed.
Tool 2: Weekly Routine
Once you have your term calendar set up, it’s time to zoom in and develop a weekly routine that outlines exactly what’s on the agenda for the next 7 days. A weekly routine is especially important during the pandemic, as online learning means that you often won’t have friends or in-person classes to hold you accountable.
When developing an effective weekly routine, getting work done and setting yourself up for academic success is just as important as making time to attend to other activities. These may include extracurriculars, volunteering and clubs, but alloted time to destress, relax and recover is also a must.
You should be producing your weekly schedule at the start of every week. We suggest setting aside 10 to 15 minutes on a Sunday night or Monday morning to update class times, labs, due dates, meetings and other occurrences on a weekly basis. This way, you’ll have an outline of the next few days and your homework-stressed self will thank you when life gets busy.
Tool 3: To-Do List
Take out your cameras! It’s time to zoom in to the max. To complement the term calendar and weekly schedule discussed earlier, a to-do list is just what you need to make the most out of your time. We suggest using apps like Microsoft To-Do, Google Keep, Reminders or Timepage for your to-do list, but you can also use a notepad, bullet journal or whatever suits your fancy when it comes to getting stuff done.
An effective to-do list is one that seamlessly integrates with your weekly routine, but also includes day-to-day tasks, chores and other spontaneous, unplanned events that need to be addressed. We suggest updating your to-do list on a daily basis, and including priority levels that tell you what needs to be tackled first. As you continue to use your to-do list on a daily basis throughout the semester, you will get better at prioritizing and planning your time effectively.
Conclusion
And there you have it! The 3 key tools to mastering time management for the upcoming school year. We hope you found these tips helpful, and that they help you in achieving your goals, in and outside of the classroom. Is there a time management technique that you think is important but we didn’t include? Let us know in the comments! Check out Studentosity’s page for more information and resources, and be sure to follow us to see more content like this.
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