How to keep up with the hectic student life

Do you want to accomplish all your plans on time and feel like a competent student among your peers? In this case, you need to master the art of time management. After all, the way you organise your day directly affects your productivity and personal efficiency. Three working methods will help you with this:

Stephen covey’s time management approach

Stephen Covey’s method is based on the correct prioritisation and contains a set of techniques that contribute to effective planning. The author of the bestselling book The Seven Habits of Highly Efficient people created a time management matrix. To achieve an effective result, S. Covey recommends using additional tools, for example, organisers. The essence of the methodology is to filter tasks by priority according to basic life principles. There are four sectors in total:

• Urgent + important. Tasks requiring immediate completion (critical situations, burning projects, urgent problems).
• Not urgent + important. Tasks directly related to your strategic goals (planning, finding new opportunities, prevention, expanding the network of contacts).
• Urgent + not important. Minor activities that do not produce long-term results (usually based on other people’s expectations and priorities).
• Not urgent + not important. Little things that take up time and tasks that do not have a clearly limited time frame for implementation.

Efficiency-focused people know how to say a firm “no” to tasks from sectors three and four. At the same time, they try to minimise the size of the first quadrant and spend more time in the second sector. They do not think with problems but with opportunities. Instead of procrastinating till the end with the “write my essay” task, they try to iteratively get it done as soon as they’re given the assignment.

Benjamin Franklin’s time management system

Benjamin Franklin’s time management works from more to less. According to this technique, a person must perform every action in accordance with his life principles and direct it towards achieving the intended global goal.

And to make its completion easier and faster, the main task must be divided into several small subtasks, which are also divided into a number of small tasks. Thus, a pyramid is being built, where the main goals and life principles are located at the base, long-term plans are located in the middle part, and short-term tasks are located at the top.

Peter Drucker’s time management method

Peter Drucker’s system. The author believes that a person cannot work productively for more than 2-3 hours in a row. Therefore, the working day must be divided into blocks, where the solution of complex and important tasks must be planned at time intervals with the greatest productivity.

The remaining time should be used to perform less important tasks – studying incoming mail, making calls, etc. For example, delegating a college assignment can take lower priority because it is so quick and simple. At the same time, some bigger projects you’re working on should take the spotlight.

Additional tips

In addition to this, use the seven golden rules of time management, which will allow you to achieve complete control over what is happening in your life.

Plan your day. In the evening, drawing up a plan for tomorrow takes no more than 15 minutes, while during the day, this simple rule, if you take it as a basis, helps save a lot of valuable time.

Prioritise. When making a to-do list for the day, determine which tasks you need to complete first, which can be postponed later. Don’t try to multitask. The desire to do everything and now only kills your concentration, and with it, your efficiency.

Make important appointments for the morning. As a rule, the time before the upcoming event is wasted on small, insignificant matters.

Group tasks. Combine business meetings and switching (handling incoming messages and calls) into blocks. Doing so can free up time for important, ongoing work.

Divide tasks into several intermediate ones. If you find it difficult to start a complex task, divide it into several small ones. Then, it will be much easier to deal with it in stages.

Do not postpone the preparatory phase until the last moment. Do not expect to be able to prepare a good presentation 15 minutes before speaking or write an important report accurately at the time of delivery. When you put yourself in a tight box, you don’t leave yourself time to check everything. As a result, a stressful situation is provided for you.

Set a deadline. Be clear when it comes to completing tasks. Don’t let them go on forever.

Optimise your time

Still, don’t be surprised that even with these tips, you won’t be able to keep up with absolutely every task. That’s why you shouldn’t dismiss any help that you can get from tutors, other students, and even essay writing services whenever you need it.

Nonetheless, take advantage of these life hacks today. In time management, it is important not to postpone improvement until tomorrow. With these tips, you will definitely start to make more progress on different assignments.

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