Priya Jandu

I think it’s important to remember there’s no universal strategy to time management that will work for everyone. You have to find what works for you and try to make a habit of it. 

I figured out what organization system worked best for me last year, and I think that helped improve my time management. I use both a monthly and a day-to-day calendar to keep track of everything. Visually seeing what I have to get done helps me prioritize. It seems like overkill, but I like having events like birthdays, rent reminders and assignment due dates on a monthly calendar so I know when they’re coming up. 

I’ve come to accept that I never have been and never will be an expert on time management; to get everything done, I’m constantly sacrificing free time and sleep. Anyone who can consistently balance school, work and a social life is superhuman, and you can’t convince me otherwise. 

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Sam Burdette

There are hundreds of tips out there on how to schedule your time effectively, and creating those schedules — the actual planning of it all — can be a lot of fun. But sticking to that schedule is another thing entirely. When you have in writing that you have to get off your phone and study for exactly three hours at an exact time, following your own guidelines becomes daunting. 

If you actually stay on time, you are always counting the minutes until you can take a break. If you get behind, you feel like a failure. I find it much less stressful and much more rewarding when I give myself more rough estimates. If I say I’m going to start my homework at 8 p.m., it’s not the end of the world when I actually don’t start until 8:35 p.m. And if I feel motivated to do it at 7 p.m., then I do it then. If halfway through a textbook chapter I feel like I will literally die if I read one more sentence on an inconclusive communication study, I take a walk. 

I know there are people out there who swear by the minute-to-minute schedule, but if you’re like me and it doesn’t work for you, try creating a schedule that’s more flexible. Just keep a list of tasks and a rough “study time” and you’ll be done in no time. And if you need a break, take it! You’ll be more productive when you get back to it.

Nick Trujillo

Time Management? Can we really ever manage our time properly? Life is just weighing out what event you value more at the time. Do you want to party with your friends? Or do you want to study for the test because long-term goals are more important? 

If you can find the balance between the two extremes then you already have the skills to manage time. However, no one is going to pat you on the back. So, manage your time for “Me Days,” where you spend the day doing what you want to do. You don’t commit to any plans that you didn’t come up with.

I usually spend those days staying home and indulging in my gorgeous music collection while I complete most of my assignments. If something slips through the fingers of time, then it needs to be left alone. Time doesn’t and won’t ever come back, so make sure what you’re doing is what you and you alone want to do. Or just do your homework before you go out, or at least half of it so night-you doesn’t screw over morning-you.

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