by Bella B., Intern
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As a college student with a job, being a member of sorority, and with classes, homework, and trying to find time for a social life, I definitely struggle with time management. It seems like deadlines are always right around the corner, that I’m “fashionably” late for everything, and I’m unable to give 100% effort to any one thing. I learned in a recent Facebook post that many of you are also struggling with not having enough time during the day.
For anyone else who shares these time management struggles, I came across some tips in these articles on Entrepreneur.com – “10 Time Management Tips That Work,” and “3 Time Management Tips That Will Improve Your Health and Productivity.”
Here are the tips that I found to be most useful:
- For one week record the time and importance of all of your conversations, meetings, activities, and ideas. This will help you see how much time you spend being productive and how much time is wasted with unproductive activity. You will then be able to tweak your schedule knowing how much time you need to spend on each task.
- Scheduling is an extremely beneficial tool to master. Setting times to complete important tasks is less stressful and more productive rather than being rushed right before the deadline.
- Take time during the morning to plan out your day. Do not do this the night before, it will stress you out and you will lose sleep.
- If you have to get down to work without any interruptions put a “Do Not Disturb” sign up to let others know not to interrupt.
- Stay away from Facebook and other social media and websites while working unless they directly aid your business.
- Focus your attention on one thing at a time. Start with what is most important in the morning and end with less hectic job.
- Don’t be a perfectionist. Avoid getting caught up in details that are not important.
- Break up big jobs into smaller chunks and schedule time to complete each one.
Following these tips should help you (and me) manage time more effectively. If you have any other tips, please share them in the comments section below.