By Michaella Lesieur, Staff Writer
It’s just about that time Corsairs where deadlines are coming flying in. Between the last month of school and finals creeping just around the corner time management is a virtue. Knowing how to budget your time will be a lifesaver when all those deadlines land in the same week or better yet the same day.
Learning to manage your time now will help once finals swing around. My number one rule is to start early never leave a ten page paper or studying for a math exam 3 hours before it is due. One it will not resemble your best work and two the amount of stress you will put yourself through is unnecessary. Most people like to budget their money; however, this applies to time too. Budgeting your time, saves you time.
The golden rule of thumb is to keep a planner or to do list that is broken down with everything you have to do for the day and deadlines. A planner will make finding more time to study easier. My favorite way to do this is with colored pens and stickers.
I will write everything from meetings, to homework, events, work and important dates into my planner and put a sticker next to it that way it pops out. Target usually sells calendar stickers in their $1.00 bin section and they comes in a wide variety of styles and colors to coordinate with your planner.
If you are struggling on a concept or want advice on your topic ideas for your next project or final make sure you meet with your advisor a week before it is due. Your advisor will be able to help guide you towards success making landing that A-B average a whole lot easier.
Try to study earlier in the day. Let’s face it once it gets to midnight not everyone will have the motivation to study their 50 concepts in psychology or write their portfolio for English. Find a time that works for you and stick with it. Find a comfortable spot on campus such as the library, STAR Center, Learning Commons, Study Hall or Corsair’s Cafe to settle on down and check off those deadlines.
Get in the habit of setting an alarm on your phone. When giving yourself a time frame to perform each task will help you to manage your time a little bit more effectively. Instead of spending those five hours watching /Netflix/, you could be spending 1 hour at the gym, 1 hour watching /Netflix/ and 3 hours studying. This is an easy way to break bad habits and get you into a routine.
Limit yourself and reduce distractions; make sure you turn your messages on mute because every time you get a message it is going to take you away from your homework, making the time longer for you to finish. /Facebook/ and /Snap/ will be there when you get back, you don’t have to be on it every minute.
Remember to reward yourself in between, you are working hard so frequent breaks, an ice coffee, more time at the gym, whatever calls your name will be a perfect little treat to get you to keep going.
In these easy steps anyone can achieve a time plan that works for them. Planning for success begins with you so make sure you take the time to budget your time.
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