Time Management and Students: Best Practices

The relationship between time management and students is a tenuous one at best. Ask pretty much any student about their time management plan, and I would bet that the majority of the time you'd get rolling eyes and a belly laugh, followed by a "Yeah right, I'd love to have some time to manage"!

While everyone knows they need to get better at managing their time few seem to actually have the time to devote to creating even a short-term plan. Instead, they run around just surviving (sometimes barely) always meaning to do better tomorrow or next week.

Sound familiar?

There is a concept called best practice which is a way of doing things using some technique that can be relied upon to provide superior results as compared to results achieved by other means. Translated...it's the way to go to get to where you want to be in life. It really is simple...figure out what works and do it. It works for companies and it'll work for you.

What are some of the best practices of time management and students?

· Don't Neglect Your Family- They are, after all, what you're working for. When you can't spend time with them right now make future plans. It will give everyone something to look forward to.

· Make Time for Studying- Part of our self-esteem comes from how we perform in areas such as academics. We identify ourselves to a large degree by our performance (e.g., GPA, Honor Societies) and it just feels better when we do at least adequate in our classes.

· Save Time to Make Time- When you unexpectedly save time somewhere don't just waste it. Use it for spending time with your child or spouse. An example may be there are leftovers for dinner so you will save that time you would normally be cooking thereby making time for family.

· Allow Yourself to Recharge- Sometimes enough is enough. Sometimes you just can't do anymore. When I was a senior in college I had this one class that just whipped my butt. The previous week I'd had a rough week with midterms in my other 3 classes and the bad class's one was coming up on Monday. On Sunday morning I woke at about 7:00 am and began reading. I was beyond exhausted and only studied about half an hour before I laid over on the couch and slept for 2 hours. I woke up studied for about half an hour and fell asleep for 3 hours. I woke up studied for another half an hour and fell asleep for 4 hours. I went to sleep early that night, slept all night and woke the next morning feeling somewhat refreshed. The strange thing was that I did just as well on that midterm as if I'd studied as much as I'd been planning to. It really hit home how I'd run myself down. I never did it again to that extent even though I've pulled many all-nighters since then. It's a different story when it's a short-term situation.

There you have a short list of some of what I'd consider best practices for students where time management is concerned.

Download my free ebook about Time Management and Students where you'll find ideas for time management in several crucial areas where we all struggle. Also visit me at There Must Be A Better Way