Students also holding down a job don’t have a moment of spare time on their hands. The importance of time management for working students isn’t lost on them. They understand from their own life experiences that they need to get everything they can out of every minute of their day. They hope to be successful in utilizing their time properly.
10 time management tips for working students
When a student is also holding down a job, they need to know some time management tips that can put them in a better position to take care of their tasks. We wanted to offer some techniques and tips that working students can use to succeed.
1. Remember That School Should Ultimately Come First
Putting a priority on school should be the first thing all working students do. The job they are holding down right now to help them get through college is great, but it isn’t going to be what they do long-term. If a situation comes up where they have to choose between their schoolwork and their job, they should always choose their schoolwork.
2. Always Keep A Planner Hand
There is no better way to keep on top of your time than to track it. Keeping a notebook handy that you can write down notes in is very important. You want to make sure you note any changes to your normal routines as soon as possible.
3. Eat The Frog
Many students have to take on a variety of different types of tasks in their day. It always works best when they can first knock out the most pressing and irritating tasks. Whatever tasks are on deck that the student does not want to handle is what they should try to eliminate first by using the eat the frog technique.
This is essentially the idea that knocking out the most unpleasant task first makes the rest of the day much easier. You can move on to the lesser tasks when you eliminate the things that are truly weighing on your mind.
4. Schedule Your Day
There is no getting around the fact that you need to schedule your day to have success. You cannot just assume that things will fall into place as you hope they will.
You may end up in an emergency if you don’t have a plan for how you will handle each aspect of your day. Instead of putting yourself in a spot, you might not be able to get out of easily, why not look at how you can best structure your day so this type of thing doesn’t happen?
5. Make A To-Do List
You can start your day by having a solid list of things to do that you can knock off each day. You always want to know where your focus and aims should be, and no question that forming a to-do list is the way to go. You can get a lot more done when you check each item off a list as you go along.
6. Pomodoro Technique
Did you know that the Pomodoro is a type of tomato? The technique is named after the tomato, and many people who use it purchase a tomato-shaped timer to keep themselves on task. It might sound a little silly, but it is nice to know that Pomodoro is helping people focus and manage their time.
Just set the timer for 25 minutes and focus on a single task for that entire time. Once your timer is up, you can allow yourself to be distracted for approximately 5 minutes. After that, you are right back on task again. Keep doing this until your work is done. Many students use this technique for their studies.
7. Speak With Other Students In The Same Boat
Form a community with other people who are also balancing a job and trying to go to school simultaneously. You are not alone in your struggles with this challenging schedule, and you should try to connect with other people who have similar life experiences. They may be able to offer you some useful advice, and they can certainly help relate to what you are going through.
8. Use A Time Management Matrix
Some working students have taken it upon themselves to use something as the time management matrix. Indeed, it makes a lot of sense to try it because there are many ways to look at the different things you need to get done, but few are as useful as this matrix. It breaks your tasks into quadrants of importance so that you can easily view and see where you truly need to spend your time and effort. This is a good reason why people have come to rely on this matrix to provide them with the balance they need in their work and study lives.
9. Consider Cutting Back On Hours
If you can afford to do so, you might consider cutting back on some work hours to manage your time better. It is not ideal if you cannot make it work from a financial standpoint, but you should at least try if you have any wiggle room.
10. Cut Out The Procrastination
Do not give yourself unearned slack. It would be best if you didn’t procrastinate when you know that there are other things you need to do. Yes, it is hard to put yourself on the grind all the time, but you have no other choice when you are o struggle through and get to the finish line with your goals.
Make sure you take time for yourself when you can, but understand that life will be busy for a while. If you can figure out a way to allow yourself to enjoy some breaks from time to time, that is great, but remember that you need to make up that time one way or there other, and you don’t want to allow yourself to fall behind when you know that you have certain things that just need to get done.
