– By Valerie

This is a flat fact – time management is important. It is so important, in fact, that good work-life balance, health, grades and ultimately a good career all depend crucially on it! Why? Because good time management simply allows you to accomplish more in a shorter period of time. This allows for better study opportunities, slots for relaxation, lower stress, better focus and more. So, with time management being so important, what can we do to ensure that we’ll develop or maintain such a good habit and skill? We list our suggestions out below.

Pomodoro Technique

One of the most widely utilised management methods for time, the Pomodoro Technique will be helpful in increasing productivity and a good work flow. The secret here is list down what you need to do for the day then split down the time you spend on your work into intervals around 25 minutes in length and separate each interval by short breaks. Upon completion of each interval, you make a note of it.

Ultimately, you proceed onward with a sense of accomplishment that will be generated by the increasing number of completed intervals while data will be collectable for subsequent self-observation and improvement upon time management skills (i.e. next time you’ll have an estimate of how much you can complete in a set amount of time and plan accordingly). The Pomodoro Technique also allows the separation of work and distractions, allowing better focus after breaks.

Choose Your Study Environment

To some time to explore your options. Different people focus better in different environments, and the right environment is crucial in allow you to avoid procrastinating, present less distractions and even increase your motivation to complete work faster. Some may prefer the privacy and quiet of their home while others maybe the quiet but crowded atmosphere of a library or even noisier areas such as the park with friends.

Get Organised

List down your obligations and deadlines on readily reachable objects such as a phone or table calendar, timetable or even other time management apps (if they can alert you of upcoming deadline that would be even better). Take note of when they are due, what to prioritise and how much time you’d likely need to complete each to avoid unnecessary rushing and affecting your work quality. Figure out what times are you most concentrated and alert in and allocate them for studying or work so that the full capabilities of your brain will be behind your every movement and thoughts. Also, allow time for conducting proper planning and research of information before starting any projects so you can avoid double backing and wasting of time.

Reward Yourself

Who loves gifts? I sure do, and boy are they great motivators for the completion of study and time goals. Setting down little titbits between the pages of my notes has made me study a lot faster and in a more concentrated manner, saving time where my thoughts would have probably drifted off without the goodies. This method also has the added benefit of being capable of triggering your memory. By eating healthy snacks of different tastes as I went through sections of my notes I found myself somewhat associating specific knowledge to specific tastes. This thus helped me tremendously during exams. I had to be careful in not taking too much though.

Be Flexible and Healthy

For a healthy life style, work-life balance is required. To function at your best capacity, humans are required to sleep for at least seven to nine hours a day regardless of how awake you feel (looking at your coffee). Sleeping for that amount of time regularly will lead to long-term health benefits and a more focused mind. Exercising between activities also contributes in the same manner. It focuses your state of mind and clears your head while boosting your brain power and health in the long-run.