College Kids Need Time Management Too

When you hear the term “time management,” what comes to mind?  Probably busy executives or harried small business owners.  Or maybe soccer moms with a van full of kids?  Quite possibly all of the above come to mind.  Yet, do you also consider that college students fall into this category?  It is true; college kids need time management, too!  Still young in heart and mind, these students enjoy a demanding social life; scratching just the surface of business achievement, they need to learn to spend their time wisely to do justice to the academic excellence demanded of them. It is interesting to note that while time management is an almost universal need, it is one of the qualities that do not have a “one size fits all” standard.  Time management for a college student is actually quite different from time management for the office worker, soccer mom, or business owner.

Consider the life of the typical college student:  there is a first apartment (or rented room) to be maintained, quite often a part-time (or even full-time) job, and some also find themselves in the roles of caregivers either for their own children or for their ageing parents. With these responsibilities to juggle and a fairly young age at which to juggle them, improper time management will have lasting consequences as evidenced in failing grades.  To avoid the latter, here are some practical suggestions to help the college kid succeed:

1. Establish a study place.

Your home is probably fraught with distractions.  The television set is right there, roommates are walking through, the telephone beckons, and many other distractions abound.  Instead, find a quiet spot in the college library and do as much of your studying there as is possible. Information will be all around you, and interruptions will be kept to a minimum.

2. Keep a schedule.

When you begin your classes, you will be handed a schedule to know on which day to be in which room.  You know how long the classes are, what will be done, and which books you will need.  If you have a job, you will have received a schedule as well.  In your personal life it is no different.  Purchase a day planner or use a wall calendar and write down important dates for tests, assignment due dates, quizzes, field trips, study group meetings, and any other calendar item that is of importance.  It is also a good idea to record outings with friends.  Having your obligations stare back at you in black and white will make it easier to say “no” to friends and family and study for the big test next week.

3. Set realistic goals, go after them, and reward your success.

Don’t go to college with the nebulous idea of “getting all A’s.” Instead, think about the small steps you can take to ensure that you will get good grades in your current course load.  Make it your goal to ace all of your classes this semester, and then put a plan into action to achieve this goal.  You may wish to take a good look at your calendar and find out when is truly the best time for you to study.  Some folks do best in the evening while others do well first thing in the morning.  Get to know yourself and then schedule the time that is best for you to achieve your short term goal.  At the same time, do not give in to the lure of procrastination!  It is easy to leave things for tomorrow, the next week or even until after the holidays.  Yet if you give in to this thinking, you will soon find that you run out of time, and jeopardize your goals.  Once you have achieved your goals, however, reward yourself!  Don’t wait until you graduate summa cum laude to take a trip.  Instead, reward yourself in a small way for achieving your short term goals.  This will keep you motivated when charting the next set of short term goals and the time needed to reach them.

While it may appear that college kids and their business professional counterparts share much of the same needs, they are still words apart in the methods of attaining the goals and in the opposition to sound time management measures they face. Nonetheless, it is obvious that college kids need time management, too!