Successful student self-scheduling!

By Geraldine Fitzgerald

Many new students, especially those who have moved out of home for the first time, are dizzy with the heady experience of starting college as an independent adult.

There are so many distractions during the first few weeks that it’s very tempting to go with the flow and before you know it, you’re already a bit lost.

Time management is the key to keeping it all together. We’re not really taught how to manage time growing up, so it’s a skill you need to develop. Schedule and structure are a student’s best friend; and help to establish a healthy study/life balance.

Establishing your schedule

Lectures and tutorial times are set on your schedule, but the rest is up to you. Nobody will hold your hand once you’re at college, so creating and adhering to a schedule of tasks adds direction and support. It also means you’re less likely to slam the laptop closed to go out for a sneaky pint in the middle of an essay.

Creating a schedule allows you to:

- Prioritise tasks to get time-critical work done, and to discover how long common work like revision or research takes to complete.

- Procrastinate less; get things finished once you start.

- Track your progress and work consistently instead of high-pressure, last-minute scrambling.

- Be productive and know what you want to achieve once you sit at your desk.

- Plan for the long-term and achieve an overview of all your course work.

- Gives you much more freedom and the ability to enjoy guilt-free time once you’ve achieved your goals for the day.

Common pitfalls

Perfectionism: Perfect is the enemy of good. If you put things off because you don’t feel they’re perfect, you’ll become totally snowed under and paralysed by indecision.

Blitzing: Big assignments or tests shouldn’t be done all in one go; it’s exhausting. Break the work up into manageable chunks. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

No routine: The brain needs routine and works best with habits. Wake up at the same time; get your work done when you’ve planned to and go to bed at the same time each night during the week.

Procrastination: Always start with the work you find most difficult. You’ll have more energy for it; you’ll feel righteous when as you cross it off the list and be more enthusiastic about finishing everything else.

Other people: Part of college life is meeting new people and doing new things; it’s a rite of passage. Get your work done first and don’t be swayed by what everyone else says.

Motivation and reward

Building motivators and rewards into your schedule will help keep you on track. Take a five-minute pause for a stretch or a cuppa every hour.

Once you’ve finished what you’d planned to do, and made the schedule for the following day, reward yourself with some Netflix; a walk; a natter with those new friends. Or even that sneaky pint!