Ever struggled with your time management? Well, Radar is here to provide some advice on how to keep on task and be effective in using your time wisely.
People at university can struggle with time management skills which are essential to gain employment after graduation.
Graduation might be years away or just around the corner, but it’s never too late to work on your time management skills! Radar is here to offer five methods that can help you improve your efficiency in time management.
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Make a schedule that you can stick to – don’t be unrealistic!
Our first tip – and most important one – is to make up a timetable featuring the right balance between work and free time. Making your timetable flexible when you don’t do all your tasks in one day is ideal for the ‘perfect’ timetable. However, don’t write study tasks in certain timeframes if you know that you can’t do it normally! For example, avoid stating you will study at 7 am when you know you won’t get up at that time. Instead, try studying at other times of the day such as the afternoon when you don’t have any classes.
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Create some SMART targets for each task
If you’re unsure what this is, SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound. SMART helps to have clear goals that can be measured, are possible to achieve and have a clear timeline and deadline. If you can set yourself some SMART targets for every study session, then you will find yourself improving in time management efficiency and you could potentially finish your work quicker.
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Don’t multitask during your study sessions
Some people believe in the sentiment of multitasking, but Radar thinks that multitasking is a bad idea during study sessions – it can cause you to lose focus instead of putting your full concentration on one task. Ideally, you should have only one task for your study session so that you can fully dedicate all your time and effort to it and avoid ending up with two half-done things.
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Avoid stressing yourself out too much – Give yourself rewards!
Stress is a student’s worst enemy, there’s no denying it! We understand the situation ourselves here at Radar and one thing we recommend tackling this issue is to treat yourself after you finish a study session. It doesn’t have to be big rewards, instead, it can be something small that you enjoy such as having hot chocolate, listening to music or having some sweets. Everyone enjoys different things – experiment and find what is most rewarding for you after a study session!
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Take regular breaks between your study time
Taking regular and appropriate breaks is just as important as studying itself. There will be a time where you will find yourself becoming burned out as a result of studying too much. To prevent this outcome, it is recommended that you take a 5- or 10-minute break for every hour of studying that you do. Although you may feel stressed out prior to the finishing hour, take a break for a few minutes and then get yourself back on track with the right mind-set.
To sum up, anyone can become an expert in time management with methods like these at hand and plenty of practice. Practicing these tips will sharpen your time management skills which will no doubt put your mind at ease and impress your future employers. Plus, it will help you in the immediate present when it comes to studying for those all-important tests or even keeping you focused when you have to write a lengthy piece of coursework.