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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Jefferson chapter.

Time management can be frustrating and overwhelming for most students. It holds a lot of importance because it plans out your whole day, as well as balancing your academics along with your social life. I know during my freshman year, I struggled with time management. However, coming into sophomore year, I’ve started to practice time management strategies and getting the gist of a routine. It can be difficult to balance your time when most students feel career pressure, struggle with procrastination, or want to enjoy their social life. This can cause even more issues as students waste their day, lose sleep, do not have a proper diet, and rush to do homework at the last minute. However, the moral is to not give up on your passion! In my experience, your time management skills can be improved using my tips.

create a google calendar

Creating a Google Calendar is a very helpful way to stay organized for most of your courses. During my freshman year, I was very disorganized in terms of my courses and their assignments. Using Google Calendar, however, did help me stay organized and kept me up to date with my assignments, exams, and also plans with family and friends. It’s a good way to write down anything coming up and to keep track of all your commitments.  

Time blocking

Time blocking is a very important and huge step for time management. Make sure to allocate specific time to do each of your assignments, so that you don’t spend too much time doing one particular assignment. It’s very crucial to block specific times because at the end of the day, you will be able to give time to yourself for relaxation as well. It’s also a great way to avoid multitasking and distractions to improve productivity and efficiency.  

use an assignment tracker

Assignment trackers are really helpful since you can list your assignments, the date it was assigned, and the date it’s due. During freshman year, it helped me so much to stay organized with my tasks. You could use Google Sheets, or a planner to create an assignment tracker.  Personally, I think Google Sheets is especially helpful because it’s durable and flexible, and there is already an assignment tracker template as well. Just typing in assignments and checking off that it’s done makes you stay on top. Also, your brain doesn’t need to be scattered and you can break down assignments into bigger or smaller chunks so you don’t feel a lot of pressure.  

set priorities

Setting your priorities requires the most decision making, but is the main step of time management. This can be a good way to look at the goals that you need to accomplish or what you need get done that day. You should prioritize something that’s more important or time consuming. For example, if you have an exam soon and you have a writing assignment that’s due a day after, I would prioritize studying for the exam because an exam is worth more of your grade rather than a writing assignment. Then the next day, I would finish that writing assignment. Using Google Calendar will help sort out your needs and goals of what you want to accomplish during the day because it will make you more prepared. Even outside of academics, if you want to spend time with friends and go out and have multiple assignments due soon, get them done earlier, and then enjoy! Balancing is key and don’t wait till the last minute! 

Take a 20 minute break

Breaks are really important so that your brain doesn’t get fried! They also help reduce stress. Set a timer for a 20 minute break and do whatever can get you out your work and screens, such as going for a walk, cycling, running, or even taking a nap. After your break, you’ll be able to concentrate better and have a different mindset.  

reach out for help

Do not be afraid to reach out to anyone whether it’s your professors, peers, or other assitance. I was in the same position where I was afraid to go to office hours, or just seek help in general. When I really needed help with a particular course, I decided to get out of my shell, and went to the Academic Success Center. One of the tutors helped to explain the material to me, and I finally was able to grasp it! TJU has a lot of resources that are there to aid you such as the Academic Success Center, office hours, peer tutoring and many more. If you have trouble with any academic related materials, take the time to reach out to the Academic Success Center because they are there to support you and to guide you in the right direction. I would recommend making study groups as well so you can collaborate with others to discuss what you’ve retained from your classes and just help each other out. At the end of the day, you’re all in the same boat, so take the time to get to know each other so that in the future, you don’t get lost and go over everything all alone.  

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Praapti Tripathy

Jefferson '27

I'm a second year biochemistry major at Thomas Jefferson University, this is my first year writing for Her Campus. Ever since elementary school, I always loved writing about any topics and I'm very grateful to get a chance to write using this platform. About me is that I was raised and born in New Jersey. In my spare time, I love to dance, play badminton and run, and spend time with family and friends. I also like to write sometimes because with writing, it allows me to express more about myself. I hope through Her Campus, it gives me the opportunity to improve my writing skills and to inspire women. As well as the audience getting to know about my experiences and opinions through my writing and hearing other women voice out about themselves as well!