How to Organize Your Time
The skill of time management is essential in college. You get much fewer reminders by parents and teachers to do your work, and significantly more long-term independent projects like papers and presentations. I'd like to here discuss my method of organization that has allowed me to succeed throughout college, including both in-person, summer, and online classes. I'll then talk about how to actually get yourself to do things and stop procrastinating - the biggest college student struggle!
ORGANIZATION
Everything that has a duration and takes up time goes in Google calendar, and everything that has a set or future deadline goes in reminders. My university offers an easy button that syncs my class calendar with my Google calendar every semester, but you can also just put your classes in. I also put in my full work schedule and any events I plan. Right now, I use it to track Zoom meetings as well. You can put links, invite other people, and write notes in your calendar events. Once my classes and work schedule, as well as any other events I know about in advance, are in my calendar, I use the class syllabus, usually available by or on the first day of class, to make separate lists for each class and reminders for every due date.
The reminders app is great because it can notify you of tasks on or ahead of time, you can set recurring reminders - I do for my daily allergy medication - and you can get the satisfying feeling of checking your items off and seeing them disappear. For very long projects, wait until your teacher discusses the expectations in class, then break it down into steps and personal deadlines: if it is due in two weeks, set a reminder notification to do your literature review in, say, three days, then an outline two days after that, a rough draft three days later, and a quick review after a couple of more days. Planning to finish a couple of days ahead of time also gives you some wiggle room and flexibility in case something else comes up. Your teacher might not have an organized syllabus, in which case you can take notes of important dates when they tell you in class and put them in your phone immediately after.
These digital events and reminders are especially great for unexpected changes, as they can be easily changed, rather than scribbling anything out. I've now gotten in the habit of checking my calendar every morning and every evening, so I know what I have to do that day and can be ready for the next. If you stay on top of this, you don't have to worry about forgetting about assignments or dates any longer. Be sure to adapt the system as you need to! Once you've figured out your time, you can start saying "no" to things you don't have time for (Ex: Sorry, I can't go out Thursday, I'll be working on three assignments! I can do Friday instead). This organization method has worked well for me and I hope it might for you as well.
I do want to give another option, however: for some people who are extremely visual learners, and people with ADHD in particular, being able to physically see everything is really important. Buy a wall calendar, invest in a pack of sticky notes, and use your library's free printing to put things on paper. You can try writing your paper (or just the outline and notes) with a pen and pencil instead of a computer. Buy a physical clock, digital if that's easier, that you can display prominently where you can see it, and set lots of alarms to make you more aware of time passing if that's an issue for you. Find other ways to make things visual, by writing them down, having them in print in front of you, and making organizational charts and graphs.
MOTIVATION
Once you're organized, then you have to actually use that to make informed decisions about how to spend your time. This can't be generalized from person to person and requires that you analyze your own habits. First, figure out what time of day you have the most energy. Is it in the morning after your coffee, during the afternoon, or late at night? Whenever you will be energized, set aside that time for work, and don't let TV or social media dip into it or it can sap that potential energy. If you have to do work when you know you usually get tired or take a nap, do some jumping jacks, drink something caffeinated AND some water - caffeine can impair focus if you're dehydrated - and eat a medium-sized snack like a small bag of chips or an apple.
Second, where do you have the most focus? If you study and do work in bed and it doesn't get you anywhere, try moving to a desk. If that doesn't work, go to the library! Try studying in a group with friends and classmates, or by yourself in a quiet library room. Maybe if you're around some friends they're very distracting but you have one friend who is great at keeping you on task. Some people, when they study in bed too often, can impede both their ability to study and to sleep, because your brain stops differentiating between "where I sleep" and "where I study," making you want to take a nap instead of writing an essay, or leaving you tossing and turning at night. If you study best in bed, surrounded by books, papers, and your laptop, like I do, then stick with it! Do you have trouble doing home workouts but once you finally get to the gym, you find it easier to stay and do some exercise? The same principle applies to studying: create environmental cues that help your brain transition to "study mode."
You can also "trap" yourself into studying by planning a schedule that puts you on campus for a chunk of time. One semester, I had a class and then a two hour break before my next class. It would have taken a chunk out of that break to go home, and I had a meal plan, and my class location was perfect: I could walk from class to the dining hall, and straight from the dining hall to the library. It was two hours twice a week that I basically spent only on schoolwork. If you can plan 1 to 2 hour breaks, and make plans to stay on campus such as by bringing a lunch and your laptop and chargers, you can maximize that break time and create a habit of using that time to get things done.
Third, how do you focus? Do you tend to get hyper-focused and have trouble stopping once you've gotten started? Or do you struggle to maintain attention on one task for long periods of time? If you've gotten organized and spaced out your tasks right, you should now have the flexibility to choose what tasks to work on: if you have one step of your essay to do, like the outline, one math assignment, and one take home quiz, and you're the type that can't focus for long, try alternating between the tasks! Do one subject for 20 to 30 minutes, take a five minute break (use a timer so you don't get distracted), switch topics, and repeat. The changes will help refresh your brain and prevent boredom - and therefore scrolling.
Meanwhile, if you tend to have trouble starting things but are able to hyper-focus and get a lot done once you've started, use it to your advantage. Mitigate the difficulty starting a task by telling yourself you aren't doing it, you're just doing the set up. Then, grab yourself a cup of water and a light snack, turn on your laptop and plug it in, get all the materials you need, and put away distractions like your phone or the TV. Tell the person you're texting, "ttyl, gotta do some homework for a bit" and turn your ringer off - prevent distractions that might break your focus. The more you break down the steps of getting started, the easier it will be. Once everything is ready, the next step isn't to start, it's to decide what to start on. The next step is to open what you need to do it. And so on and so forth; think intentionally one step at a time until you find yourself in the middle of working, and once you've achieved that focus, you can power through your work distraction-free.
I've covered organization and motivation, the two key factors in managing your time well. The most important thing is to be honest with yourself - are you really a night owl or do you just push through being tired? will you really wake up early to study on a weekend? - figure out what works for you specifically, and stick with it. Time management is a great soft skill to put in your cover letter, a path to academic success, and also a way to free yourself up, planning and working ahead so you have more time to really relax - not just waste time while worrying about something you're procrastinating - and have fun!
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