For busy college students, there may be no greater skill necessary than time management. The ability to juggle all of the stressors associated with school, often work, and personal lives can be a challenge, even for the most seasoned students.

A lot of college students are able to manage their time in college because they have balance and they are able to work ahead. For some students it’s not easy to have time management skills, especially when they are loaded with school and work, which could result in late class assignments due to this mismanagement.

Having some strategies could help in balancing college, work, and your personal life, based around the amount of time spent on your college career.

Time management is the key to your success when you know how to use your time wisely. Time management brings structure and discipline that will help you.

It feels great to accomplish your day to day tasks when you have well balanced time. Here are some strategies you can use to have effective time management skills.

One helpful strategy is creating a calendar and sticking to it. A calendar can help you prioritize well by keeping everything organized. On your calendar keep important tasks and dates visible, include your work schedule, and don’t forget assignments. You can also use your phone to help you on the go. Setting a reminder for your job, task, and college work can keep you on track with time frames that need to be completed.

Building a personalized planner gives sustainability in your busy life and it will help you organize your  time so you can work ahead. Working ahead gives a lot of advantages, one of which is you could always be on time for your job and/or meetings. This could also help to prevent being late for college class assignments and help you finish extra things that could set you up for the career you want.

Planning ahead reduces stress and it improves your quality of work. It also gives you flexibility to handle unexpected time management challenges more efficiently.

“I like to physically write down what I have to do each week,” Makoa Rosa, a coach and instructor of college skills here at Highline, said of his time management strategy.

He is a big fan of lists even though that might be a little bit old school. On Sunday night or Monday morning he will start a list titled “to do this week.” He likes doing easy stuff like going to the grocery store and doing fun activities because he found that this helps him get excited about making progress. 

Rosa said that he does not get overwhelmed when he is very busy when he has everything written down because it’s more manageable. Writing things down is the one thing that helps him when he is feeling overwhelmed with work and life. He also steps away from it completely so he can focus on something else entirely for one hour.

He can give his brain a chance to relax and rest in a sense from all the overload he is getting. Rosa also noted that he found that exercising has been the most effective mental break. When he comes back to the task after exercising and eating, he feels motivated and energized to get on with his day.

When you are working within a tight schedule you can give yourself deadlines to help stay on track with your progress. Working backwards and coming up with a timeline can help you complete all your assignments. For example, if you have an essay due on Friday afternoon you can spend time on Monday to do the research that is needed. 

Balancing college life with numerous assignment due dates can make time management challenging, however, by prioritizing tasks and maintaining balance, you can effectively reach your goals and maintain a workflow environment that fits the way you work with time