Time Management Blog

It’s not a secret that students do a lot of activities to build up their resume. Sports, Clubs, Competitions, AP Classes, and more. Trying to balance all of this with your homework, family, and social life is hard, so how do these top of the class, straight A students, and probably future Harvard graduates do it? Well it’s all really just managing your time correctly. Here are 5 time management techniques and tips to better balance your life.

1. Make a Routine

This is a really simple but helpful way to ensure that you are making the most of your time, while still not burning out. For example, doing your homework for 2 hours before practice every weekday. Or working at your desk every time you sit to study. By making a routine, it is easier for your brain to slip into work mode, since it does that everyday.

2. Plan

Another really simple tip is to plan your month, week, and day out. For planning the month, use a calendar to mark any events throughout the month (birthdays, social gatherings, meetings, exams). To plan out your week you can either use a weekly planner or a calendar and mark down deadlines and assignments you have that week. Finally to plan out your day, you can use a simple to-do list with all you need to do that day (assignments, errands, chores, etc.) By doing this you can see how much you need to do and how much free time you will have overall.

3. Time Blocking

Time blocking is another form of planning out your day to an extreme. It involves breaking your day up into 30 minute chunks, leaving a 15 minute buffer time. Then using those 30 minute intervals, you can plan out how much each thing on your to-do list will take out of your day (the fifteen minutes between each 30 minute chunk are in case any of your tasks take more time than anticipated). After doing this technique you can learn how you use your time and can get better at estimating how long it will take you to do errands/chores/assignments.

4. Eisenhower Matrix

This more complex form of time management can help you better prioritize tasks. Create a chart like the one shown below. Then sort your tasks into the categories and follow the steps (shown below) based on where you put each task. For example, I would put my semester review for Algebra into the Urgent and Important block and therefore would do it in that study session. However, I would put the chore of taking the garbage in in the Urgent and Not Important block and instead have my brother do it for me.

5. Parkinson’s Law

This time management technique helps you get your work done faster and helps you work more efficiently overall. This is based on the idea that the amount you give yourself to complete a task is the amount of time it will take you to complete that task. To do this, give yourself a deadline. For example, finishing your Spanish homework before your computer dies. This will push your brain to finish the work before the deadline. Along with giving yourself a deadline to finish your work, you can also give yourself a limit on the amount of time you spend doing something. Only spending 20 minutes answering emails or 10 minutes making coffee will push you to get into the habit of working efficiently.

Finding a time management strategy that works for you is tough, since we are all different people and our brain works in different ways. To find out how your brain works and which time management strategy would work for you, visit 9 Popular Time Management Techniques and Tools | USAHS.