3 EASY Time Management Tips for Students

One of the most common questions that I am asked by students, parents and professors is how can I help students manage their time better?  It seems this is the biggest issue that keeps students from achieving and parents and professors getting more frustrated by the minute. 

Over my career, I've coached many students {and some adults} with poor time management skills and the following tips are the ones that provide the most bang for the buck. If you don't want to invest a lot of time {no pun intended} into learning a full blown time management routine, then this is the place to begin. 

(1)  Teach Yourself to Tell Time Again- People who are poor time managers are poor time estimators. Why? Because they lack, or have distorted,  time tables in their minds. Basically, they under or overestimate the time it takes  to complete tasks OR they simply have not even thought about how much time a task tasks. 

Action Step: For the next week, write down ALL of your tasks, {driving, morning routine, homework {break it down by task}, eating,  email etc. }, estimate the time you THINK it will take you to complete it, time yourself during the activity and then record the actual time. Compare the results when you are done. Not only will this make you more aware of where your time table is "off" but also will help you build a proper time table for your most common activities. 

(2) Plan To Be Early-People who are poor time managers are rarely early with anything. They skid in right at the start time or after an event has begun. This also applies to projects and studying for tests. To be an excellent time manager, you must leave time for what I call life contingencies {sickness, slow cars, trains, emergencies, last minute events, printer running out of ink etc.}. 

Action Step: Trick your brain into thinking that the time you need to be somewhere or complete a task is earlier than you think. For actual events I recommend padding in an extra 15 minutes. For projects and studying for tests, I recommend moving your "due date" up by two days. 

(3) Develop A Routine-People who are poor time managers rarely follow any type of routine or habits. They fly by the seat of their pants and it shows. When highly successful students and individuals share their secrets to success, they will almost always say that they have a strong daily routine. 

Action Step: Create a morning and evening routine to follow. Be disciplined about following it each and every day. Sound too overwhelming? Try just one or the other to begin and then add the other. Watch how effortlessly managing your time each day becomes! 

Like this post and want even more tips on how to manage your time more effectively? Sign up for my FREE webinar Time Management Tools for Students. 

Just have a question for me about one of the tips I shared above? Let's talk! 


Jennifer