College student holding books

Time Management Tips for College Students

College is an excellent time to explore career options, build lifelong connections, and gain financial responsibility. However, with only 24 hours in a day, you might find yourself having too much on your plate. It’s essential to make the most out of every minute of your stay at university to enjoy the journey.

We’ve created a list of the best time management tips for college students for your convenience. These should help you achieve good grades while still having enough time for extracurricular activities.

Build a Daily Schedule

Building a daily schedule tops our tips for time management in college. For best results, your plan should be less of a to-do list and more of an hourly system. Your physical or digital journal should include all your academic and social responsibilities, from projects to study hours to weekly calls with your parents. This process takes some getting used to, but you will start developing good habits when you get the hang of it.

Block Your Courses

If you think you can absorb lessons better if you scatter your classes throughout the day, you couldn’t be more wrong. When you enroll in back-to-back courses, you make more time for focused studying instead of wasting your time around the campus waiting for a late-afternoon calculus session. It would be even better to group your classes to only two or three days a week. After all, you might end up wasting precious minutes (or hours) on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter during your breaks.

Attend All Classes

No matter how much fun it seems to hang out with your friends or significant other on any given day, attending all your classes is always ideal. If you miss a one-hour engineering, chartered accounting, or aeronautics class, you might need more time understanding such complex subjects. A one-hour lecture often requires two hours of study time, but missing your classes might double this three-hour window. Additionally, your professor is a more qualified information source than your classmates’ handwritten notes.

Say No

As a student, the thought of being part of every organization in school may seem like a great idea. However, as you’ve probably learned by now, every team, club, or part-time job activity you accept takes up many minutes you could use studying. We’re not closing this list of time management tips for busy college students without reminding you to say no to commitments if necessary. During the most hectic university days — finals, oral examinations, projects — it’s OK to say no to birthday parties, charity events, and even church service.

Live Your Best College Life

These tips for managing time in college can help you live your best life at university. No matter how daunting a semester can be, you can handle any challenges with proper time management.