Students who succeed while juggling work, school, and other responsibilities are superheroes of scheduling, organizing—and perhaps most importantly—managing time. Want to find your time-management superpowers? The key is to know your time-use personality, figure out your challenges, and play to your strengths.
The International Career Development Center (ICDC College) in Huntington Park, California, suggests evaluating your usual time-management behavior in order to identify the cause of any challenges. Here are five personality types to consider:
The Firefighter: You spend so much time managing crises and putting out fires that things pile up as you rush from place to place.
The Over-Committer: You struggle to say “no.” You have more than a full plate, or maybe three! You’re so busy, you hardly have the time to keep track of it all.
The Lounger: You’re very laid-back, and may avoid responsibilities. Trouble may arise when phone calls go unreturned and tasks remain unfinished.
The Chatterbox: You’re a social butterfly and exercise your great communication skills at every chance. But this often leads to conversations that may take you away from getting things done.
The Perfectionist: You strive for exactitude. Your bar is set so high that there may not be enough time in the day to meet your own standard.
Do you see some of yourself and your habits in these descriptions? Does your approach to responsibilities help, or hinder, your ability to reach your goals?
This knowledge can point to clues about how to liberate yourself from time-zapping habits.
Scheduling, prioritizing, and list making are all good ways to organize your time. But the most effective ways to do these depend on your individual needs and the amount of conflicting priorities you face in your schedule. Here are some techniques to try:
“Italian Tomatoes”
Originally this technique used a tomato-shaped kitchen timer—thus the name. Set a timer and work intensely for 25 minutes before taking a 5-minute break. Looking forward to regular breathers can help you focus and feel comfortable eliminating distractions.
This method may be especially helpful for “The Perfectionist” and “The Lounger,” or those who only have small chunks of time throughout the day to focus on academic tasks.
Chris D., a graduate student at American University in Washington, D.C., breaks work into pieces using this technique. “I set a 30-minute timer and try to complete a task in that time,” he says.
Time Chart
Ever wonder where the time has gone? Tasks often seem to take longer than you expect, and the day flies by before you can catch it. A spreadsheet broken up into 15 or 30-minute chunks can help you identify exactly how your time is being spent.
Along the top, list the seven days of the week. On the side, break the sheet into time frames, such as 9:00–9:15 a.m. In each section, write down exactly what you do—sleep, eat, work, attend class, pick up your children from school, etc.
This tool can work for anyone, but may be especially useful for “The Lounger” and “The Chatterbox.” If you’re an “Over-Committer,” you may find it illuminating to realize there’s no room to squeeze anything more into your schedule.
Unplug
Gizmos and gadgets can promote organization, but they can also turn into a huge time vacuum. Reserve time each day for turning off your phone, social media, email, etc. Try this for an hour or two and use the time to focus on tasks you need to get done. (You can use the “Italian Tomatoes” approach if you’d like.)
“The Over-Committer” and “The Firefighter” may find this approach especially useful for tackling current responsibilities before adding more chaos to their agendas.
Visualize
Michele C., a graduate student at Empire State College, The State University of New York in Saratoga Springs, uses both an electronic and physical version of her planner to organize her time and commitments.
This strategy is especially useful for visual learners, and provides both a tangible and online place to keep track of what needs to be done. This method may be comforting for “The Perfectionist” who’s worrying about missing a detail. “The Firefighter” may find it helpful for zeroing in on priorities. Color-coding tasks can further support this.
If you wait until the last minute to do things, you’re definitely not alone. Many people put off today what they think they’ll do tomorrow.
Procrastination isn’t necessarily an obstacle; some people are effective on-the-spot thinkers, are more creative when crunched for time, or process information internally before taking action.
For others, however, putting things off isn’t productive. Dr. Jennifer Taylor, assistant professor of counseling psychology at West Virginia University in Morgantown, says there are actually reasons people do this. “It can be related to a fear of failure, competing demands, or lack of understanding about an assignment,” she explains.
If you procrastinate, identifying the root causes can help you combat time mismanagement and address the underlying issues. Talking with your academic advisor can help you develop effective ways to allocate your time, especially if it’s limited. Reaching out to a counselor at your school or in your community can also help you figure out any emotional barriers to your success.
Making effective use of your time means being healthy, rested, fed, and having the energy to be a successful student. Remember, even though you don’t have control over time itself, you can control how you spend it.
Anna-Marie is a West Virginia University doctoral student in sport and exercise psychology.
Here are more strategies for making the most of your time:
Procrastination can be a dangerous trap, especially with a lengthy to-do list and many distractions. Sometimes it stems from being laid-back, and other times from feeling overwhelmed by what seems like an insurmountable pile of responsibilities.
If you procrastinate, here are some ways to take action:
