Time Management & Productivity Strategies

The key to successful time management in college is to plan ahead. There is no perfect “one size fits all” strategy for staying organized and budgeting your time, so you may need to experiment a bit to find a system that works for you. This guide contains some evidence-based strategies to get you started.

At-a-Glance Tips:

1. Don’t set yourself up to fail. If you’re not a morning person, don’t create a schedule that requires waking up at 5:00am. Find what works for you and build from there.
2. Prioritize tasks/duties/meetings based on importance and urgency.
3. Have set times to accomplish routine tasks to give yourself a strong foundation. This can help alleviate feelings of being overwhelmed and pressured, and the constant juggling of tasks.
4. Reward yourself for completing tasks on time.
5. Find a school/personal life balance. Being more aware of your time and how you spend it will help you understand your time abilities and constraints.
6. Write professor and TA office hours into your schedule/planner. When you need additional help, you’ll have that information at your fingertips—not buried somewhere in your backpack or desk.
7. Break large assignments into smaller segments. For each designated segment, set a deadline for yourself. All segments should build upon the previous one(s) so that the “total” assignment is complete by the deadline (most likely professor-set)