Tips for Time Management — BUTTONED BEARS

The past few weeks have been a suddenly chaotic time in our world and with college classes moving online, students are having to figure out how to stay productive and maintain some sense of normalcy.

If you’re like me, you might be having a hard time creating structure in your days without classes and work keeping you busy. When I started quarantine, I quickly realized I would have to create some new routines to keep myself motivated. This is not to say you must be highly productive every day, but I know I feel lousy if I don’t check a few things off my list each day.

To combat laziness, I decided to list out my daily routine. My list includes: drink lemon water every morning, spend at least an hour outside, do something creative, read at least one chapter of whatever book I’m reading and contact a friend. These daily activities quickly became a habit for me, and I can go to sleep knowing that I didn’t waste the day.

Another way to maintain some normalcy is to try to keep your old routines as much as possible. If you got coffee with a friend every Friday after class, make your cup of joe at home and chat over facetime. If you had a lifetime fitness class, see if your family has an old soccer ball lying around or break out the Wii and play a match of tennis. If you were part of a club or organization, try to do zoom calls during your regular meeting times if you aren’t already.

Now when it comes to schoolwork, I know for the procrastinators out there, online classes can be even harder to keep up with so I have some tips I’ve learned along the way.

1. Keep a calendar where you can see it: This can be a weekly calendar on a whiteboard (my fav) or a web-based calendar that you can print off and hang up by your desk, or just keeping whatever planner you use on your desk. Keeping your tasks in plain sight helps you to avoid ignoring your online work.

2. Print any updated syllabi: I immediately did this and pinned them up above my desk so I could manage my workload easier. And bonus: you get that satisfaction of physically crossing off completed assignments.

3. Have a designated workspace: If you don’t have a desk, find a table or spare room somewhere that you can keep your school supplies and laptop. This allows you to get into a work zone and avoid distractions. Take it one step further and leave your phone elsewhere so you can really get stuff done.

Photo by Michał Parzuchowski on Unsplash

4. Spread out the work: I know it can be tempting to spend several hours and get weeks ahead on your classwork, but I suggest avoiding that. When the final comes around, the material will not be as fresh in your mind and you will likely have to go over more material than if you stuck with the syllabus.

At the end of the day, we all deal with stress in our own way. Try out some different methods of planning to see what works for you. Some might need to block out the days by the hour but others might do better with a simple goal list for the day. Good luck and happy quarantine!

Written by: Claire Boston

Edited by: Megan Tullos