Work Smart: Tips for Students to Get More out of Their Day

Female student reading a book for finding information. Young woman sitting at table doing assignments in university library. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

Are you working hard in class, racing to your job after school and trying to make it to an extracurricular activity during the week? Working while going to school full time means you have to work smart. Organize your time to squeeze in extra schoolwork between classes, work and fun. Here are few tips to maximize your time:

Make a Master Calendar of Deadlines

To effectively juggle a full plate, pay attention to upcoming deadlines in your classes. At the start of the semester, read your course schedule and note on a master calendar when assignments are due as well as quiz and test days. Recording these dates in advance helps you build in extra time for studying and avoid any temptation to procrastinate.

Utilize a To-Do List

A to-do list is your best friend when managing priorities. List items that have to be done that day in one column, then tasks that need to be done that week in a separate column and so on. Don’t put everything you need to do in the next year on your list, but identify what is reasonable given your time constraints. If you put too many items on this list and can’t cross anything off, you’ll just be frustrated instead of productive.

Wake up Early

Using the hours before you go to work or class is a good way to squeeze in some extra time to do schoolwork. Waking early means you can knock out an assignment or sneak in some extra study hours while you are alert and motivated. It also helps you avoid procrastinating must-do tasks later in the day.

Use Technology to Your Advantage

Technology can be a distraction, but it also can be a valuable tool to help get your work done. Tablets like the iPad Air 2 are slim and portable, equipped with hours of battery life and useful for looking up information for a research paper while standing in line or waiting in the dentist’s office. Or if you need to make notes on a project, the Pages app on the tablet lets you brainstorm and jot some ideas down without the hassle of looking for pen and paper. Students are able to work on this tablet virtually anywhere, whether it means reading a book, sending emails, writing a report or surfing the web.

Make the Most of Your Breaks

Having a packed schedule means sometimes you need to work during lunch and on breaks between classes. Grab a quick bite to eat and read a book for class, review an outline for a test or add a few paragraphs to a research paper. Working in small doses throughout the day helps prevent tasks from piling up in the evening.

Take Care of Yourself

The key to a successful school year hinges on balancing all of your work and taking care of yourself. Exercise, get a good night’s rest and carve out time for nutritious food to stay healthy. Sleep deprivation doesn’t work to your advantage and often slows down your reaction times and creates cloudy thinking. You aren’t saving time by pushing your body to the limits.

Source: SocialMonsters