How-to Budget Your Time

Time is money, and for college students, there isn't much of either.

Syllabus week, midterms, finals, and everything in between can be a major cause of stress for college students. One way to help alleviate some of that stress is to budget your time wisely There are many ways to budget your time to ensure not only that work gets done, but that it gets done well.

College students are going to (hopefully) spend a lot of time studying for their classes, so it's worth it to make sure that time is well-spent. Here are a few ways to spend your study time well:

1. Invest in a good planner

2. Use that planner

3. Set aside distractions

4. Trick yourself with earlier deadlines

5. Make it a routine

Those don't seem too bad, right? Let's dive into what each step means for you as a student.

1. Invest in a good planner

I was the student who thought, 'I can keep track of my assignments! I don't need to carry around a planner!', and boy, was I wrong. A planner makes a world of difference for the college student. A large part of stress, at least for me, comes from not being sure when assignments are due. A planner will solve that issue, and make syllabus week seem a little more important. Business Insider has compiled a list of different planners that will help with organization and time management.

2. Use that planner

This one seems like a no-brainer, but a planner is only as good as the person that uses it. My first planner went untouched after my first semester of school, but now, I use one every day. The semesters that I thought I could get through without a planner seemed to stretch on forever with no end in sight. I never knew when the assignments were going to end or when the last test would be. Using the planner is the difference between fighting to get to the finish line, and sprinting through the finish line.

3. Set aside distractions

'Do Not Disturb' is your best friend in a study session. If you need music to work, find a good playlist and put your phone down until the work is done. You are going to be more productive if you don't reward yourself with screen-time after reading a page of your textbook, I promise. Close out tabs that are unrelated to your assignment and may distract you. Most students put off assignments because they think they will take a long time, but, if you put all your distractions away, you'd be surprised how little time some assignments take up.

4. Trick yourself with earlier deadlines

This is a weird one, but it's worked wonders for me. You'll need a planner, but if you've read steps one a two, you're already doing great! The key to this step happens during Syllabus Week and requires a bit of trust in yourself. In your planner, write down due dates as a day or two before the assignments are actually due. If you're a procrastinator, the latest your assignment can be is the day before it's due! Of course, you have to keep telling yourself that the due date you've set is the actual due date, but once you've convinced yourself, you'll never turn in a late assignment!

5. Make it a routine

Routines can have a major positive impact on your day-to-day life. If you can purchase a good planner, use it daily, get rid of distractions, and get your work done early, you'll be in good shape. To stay in good shape, it's best to make it a routine. Go to the library once a week and get your work done, or designate the same time every week to complete assignments. A routine will do wonders for productivity and reduce stress if you know when your work will be getting done.

These five steps to spending time wisely are just what works for some, and they definitely won't work for everyone. Students can tailor the steps to their needs and use them to be successful in their own ways.