Powerful Time Management Strategies for Students

Time Management for Students: this is an important technique and skill which everyone should learn to ace their goals in life. Students who are studying abroad, need to understand the importance of time management because they independently have to deal with things. Read on the article to find the importance of time management, how to acquire time management skills and tips on time management.

While time management is a skill that is taught to students at home and school or even college. However, setting momentum and managing time to accomplish important tasks can be a forgotten chapter. Students who study abroad can benefit a lot if their time management skills are upright. Managing time is not always about juggling things it is about making time for everything important and for some less important ones also. 

What is Time Management for Students?

Time management is a skill which helps individuals manage their timelines of actions in a specified manner. As a student, time management skills are important so that they can accommodate all their tasks and schedule them so that they do not miss out on anything important. 

Time management skills in students do not develop overnight, rather, it takes time to understand the meaning of each activity and schedule it to miss out on something important. Student time management skills are either developed by parents or they have to do it themselves. So those who study abroad can understand the time management techniques for students from this article.

Importance of Time Management for Students Abroad

Why is time management important for students studying abroad? There are no definite answers to such open-ended questions. However, there are some reasons to understand the benefits of time management for students studying abroad and they are as follows. 

• Time management through scheduling is important to fit everything in one day.
• There is no fear of missing out on important tasks.
• Sufficient time is mapped for all activities, where important ones come first and the least important ones come later.
• There is a lower stress level to make more time for important tasks because everything is sorted if you have a schedule.
• Time management skills are realised by students when they can accomplish tasks without missing out on anyone.

Thus, international students need to be able to manage their tasks properly so that they meet their goals, have a peaceful mind and not miss out on anything severe. 

How to Manage Time for Students Abroad?

Time management tips for students studying abroad are an important aspect of being able to multi-task. Some of the most important tips for managing time as students while they study abroad are as follows:

• Follow the routine and your timetable for better results.
• Make short-term goals and agendas and follow them. On accomplishing them, give yourself a treat.
• Download a few apps to increase productivity and finish your assignments on time. 
• Increase your brain power with regular and light mental activities or games to keep yourself fresh. This will help you to manage your time more efficiently and think better.
• Give yourself enough breaks to avoid brain clouding or overburning. This is also essential for time management and optimum performance at college. 

Apart from the above-mentioned tips for time management, the students should ideally create a schedule and stick to it. Making a schedule and following it is the best form of time management for students who are studying abroad.

Time Management Tips for Students

While time management can be a herculean task with a couple of things in hand, students mustn't lose their calm. They can follow the given tips to make a schedule so that they are able to manage their time while studying abroad easily. 

Tip 1: Understand What All Activities Require Time Management

Though studies are the most important aspect of managing time for students studying abroad, but there are other activities too which need time and that’s where time management comes into play. Students will have to first understand:

• The number of tasks or activities in hand and plan them accordingly.
• Assign a chronological order for all these activities and try to follow the order. 
• You can keep a scope for shuffle if the order gets monotonous.
• Understand how much time is required to be denoted for each of the tasks and get into action to be able to assign a time.
• Finally, once all activities in hand are sorted, make a schedule. 

Tip 2: Plan Your Schedule With Proper Breaks

Scheduling all activities can be essential so that students do not miss out on anything specific or important. While scheduling tasks based on a timeline can vary for students, but here’s how they can still make a schedule and follow it. Here’s a sample schedule for students studying abroad and how they can plan their timetable:

Tasks	Timeline
Wake up alarm	6:00 a.m.
Work out	6:30 a.m. - 7:30 a.m.
Get ready for classes at college/university	7:45 a.m. - 8:15 a.m.
Breakfast	8:15 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.
Attend classes + lunch	9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Return from college and take a nap + snack	5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Assignment or revision	6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Dinner	8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Take a walk after dinner	9:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Watch something on your phone or laptop	9:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Prepare for the next day	10:00 p.m. - 10:15 p.m.
Sleep	10:30 p.m.

While this may sound very mechanical and typical, at the end of the day this is just a sample of the timetable that can be followed. Students studying abroad can just plan their schedule around this sample for better time management. They can customize this schedule as per their needs and requirements and apply it in real life. 

Check: Didn't Ace the Exam? Here's Your Recovery Plan!

Tip 3: Prioritize Important Tasks First

While planning your schedule, try to prioritize important tasks first and make sufficient time for them. Important tasks like your study schedule, revision schedule, working out schedule, or reading schedule if you like it and not to miss your eating times. These tasks are important and require students studying abroad to understand the importance of time management skills. 

Tip 4: Time Your Tasks and Understand Time Management

While sticking to a certain time frame and scheduling your activities, it is time to now test your activities and understand how well you are managing your time. In case, there are discrepancies in your schedule, you can:

• Re-time your tasks and make a timeline for it accordingly. 
• You can check which task is taking more time and if it is feasible or not. If yes, then add some more time from here or there. If not, then check why. 
• For additional activities like part-time jobs abroad, while studying, applicants must try and fit it within their bandwidth. 
• Check if priority work or studies is being taken care of and if not, make sure you are devoting more time if there is a lack from your end.
• Ultimately, plan your new schedule and test it one more time before finalising it. 

Tip 5: Give Your New Schedule a Shot

After so much planning and scheduling, it is now time to give your schedule a shot and bring it to purpose. It is important to make such schedules which solve the following purposes:

1. Manage time and give a clear sense of tasks in hand.
2. Giving enough time to important things first and non-important things later.
3. You are making time for every task you have to accomplish shortly.
4. Some time for yourself to breathe also and enjoy time off.
5. Be able to meet all targets based on the schedule created for efficient time management.

When all these pointers are taken into consideration, applicants can try their schedules and bring them into action. 

Thus, students who are studying abroad will benefit from acquiring time management skills. Creation, planning and setting things into action are all that make a student pro with time management skills. It is important to understand the value of time and why everything is important too. So make a plan, stick to it and become a pro with your time management skills.