15 QUICK STEPS FOR STUDENTS TO MANAGE TIME FOR SECOND INNING OF LIFE
Managing Time for a College student is a highly essential skill not just for college students but for all, once you know how to use your time judiciously, success is just a step ahead. For college students there are a lot of worries like vast syllabus to study, a large number of assignments and project to finish on time, participating in various clubs and extra-curricular activities and other college events happening all the time. Things get tougher when you are working part-time to earn pocket money or health issues, So here is a list of 15 hacks for a better and healthy college life. 15 Minutes in the morning and hours saved: Just after you wake up, firstly use 5 minutes to stretch your body, next 5 minutes to make your bed and keep everything in place, and last 5 minutes to quickly plan your day in advance which will save you whole lot of time wasted in planning after every hour. A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Skipping a stair out of over-confidence can be injurious to health later, if you couldn’t understand something in class, then please don’t try to skip it over. You should take some time to figure it out or seek help. If you skip over a concept, you will miss out on all the topics and concepts built upon it subsequently. Avoid getting under peer pressure: College students often make the mistake of getting influenced by their peers easily. If your friends are partying, you will want to party too. If they are planning a startup, you will be brainstorming about business ideas too. Be choosy about your friends and keep your surroundings distraction-free. If you cannot come across a good company, the library a place for you, go and choose the company of good books. You may also want to use headphones while studying to avoid distractions in the room. Be Attentive and Smart: Before the class, read the material and complete the homework so that you can pay attention to important elements during the lecture. Prepare a list of questions you haven’t understood. During the class, sit in the front where you can focus on the lecture better. Make notes or record the lecture for future use. Just after class, note down the missing sections of your notes from your friends, ask your professor about any additional info you might need and clean up your notes so that they are readable later. In the evening, read your class notes loudly and try to understand them. Face Challenges in a fear-free way: Work pressure is a part-and-parcel of life. Accept it and be ready to face it head-on. Have confidence in yourself and you might create wonders by performing way better under pressure. Early Risers creates history: Several studies have revealed that ‘waking up early’ is directly correlated to ‘Success’. A 2008 Texas University showed that ‘morning people’ scored a full point higher GPAs than the ‘night owls’ in college. The morning time is a peaceful and pleasant due to healthy sunlight on the head. This time will enable you to organize, plan and set goals in a better way. You may have also heard a famous phrase, “Early to bed, Early to rise, Makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” Sharpen your Memory Power: According to a research conducted by Dr Mary Newport in 2010, it was found that about two tablespoons of coconut oil in your food is good for your brain and can also prevent degenerative neurological diseases. Research also shows that you need about eight seconds to register a piece of information and make it a part of your memory. So, focus on one sentence for at least a few seconds before moving on to the next sentence. You should also learn to use mnemonics to remember things for a longer period. Your seniors can be a good source of some interesting acronyms, visualizations, or funny rhymes to remember important facts and figures. To remember the order colours in a rainbow, people use the acronym “VIBGYOR” which stands for Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo and Violet. Realistic Goals act as positive reinforcement: Don’t take up too many courses during one semester. Setting your goal too high will lead to unnecessary stress and eventually, frustration. Opt for a reasonable amount of coursework instead – and be thorough with it. Be Organized with your work and life too: College is the time when you realize why your mom used to hound you so much about organizing things and cleaning up your room. The realization strikes when you start searching for your misplaced assignment or lost notes at the last minute – and may even bring tears to your eyes. A neat and clean room and a well-organized table impress more girls in college too. Try to lead a purposeful life especially in college: Set up goals for your college days. Then, figure out the main reason for attending college in the first place. What is most important to you? Getting perfect grades or networking with people of targeted skills? Plan your college life, keeping your purpose in mind. Try to be focused on one thing at a time: In the Internet age, it has become almost impossible for us to switch off email, Facebook, or games on your Smartphone. Distractions have multiplied like never before. Multitasking is a sign of your inability to focus on one thing at a time. Start with focusing on your studies for just 15 minutes at a time – and increase it to two hours. Finish one task first at a time and then move on to other task. Listen to Recorded Lectures at Twice the Speed: Use Audacity or VLC media player to listen to the recorded lectures at double speed. They are still coherent at that speed and your mind can decipher them easily and if you have listened to the lecture carefully for the first time. Make a Planner: Writing things down help you to keep a track of all that you have to do during the course of the day. It also acts as an incredible tool to help you to submit your assignments and projects in time. Colour Psychology a new saviour: It makes your notes prettier, more interesting to read and makes it easier to find a particular point. You can use one color for definitions, another color to highlight formulas and yet, another color for important headings. Set Short-term goals: If you are a habitual procrastinator, setting up mini-deadlines for yourself throughout the day can be extremely useful. Your goals will read something like this: “I will brush, bathe and eat breakfast in an hour and then, I will study for three hours.”