3 answers
Elle
Student
Portland, Oregon
1
Question
Updated
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As an incoming college freshman, how can I best learn to manage my time with all the new things college will bring… classes, work study, homework, time with friends, training my service dog, downtime? #Spring26
I’ll be coming from a small high school for kids with learning differences. We have very low student-teacher ratios and a lot of support and accommodations. As I’m entering a large 4-year university, I wonder if there is advice on how to best manage my time and feel supported and thrive. Thank you.
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3 answers
William Vvuko
Retired engineer
233
Answers
Moyo, Northern Region
Updated
William’s Answer
Hi Elle,
You raise an important issue.
How well we manage our time determines how much we achieve each day. The truth is that we all have 24 hours each day. People who use their time wisely generally tend to achieve more than those who don't.
A good approach to efficient time allocation is to prioritize your activities. Ideally, we should spend our time doing important things. Important things are those that contribute in a significant way to the achievement of our goals. However, break-ins do occur and we need to manage them as best as we possibly can. Being assertive requires us saying "NO" in a respectful way when appropriate.
Sometimes we spend significant amounts of our time to attend to urgent things. If what is urgent is not important, we should defer it to a later time/date.
As a student, it's good practice to try to allocate more time to areas where you are weak. However, this should be done in such a manner that it doesn't affect your performance in areas where you are already doing well.
I've had the privilege of working in an environment where the organization runs a refresher in time management for all employees annually. A separate training bucket is reserved for new employees in the event that they missed the general training.
I hope this clarifies your query.
Good luck in your studies. Excellence should be your guiding principle.
You raise an important issue.
How well we manage our time determines how much we achieve each day. The truth is that we all have 24 hours each day. People who use their time wisely generally tend to achieve more than those who don't.
A good approach to efficient time allocation is to prioritize your activities. Ideally, we should spend our time doing important things. Important things are those that contribute in a significant way to the achievement of our goals. However, break-ins do occur and we need to manage them as best as we possibly can. Being assertive requires us saying "NO" in a respectful way when appropriate.
Sometimes we spend significant amounts of our time to attend to urgent things. If what is urgent is not important, we should defer it to a later time/date.
As a student, it's good practice to try to allocate more time to areas where you are weak. However, this should be done in such a manner that it doesn't affect your performance in areas where you are already doing well.
I've had the privilege of working in an environment where the organization runs a refresher in time management for all employees annually. A separate training bucket is reserved for new employees in the event that they missed the general training.
I hope this clarifies your query.
Good luck in your studies. Excellence should be your guiding principle.
Ella Cai
Private Tutor
3
Answers
New York, New York
Updated
Ella’s Answer
The biggest shift in college is that no one is structuring your time for you anymore, so building that structure yourself is key. One of the most effective tools I've found is time blocking: at the start of each week, map out your classes, work study hours, service dog training, and make sure you leave enough room for your downtime/social activities. Treat those blocks like real commitments, not just suggestions. It might feel rigid at first, but it actually creates more freedom because you know when things will get done, and you start realizing ahead of time if a task is going to take longer than expected, giving you time to readjust before you're scrambling.
Good luck!!
Good luck!!
Chris Ramsayer
Sales Engineer
5
Answers
Apex, North Carolina
Updated
Chris’s Answer
Hi Elle,
Managing your time well is essential for success in all areas of life. When I started college, I wanted to do everything—joining the crew team, pledging a fraternity, attending classes, and studying a bit. After getting some "C"s on my midterms, I realized I needed to focus more on studying. I began setting up daily study sessions, taking Saturdays off to recharge. Sundays became my main study day. Having a regular study schedule helps make studying a habit and ensures you don't feel like you're losing free time. It's better to have planned for more time than you may actually need for studying. Then when you feel like you have done enough studying, the rest of your set studying time becomes free time!
The second part of time management is how you use your time. Maybe you have already heard the "Big Rocks and a Beer" axiom, popularized by Stephen Covey. If not, look it up. Basically, it dictates that you must prioritize your most important tasks (big stones) first, or they will never get done. A professor first puts sand (representing small tasks) in a fishbowl (representing your time), then pebbles (medium tasks ), then some big rocks ( important tasks) which overflow the fishbowl. Then he repeats the demonstration with a second fishbowl,but this time he puts in the big rocks first, then pebbles, and then the sand and it all fits. For you and most people, studying for the difficult classes are the big rocks. It's human nature, or at least its true for me, to do the easy tasks first, thinking "I'll get them out of the way so I can then concentrate on the important tasks better". But that doesn't work as demonstrated in the Big Rocks and a Beer axiom. You need your mind fresh to tackle the difficult tasks as well as avoiding the pressure of running out of time. The "beer" symbolizes that even when your "fishbowl" is completely filled with "big rocks, pebbles, and sand", there is always time to relax, exemplified by the professor being able to pour the beer into the fishbowl even though it is full!
Managing your time well is essential for success in all areas of life. When I started college, I wanted to do everything—joining the crew team, pledging a fraternity, attending classes, and studying a bit. After getting some "C"s on my midterms, I realized I needed to focus more on studying. I began setting up daily study sessions, taking Saturdays off to recharge. Sundays became my main study day. Having a regular study schedule helps make studying a habit and ensures you don't feel like you're losing free time. It's better to have planned for more time than you may actually need for studying. Then when you feel like you have done enough studying, the rest of your set studying time becomes free time!
The second part of time management is how you use your time. Maybe you have already heard the "Big Rocks and a Beer" axiom, popularized by Stephen Covey. If not, look it up. Basically, it dictates that you must prioritize your most important tasks (big stones) first, or they will never get done. A professor first puts sand (representing small tasks) in a fishbowl (representing your time), then pebbles (medium tasks ), then some big rocks ( important tasks) which overflow the fishbowl. Then he repeats the demonstration with a second fishbowl,but this time he puts in the big rocks first, then pebbles, and then the sand and it all fits. For you and most people, studying for the difficult classes are the big rocks. It's human nature, or at least its true for me, to do the easy tasks first, thinking "I'll get them out of the way so I can then concentrate on the important tasks better". But that doesn't work as demonstrated in the Big Rocks and a Beer axiom. You need your mind fresh to tackle the difficult tasks as well as avoiding the pressure of running out of time. The "beer" symbolizes that even when your "fishbowl" is completely filled with "big rocks, pebbles, and sand", there is always time to relax, exemplified by the professor being able to pour the beer into the fishbowl even though it is full!