Time management hacks that got me through college
I’m something of a life-hack enthusiast — and you gotta love an old-school alarm clock
Look, I’m not an effortless whiz at using all of my time effectively. I watched just as many cute dog videos as the next college student. I complained about being too busy. I sometimes missed deadlines.
But I also did do a pretty solid job balancing 16+ credit semesters with two jobs and at least some semblance of a social life during my college career.
I relied on a few simple but effective time management strategies to get me through UW-Madison and out into the “real world” in three years. And if I thought they worked for me then? They’re even more helpful now in my full-time position.
Here they are.
Hack #1: Productive Procrastination
I’m not immune to the empty feeling that is a complete and utter lack of motivation. Have you ever been in the middle of a task only to feel that you physically can’t continue anymore?
Me too. This happened frequently in college, especially in the middle of my oh-so-fascinating finance readings. (Sorry, Professor LaPlante.)
My strategy in these situations? Stop the task that made me so exhausted, but make sure I keep doing something productive.
That “something” could be:
- Working ahead in another class
- Writing articles like the one you’re reading right now
- Re-organizing my resume
- Refactoring some of my old code
- Responding to emails
- Connecting with my roommates
- And so on and so on
The idea is that I let myself take a break, but I force that break to still be productive in its own right.
While we all know working a week ahead in one class doesn’t make up for falling behind in another, short bursts of productive procrastination can keep your momentum going strong.
The key is to keep accomplishing tasks of varying difficulties and interest levels so that your time is balanced!
Hack #2: Dedicated Downtime
Similar to productive procrastination, dedicated downtime is the idea that even my breaks can help me move toward my goals in some way. It’s important to give yourself time to relax — but that relaxation can often serve another practical purpose, too.
Example number one: When I had short breaks between classes or found myself aimlessly waiting for a meal to cook, I watched web development videos like the ones from Treehouse instead of pulling up my Netflix account.
In the half hour it would take me to watch an episode of Parks and Rec, I was able to increase my familiarity with different programming languages while still having my hands free to eat. It was interesting and relevant to my career aspirations. A non-zero sum game if you ask me.
Example number two: I also spent a lot of my downtime writing (how shocking). It relaxed me and pulled my brain into a creative state. Personal writing was a fun release from the stress of school and a great way to hone an applicable skill. Another win-win.
In short, I try to focus my downtime on things that I like to do that are also beneficial to my development. Look for those sweet spots!
So, that sounds like I never actually relax?
Before you think that I don’t spend any time actually relaxing, I want to point out two things.
- I mostly only dedicate my downtime on weekdays
- The activities I consider to be a good use of my free time are diverse
For example, reading a book for fun is productive downtime because it benefits my literacy and state of mind. Drawing or doodling is productive because it helps me grow my design eye. Listening to meaningful music is productive because it broadens my worldview.
Just about anything can be considered good, dedicated downtime to me. It’s all about making the connection in my mind to some larger long-term goal.
An added perk of spending my relaxation in this way? I don’t feel guilty about giving myself breaks!
We’re all familiar with the dissonance you feel when you know you need to be productive but just don’t have the energy.
Dedicating your downtime to things that are both enjoyable and beneficial can be the perfect balance.
Hack #3: Priority Planning
I’m a huge scheduling geek. Through college, my planner was always full to bursting with to-do items and meeting reminders. Writing things down is one way to make sure I get them done — the satisfaction of crossing a task off my list is usually motivation enough to get working.
But it isn’t just making a list of action items that facilitates my effective time management (although that’s definitely the first step).
It’s being intentional in the way I order those items to create a plan for success.
The “master grade sheet” trick
Every semester I sat down with all of my course syllabi and made one “master grade sheet”. This paper listed all of the components of my grade in each class and ranked them by the percentage of my final score they comprised.
It was extremely helpful when I had 10+ things to do and didn’t even know where to start. I’d simply find the item on my grade list that was worth the largest percentage and prioritize it.
When I finished that task, I’d move to the next one, and so on (sporadically incorporating some productive procrastination all the while, of course).
Making to-do lists that rank my tasks from most important to least important allows me to put my workload into perspective, and it makes it possible for me to listen to my body’s cues about how much I can effectively do.
It helps to schedule the little things
I also made sure to prioritize non-school-related things, too. I set an alarm that told me to get ready for bed at 11:00 pm, and I woke up at 7:00 each morning to fit in a few hours of web development before class.
Scheduling sleep and career development activities that might normally fall by the wayside helped me stay on a consistent schedule. It also reminded me of an important truth: School is important, but it does not define everything I am.
Hack #4: Reflecting and Responding
All of the effective time management strategies in the world would have been useless if I didn’t actively evaluate how my schedule was working — and then respond to that reflection with action.
If I was feeling burnt out, I’d make it a point to prioritize more downtime. If I was stressed because I keep cutting it close to deadlines, I’d prioritize working ahead. I try to adjust as much as possible to the indicators of my body and environment.
A prime example of this was during my sophomore year, when I switched from exercising in the morning before class to doing it in the evening.
Waking up has always been hard for me, and I realized that I was much more likely to stay in bed procrastinating if I knew that once I got up I’d have to exercise.
On the other hand, if I knew I could wake up and do something sedentary to gradually get myself ready for the day, I’d spend a lot less time laying in bed and a lot more time actually working.
This realization led me to plan a few hours of web development each morning directly after waking up and to spend my heightened evening energy on a good workout later in the day.
The result? Drastically increased productivity. I once wasted so much time in the mornings — but all it took was listening to my body to use my time more effectively.
Time management is a work in progress
All in all, I’m still trying to “hack” my life to be more productive in every way that I can. And I still fall short sometimes!
These strategies have done wonders throughout college and now as a full-time digital marketer, but I’ll admit that I don’t quite feel like a time management professional.
I just try to show myself grace when I screw up — and keep moving forward every day. With a little forethought, planning, and determination to improve, it only gets easier.
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