As a graduate student, it’s important to use your time wisely to meet deadlines and manage your responsibilities. Developing sustainable time management skills that help you focus on completing your coursework, while also incorporating breaks and downtime are important for achieving your goals. Below are several tips and resources that you can use to help you better manage your time.
- Stick to a schedule - keeping a calendar that includes personal, work, and course related responsibilities is the best way to managing your time. Start by blocking out times where you have fixed obligations like courses and then create flexible blocks for studying and personal tasks. Check out these resources for more help creating schedules:
Time Management Schedules - California Polytechnic State University
- Set goals - use the SMART system to set reasonable daily and weekly goals. SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. Great examples of applying SMART goals to coursework can be found at the links below.
SMART TIPS - University of Chicago
SMART Goals Worksheet - Lake Superior State University
- Prioritize - Organize your to-do list by level of importance and tackle the most urgent tasks first. If a task feels too large or overwhelming, try breaking it down into smaller sections to make it easier. Completing the most essential tasks first will help you feel more productive. Follow the link below to read more about prioritization:
Three Ways to Think About Prioritization - Oregon State University
- Limit distractions - Remove distractions during times you’ve blocked for coursework. Put your phone away and turn off notifications. If you truly have problems focusing, use tools like Leechblock or SelfControl (Mac only) to block time-wasting sites like Facebook. It’s also important to learn to say no to friends and family if they try to distract you. Let them know you’ve set aside time specifically for studying and you’ll be able to socialize later. See the links below to read more about how to balance your personal life with your studies.
School-Life Balance - John Hopkins University
Stretched Too Thin? Five Graduate Student Work-life Balance Tips - University of Southern California
- Take breaks - a key to staying motivated and productive is allowing time for breaks. Scheduling marathon study sessions can quickly lead to burnout. To prevent this, incorporate short five to ten minute breaks into your study sessions to get up and walk around or do other tasks that take you away from your desk. These quick breaks help you recharge and refocus on your work.
Master Time Management: Making the Most of Breaks and Rewards - University of Guelph