Mastering Successful Time Planning: A Guide for College Students
The beginning of spring semester always has a wonderfully refreshing feeling. New beginnings usually do! On a normal chilly Tuesday in February, I was walking to my office from the parking lot, leaving behind footprints in the sprinkling of snow on the ground. As I was just about to enter the door to the building, I overheard a familiar voice calling my name. I turned and saw that it was Christine.She looked very stressed.
When I first met Christine she was 18, bright eyed, bushy tailed, and armed with goals and grit! As the first in her family to attend college, she felt a deep responsibility to do well. Through many coaching conversations about financial aid, goals, transfer, and family Christine truly felt comfortable coming to me for anything.
That brisk spring semester morning, she walked back to my office with me, sat down in the old brown office chair next to my desk, and was rubbing her hands together with anxiety. I hurriedly began putting my lunch and other items in their places so I could turn my attention to her. Once I was a bit more settled, I sat down and faced Christine. At this point there were tears in her eyes. I told her to take some deep breaths and that whatever was going on we could figure it out.
She proceeded to describe the list of things she was attempting to balance in her life. Much of what she was balancing stemmed from responsibilities outside of school. She began her list; watching her little sister while her parents were at work, working twenty hours a week at a local restaurant, translating from Spanish to English for her parents (Christine’s family was not from this country, her family immigrated from Bolivia), helping her parents navigate American systems (like banking, school, etc), and trying to maintain a small social life. This list was on top of a full time course load (5 classes, 15 credits).
After listing everything she was balancing in her life, she shared that she was not doing well in her classes and that had her very stressed. As a first generation student, she felt a deep responsibility to do well in school, for herself and her family. At that moment I was thinking, “I am not sure how many people could do well balancing that many obligations!”. After she settled down, we began to discuss what we could do to improve her class grades.
The first thing I recommended we look at was time. To evaluate time, we mapped out all of her responsibilities on a calendar. We listed out her class times each day, we filled in the time commitments for babysitting, and any other activities that were scheduled in her life.
Once we were done with this exercise, we took a step back. It was clear why Christine was not being successful in her classes; time! We had written out her schedule to include all responsibilities except one. The one item we did not add to her calendar was study time. Looking at her weekly schedule, there was no time to study (and be able to sleep and eat).
The general rule of thumb for study time; set aside 2 hours of study time for every credit of class time. For example, a 3 credit class would require 6 hours of study time. On the practical side of things, do I think you have to set aside that much time for every class? No, I don’t. Here’s why:
Each class is unique, with a different professor, different requirements and expectations
Some topics will be easier for you than others
The amount of homework will vary from week to week
I look at this from a different perspective. To set yourself up for time management success in college, these are the tips I have seen students be the most successful implementing:
→ TIP 1: Set aside a routine time to study
Example: Make it a habit that after each class you plan to go to the library (or other study spot) for 1-3 hours. Plan this 5 days a week. If daily is too much, do it three days a week. Whatever you choose, make it routine and standard. This way you can depend on those blocks of time every week.
→ TIP 2: Schedule your study time WHEN you are creating your schedule for the semester. Treat study time as if it was another class to attend.
Example: When you are creating your class schedule, write down each day of the week. First, block off the times you choose for class, then schedule the blocks of time for study at the same time
→ Tip 3: Schedule study time when you work best
Example: If you’re a morning person, schedule study time in the morning. If you're a night person, schedule time at night. Either way, just make sure the place you choose to study works towards supporting your study.
→ Tip 4: Choose your study environment carefully
Example: Imagine you are in a spa and everyone around you is relaxing. But you have chosen the spa as your study place. How likely are you to want to study? Wouldn’t you rather be doing spa activities? Massage, salt bath, etc? Of course you would! All of us would!
Your environment queues your brain. If everyone around you is doing something, you are going to be more inclined to want to participate (we are social creatures). If you normally play video games, sleep, talk with friends in your room, that is not the place to study. You have already trained your brain to be prepared for those activities in that space.
When choosing a space to study in college:
→ Choose a study place without existing habits (a place that you are not already doing something else)
→ Choose a study space where other people are studying
→ Tip 5: Choose a specific place for your study. Treat study time like another class.
Example: If you work best by changing your environment each time you study to keep you on your toes, choose a different spot each time. However, every week should look the same. Tuesday study time could always be the library and Thursday study time could be the coffee shop.
→ TIP 6: DON’T confuse free time with study time— your free time IS NOT study time. It could be emergency back up time, but you shouldn’t plan to do your study time during those blocks.
The example schedule below is for a student balancing a small part time job and 4 classes (English, Math, Psychology, Biology).
Example of student schedule for successful time management
What to note:
The study time is blocked off AND includes a place to go
Free time is labeled- I see students struggle to manage free time.
When we mapped out Christine’s time, she was nowhere near this example. Every second was booked up. We had to find a solution, but our options were limited. The only thing Christine had control over were her classes. It came down to dropping a class to have more time for study or trying to keep doing what she was doing and potentially fail.
In the end, we decided it was best for her to drop a class and take an additional class in the summer.
→ FINANCIAL AID TIP- If you’re using financial aid, don’t drop a class before talking with the financial aid office. There could be consequences depending on your situation.
Two weeks after we decided to drop her class, I followed up with Christine. She said that her stress level was way down and she felt a lot better about how classes were going. She felt like she had time to devote to studying.
Summary of Time Planning Tips for College Success:
Set aside routine time to study
Set your study time AT THE SAME TIME you are creating your schedule for the semester.
Treat study time as if it was another class to attend.
The study time is blocked off AND includes a place to go
Free time is labeled
DON’T confuse free time with study time— your free time IS not study time
Any free time is just emergency back up study time
Would you like support to learn more time planning and time management strategies?
Email me for a free consultation deanna@collegesuccesscoaching.org or schedule a free consultation on the website www.collegesuccesscoaching.org
What time planning tips have you been using lately? Leave a comment, I would love to know!
