Time Management Tips

• Define long-term and short-term goals and build your schedule around them.
• Examine and revise your lifetime goals on a monthly basis and be sure to include progress towards those goals on a daily basis.
• Put up reminders in your home or office about your goals.
• Reward and celebrate your progress–big and small.

Adapted from A. Lakein. How to Get Control of Your Time And Your Life

• Keep everything in perspective. You're smart—and there are many tools and strategies for making the most of what you have.
• Trust that you can and always will figure the hard stuff out. 
• Push yourself and be persistent, especially when you know you are doing well.
• See "failures" as a necessary and inherent part of the learning process. Ask yourself: With this new information, what can I do differently next time? 
• Remind yourself that if it is important, you should make time to do it.
• Ask for advice when needed. Accept help often.

Adapted from A. Lakein. How to Get Control of Your Time And Your Life

Procrastination is our way of coping with negative emotions associated with certain tasks, think boredom, anxiety, insecurity, frustration, self-doubt, etc. Because we associate a task with negative emotions, our brain perceives it as a threat and will aim to remove the threat in the present.

HOW CAN WE PIVOT FROM PROCRASTINATION TO TASK INITIATION?

1. Self-compassion

Have compassion for yourself in the moments that you do procrastinate. This will allow you to move past previous maladaptive behavior and focus on upcoming tasks. Self-compassion also offers a buffer against negative reactions to events.

2. Cultivate Curiosity

If you feel tempted to procrastinate, pay attention to the sensations in your mind and body. What feelings elicit the temptation? What happens to the thought of procrastinating as you observe your feelings?

3. Consider the Next Action

Motivation follows action, so thinking about the next action opens up the possibility of tackling your task in the present. For example, if you were to start on your paper, maybe the next action would be opening up Canvas to look at the rubric.

4. Make your temptations more inconvenient

It's easier to change our circumstances than ourselves. If you're tempted to take a nap, work at a table somewhere far away from your dorm. If you're tempted to check social media, put your phone at the bottom of your backpack.

Adapted by Sarah Storm '25 from "Why You Procrastinate" by Charlotte Lieberman, NY Times  

• Maintain and develop a list of specific things to be done each day.
• Prioritize that list and complete the most urgent tasks at the start of day.
• At day's end, briefly evaluate your progress.
• Look ahead to the next few weeks/month to better schedule your time.
• Set incremental deadlines for longer-term projects.

Adapted from A. Lakein. How to Get Control of Your Time And Your Life

• Try to use waiting time to review notes or do practice problems.
• Learn and practice specific reading strategies. They will help you comprehend, study and remember better.
• Consider how you might use smaller pockets of time more efficiently. 
• Work in 45 minutes to 1.5 hour chunks then take a break to avoid the exhaustion that comes from overexertion. 
• Concentrate on one task at a time.

Adapted from A. Lakein. How to Get Control of Your Time And Your Life

• Time Management Tips (Purdue University Global)

• Time Management Tips for Students (IvyPanda)

• Effective Time Management (Duke University)

• Principles of Effective Time Management for Balance, Well-being, and Success (Princeton University)

• The Most Productive Way to Schedule Your Day (Syracuse University)