Tips for time management in college

Julie Holkovic shares her advice for managing time as a busy college student

One challenge that many students face when transitioning to a college schedule and course load is how to manage their time. This is especially important in engineering since students, aside from after their first year, do not get summers off due to the co-op schedule.

University of Cincinnati civil engineering student Julie Holkovic provides helpful time management tips that she has learned through her five years at the College of Engineering and Applied Science.

Julie Holkovic

Civil Engineering

holkovja@mail.uc.edu

University of Cincinnati civil engineering student, College of Engineering and Applied Science Ambassador, and member of Chi Omega sorority.

Time management is something that is so critical as an engineering student with the course load because it is necessary to have free time to unwind. Through my time at UC, I have been able to keep great grades while also being on the executive board of a sorority, being involved in a student organization and spending lots of time with friends.

Stay organized

Julie Holkovic poses in front of her sorority house.

Julie Holkovic was an executive board member of her sorority, a CEAS ambassador, and more during her time at UC. Photo/provided

The biggest piece of advice I have for time management is to keep track of everything in one place. Personally, I use my iPhone calendar for this, but Google calendar or different calendar apps are another option. I also utilize the Canvas to-do list on the mobile app. This feature lays out class assignments in chronological order by due date. This makes it easy to prioritize assignments and decide where to start when I sit down to do homework.

Along with keeping everything organized in a calendar, I also set aside a block of time for homework at least twice a week and find it very helpful. For me, I always do homework on Sundays and another day throughout the week depending on my schedule each semester. When I get overwhelmed, it is much easier to take homework one step at a time, beginning with what is due the soonest and going from there.

Having time to yourself is important. Keeping a calendar is helpful to give yourself more free time because it allows you to plan out your weeks in advance so you know when you need to set aside homework time. I also find it helpful to do assignments whenever I have a bit of free time because it allows me to keep my homework load at a minimum.

Utilize organizational tools

The biggest improvement in my time management recently has been getting an iPad. The reason this helped me is because everything I need for my classes is in one place. For instance, I take notes on my iPad, do homework on my iPad, and store class files on my iPad. Having everything in one place like this makes both homework and studying easier because it is all together and ensures I will not lose anything.

If you have an iPad, I love the note-taking app, Notability. If you do not have an iPad, that is no big deal. The main thing is to keep your assignments and schedule organized so you know where everything is and you can access it easily. How you choose to do that (whether it be an iPad, Google Calendar, a written planner) does not matter.

Go to class

My final piece of advice is to always go to class. If you skip class, it will take you so much longer to try to teach yourself what you missed instead of learning from your professors. If you spend one hour in class learning the material, it will save you time in the long run. Odds are, it will take you much longer to try and teach it to yourself. The most important aspects of time management improvement are organization, writing down a schedule, and keeping track of your homework. I wish you all the best of luck and go Bearcats!

Featured image at top: UC student Julie Holkovic talks about the importance of time management as a student. Photo/Pixabay