There are a lot of deadlines students must meet during this time of year. Students applying to college or graduate school must meet the admission deadlines at the colleges they are considering. For students who are concerned about paying for college, they are probably searching for and applying for scholarships. And, to be the best applicant for colleges and scholarships, students must be doing well in their classes. Just because applying to college and scholarships are on your agenda, you cannot ignore your studies. You must study and write your academic papers. For everything you are working on, it is important to meet the due dates. To manage all that you have to do, it is important to consider your time management skills.

Proven time management tips 

1. Plan in advance. You have a lot of things you must complete. Consider the dates that everything is due. Planning is an essential factor. The best way to achieve this is to create a to-do list for each day.

2. Define your objectives. It pays to brainstorm the constituent steps required to achieve the final goal. In the case of writing a personal statement, the first step could be to consider the prompts and choose the question that you relate to the most. You will then want to want to brainstorm your ideas, write your essay, and proofread and edit.

3. Schedule your time and start early. You should take your responsibilities seriously by planning your time and avoiding procrastination. Start early to maximize your productivity throughout the day, and you will end up achieving more than anticipated.

4. Eliminate non-essential tasks. Prioritize your tasks and stick to them. Have a clock available that you can see while you are working. Avoid doing stuff that isn’t of priority and essential to your end goals.

5. Apply the five ‘B’s: Bits, budget, buffers, bounds as well as barriers;

• Bits – You should maintain a list of tasks that can be accomplished in a short time or in pieces. Time is fluid and should be treated as such. If you allotted more time for a task than was needed, use this time bit to begin a new task before taking a break.
• Budgets – Be purposeful in your time usage. Being purposeful implies that you should have a purpose and goal you are work toward.
• Buffers – It is pointless working yourself back to back. It is essential you have time buffers in between your scheduled activities. In addition, you should consider showing up early for your tasks.
• Bounds – Set bounds, even though going the extra mile can a good idea. Sometimes we let perfection be the enemy of time as it can hinder managing your time wisely. Use deadlines even when deadlines do not exist for a project. And, be wary of activities that can be time thieves. If you have to do online activities for your work, stay away from personal online activities and casual browsing.
• Barriers – You should establish time or specific activities and be ruthless in enforcing boundaries between the activities unless there is an emergency. Also, protect your personal space and time callously and learn to say no to tasks that hinder your productivity.

Conclusion

Time management is essential in achieving your desired goals. Time management requires skills, purpose, and objectives. There are several ways to achieve time management, but the above are the most proven tactics for academic writing and research.

For other tips on time management, check out the following articles:

• Time Management for College Students
• Work Smarter, Not Harder: 21 Time Management Tips to Hack Productivity
• Time Management Tactics for Academics
• 6 Time Management Tips to Increase Productivity And Improve Your Organizational Skills

Olivia Coles is an amateur guest post writer. She works as a content manager and also she specializes on writing a statement of purpose for students. She is fond of traveling, yoga, and painting. Her motto is “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”