It’s been a couple of weeks since many students headed back to school to start a new academic year. That comes with a whole pile of tasks and new responsibilities! Whether you are stressed about a new class, or you’re still not mentally recovered from summer, it can be overwhelming going through the motions and cracking on with work. But ask yourself, is it the work that is stressing you out or your time management?
“But it can’t be my time management” we hear many of you saying. “I have it all worked out in my 24/7, fully packed week!” And there is the first sign, you’re overworked and running on fumes. Time management is not completely about maximising productivity… it’s about creating balance in your routine so you can make the most of each day. A full schedule will lead to stress and burnout, likewise, no schedule will lead to stress and dread to start. So, if you are struggling to complete the work, at a quality you want, without being distracted or procrastinating, then follow some of these methods!
One of the most recognisable scheduling methods is time-blocking. You’ll find in many areas of your day-to-day life, from school timetables to personal calendars. You might have even started already doing this! You can plan out your week from Monday to Sunday, from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm each day. Once you have this structure, add in blocks to represent what you will be doing in that time.
When time-blocking, it’s important to include times for eating, getting washed and dressed, having breaks as well as time for your personal interests. Between blocks, add buffers to give yourself time to set up or unwind after an activity. You can’t just go from a morning jog to studying Geography, give yourself some time to breathe! It’s also important to be flexible with your plans, things might need to change so it’s important to adapt your schedule when needed. It’s about creating a structure that benefits you and finding what works for you or what does not!
We already have already written some tips about the Eisenhower Method, so we will keep it to the basic principles for now. You have four squares; Do, Schedule, Support and Delete.
The Do sector is for all the very urgent tasks. These are ones with deadlines that require your full attention and need to be done now! The schedule section is for tasks that are important but not urgent. You can schedule some time to work on them into your routine, but there is not as much time pressure for them to be completed. Support is for tasks that are urgent of have short deadlines. You can ask for help with these or pass them on to others, provided they have space in their workload. And finally, everyone’s favourite (or most dreaded), the Delete. You guessed it, all the unimportant tasks that don’t need to be done get removed from your priority!
If you want to have a go, check out our latest Toolbox Tool, the Eis Matrix worksheet. You can download your free copy today.
The Eisenhower Method is great for boosting productivity but sometimes, you may struggle to figure out what tasks should be considered as “important”. Perhaps everything has a short deadline, or everything feels urgent… This is where the Pickle Jar theory comes in!
The pickle jar theory is a simple but powerful way to think about time management and productivity. Imagine your day as a jar, and you have three types of things to fill it with: sand, pebbles, and rocks. The sand represents small, often trivial tasks like scrolling through social media, chatting with friends, or other distractions. Pebbles are slightly more important tasks that seem urgent but aren’t critical – like responding to emails or attending meetings that could probably wait. Then there are the rocks, the big, important tasks that really matter. These are the things that help you reach your goals, like studying for an exam, working on a project, or practicing a skill.
The key idea here is that if you fill your jar with sand and pebbles first, there won’t be any room left for the rocks. In other words, if you spend your day on distractions and less important tasks, you won’t have time or energy left for the things that really matter. But if you put the rocks in first – focusing on your most important tasks – then you can fit the pebbles and sand around them. This approach helps you prioritise what truly matters and avoid feeling overwhelmed by smaller tasks or time-wasting distractions. It’s a smart way to make sure you’re using your time wisely, especially when you’ve got a lot on your plate.
“Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day” – Mark Twain
This is similar to the previous two methods, but it has a bit of a twist! This isn’t necessarily about focusing on tasks that are the most urgent, but rather figuring out what is the most difficult. The one task you’re holding off on. The most challenging, annoying, painful task of them all. Take that big frog and eat it! Get the really bad stuff out of the way, so that the rest of your day is a walk in the park. Do you have two frogs? Figure out which is the biggest of the two and eat that first. Prioritise your list based on difficulty instead of urgency.
Often when we’re rushing to meet a deadline or complete an urgent task, it’s because we’ve procrastinated and left it to the last minute to complete. You may have heard the phrase “If everything is ‘urgent’ nothing is urgent.” That’s because avoiding tasks often leads to panic, which makes it more difficult to focus. Figuring out your priorities can really help. There are always going to be tasks that have to be completed quickly, but sometimes it’s good to focus on the bigger ones that you know you’ll try to avoid and get them out of the way. Creating a balance between completing tasks that are urgent and tasks you find difficult will make things less stressful in the long run.
No matter what happens, time passes by. The question is are you ready to make the most of it? Like all skills, time management is something that you can improve on and it’s a great one for students to have.
If you find studying hard, boring or maybe a bit of both, our Smarten Your Study Programme is here to help! We’ll show you how create positive study habits so you can de-stress and work towards your goals. You’ll even have a bit of fun along the way!
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