28 Managing Free Time and Study Time

For most freshman in college managing free time and study time is difficult, most freshman want to have fun and not do barely any work. Most people need help on how to manage their time, with COVID19 going on and most classes going online it is hard to find motivation to study and work on class assignments. One reason that time management is difficult is due to the planning fallacy something that occurs when people underestimate how long it will take to finish a task, even if they have done the task before. For example, if you have written papers for several classes, this does not mean that you will be good at estimating how long it will take you to write another paper in your class this semester.

Time management is the process of planning and exercising conscious control of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity. It involves a juggling act of various demands upon a person relating to work, social life, family, hobbies, personal interests and commitments with the finiteness of time. Using time effectively gives the person “choice” on spending or managing activities at their own time and expediency. Time management may be aided by a range of skills, tools, and techniques used to manage time when accomplishing specific tasks, projects, and goals complying with a due date. Initially, time management referred to just business or work activities, but eventually the term broadened to include personal activities as well.  Good time management gives you extra time to spend in your daily life. People who can time-manage effectively enjoy having more time to spend on hobbies or other personal pursuits.

The best way for me to figure out how to manage my time is by organizing my days and weeks in advance. Keep a detailed calendar with all your commitments, including classwork, social events and extracurricular activities. This way, you can block out time each day to study. Organizing your class materials is also one of the most important study tips for college students. Clearly there will always be surprises, but it’s likely that you have an idea about the kinds of tasks and responsibilities you have to deal with every day. If you’re feeling a little lost, spend a week or two tracking every single thing you do each day. Time management is hard to figure out at first but is very useful in life. And lastly good luck on your first year in college!