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Time management

As assignments begin to amass and classes start to ramp up, the age-old struggle returns: how to effectively manage your time. I feel particularly unlucky this year because, among all six of my classes, every assignment I have is due right in the middle of the week—when I’m already plenty busy with classes. Belonging to a relatively small major (math majors represent!) and taking classes for two minors simultaneously, I don’t really have much room for flexibility in my schedule because there’s pretty much only one section of each of my classes. For this semester, that means I have only two classes on Mondays and Wednesdays which are at the same general time, and a whopping total of five hours of classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with most classes being consecutive. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I feel especially mentally exhausted and not at all productive to the point where I struggle to produce any quality work. I normally struggle to give myself credit for all the effort I put into everything I do, but when it comes to scheduling my weekdays for maximum productivity, it is important to keep in mind that it is absolutely acceptable to set some days aside to rest.

The way that I managed my time last semester is going to look totally different than how I do it this semester. While re-configuring my study schedule from semester to semester can feel tedious and annoying, it is a great way to check-in with myself and make sure that all of my goals are attainable for the semester. In general, for each semester, I try to spread out my studying and homework more on days where I have fewer classes and give myself a little more leeway on days that are more class-heavy.

For this semester specifically, I am dedicating Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to be my more work-heavy days since I spend less time in class and am able to give myself some free time after both class and studying/homework. Because all of my assignments are either due Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, I also try to get as much done over the weekend as possible so I don’t have to start off the week stressing to finish assignments in time. Additionally, I try to break up larger homework assignments to make finishing them more feasible. For example, if I have 12 problems left for one homework and 4 days until it is due, I try to complete 3 problems a day, so I’m completing the work a little at a time instead of all at once and under a lot of pressure.

To keep any sort of time management schedule, it is important to have a cohesive calendar (or two). To visualize where my time is spent throughout the week, I like using an hourly calendar so I can physically see how much time is spent where and make sure that I am not spreading myself too thin. I also have an academic calendar/planner for outlining when I will complete certain assignments and setting up checkpoints and goals for myself throughout the week. While it always takes a few weeks to get used to the new semester, taking the time to consciously manage your time makes classes and the workload a lot more palatable.

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