The Best Time Management Strategies For Students

The best time management strategies for students include using a priority matrix, time blocking in a schedule, planning well ahead for assessment tasks, using the Pomodoro study technique to improve focus as well as scheduling daily or weekly in a planner. These strategies will help students overcome the planning fallacy phenomenon and ultimately stop cramming study and assessment tasks at the last minute.

What is time management?

Time management is the ability to organise your time effectively and balance tasks that need to be done with tasks that you want to and enjoy to do. It is a difficult skill to master because time is limited and there is always something in life that happens unexpectedly that can disrupt your schedule. There are many online resources and tools that you can find to help you improve your time management skills as a student such as a student time management planner. 

Why is time management a difficult skill to master? 

Time management is a really difficult skill for students to master so don’t worry if you are struggling with it. There are many reasons why time management is difficult such as the planning fallacy phenomenon and just simply having too much to do in a short amount of time.

What is the planning fallacy phenomenon? 

The planning fallacy phenomenon is when someone is optimistic and under estimates the amount of time a task requires to complete. It is one of the main reasons for poor time management and often leads to cramming study and tasks to the last minute. One strategy to overcome the planning fallacy phenomenon is to create a master plan for a single task where you list out every single sub task that you need to do and then reorder the list in urgency and importance order and schedule every single task evenly spread out up to the due date. In my student time management digital planner there is a page like this that can help students plan out assessment tasks/assignments to help them avoid cramming and stress over incomplete work. 

The Best Time Management Strategies For Students

1. Use A Priority Matrix 

What is a priority matrix? 

A priority matrix is traditionally a 2×2 table that allows you to arrange tasks by importance and urgency based on the Eisenhower method. You can also find a deluxe priority matrix that organises tasks into more specific boxes for urgency and importance such as in my printable student time management planner. 

How does a priority matrix work? 

A student would print out the priority matrix sheet and then categorise their to do list into boxes based on importance and urgency. This will help you figure out what you need to do now, what you need to schedule to do later, what you can delegate and get someone else to do for you and what you can delete from your to do list. 

2. Use Time Blocking To Make An Ultimate Schedule

Another great method for student time management is time blocking. This is when you make a typical time table or a perfect week timetable where you schedule out everything you do and want to do each day of the week in half hourly or hourly intervals.

Ideas for time blocking 

• Study sessions 
• School/university hours 
• Sport training and games 
• Routine tasks like laundry, cooking, walking your dog etc. 
• Sleep 

You can also apply this method to your normal week by week basis schedule by using an application like google calendar to block out time intervals for everything you need to do. By using a digital calendar you have a lot more freedom for changing events and tasks that you weren’t expecting to happen etc. 

3. Plan Ahead For Assessment Tasks

In the student time management planner there is an assessment overview sheet which lets you see a full overview of every assessment task by week for each subject for a term (10 or 12 week options). This is a really helpful printable sheet as it allows you to see everything that is coming up for the term and let’s you effectively manage your time. 

There is another more specific printable sheet called the assessment action plan which allows you to plan out step by step subtasks that you have to complete to finish the overall task. Personally this is my favourite sheet in the whole planner as it allows me to write down everything I can think of that I need to do, rate the importance of each task and then make a prioritised task list with scheduled dates. 

4. Use The Pomodoro Study Technique For Maximum Focus

What is the Pomodoro study technique? 

The Pomodoro study technique is a time based study method that aims to make you more motivated and focused for studying. The technique uses a timer, traditionally a tomato shaped kitchen timer (hence the name Pomodoro), to break down tasks into smaller intervals separated by short breaks. A ‘Pomodoro’ or a ‘pom’ for short is usually 25 minutes and breaks are 5 minutes in between each study session. 

There are 5 steps to the Pomodoro study technique:

1. Write down your 3 priorities or big tasks to do
2. Break down the priorities into sub-tasks that you can achieve in 25 minutes
3. Set a 25 minute timer, write down the start time.
4. Work on that task until the timer rings. Write down the stop time. You can always continue a task into the next 25 minute study session.
5. Break time. Take a 3-5 minute break between each 25 min pomodoro session. Once you have completed 4 sessions in a row, you can take a longer break which is 20-25 minutes. 

You can alter the length of study sessions and break time to what is most effective for you. Some people prefer studying for longer times such as 30 minutes or 60 minute study sessions. It is up to you what the length of the breaks and Pomodoro sessions will be for you, 25 minutes with 5 minute breaks is just the standard time. 

My student time management planner has a Pomodoro printable sheet included in the bundle but if you are more interested in just a single Pomodoro printable sheet you can find one here. 

Download your printable Pomodoro tracker here: 

5. Start Daily & Weekly Scheduling 

The simplest way to manage time is to use daily and/or weekly scheduling. This allows you to plan out a productive day or week and helps you stay on track to achieving your goals. 

If you are interested in really changing how you spend your week to your benefit you should check out my daily printable planner and my weekly printable planner.

Student Time Management Printable Planner In Depth

Includes one PDF with 13 pages

☆★☆★☆★USE THIS PLANNER TO:★☆★☆★☆

1. Map Out All Of Your Due Dates For The Term
2. Time Block Your Week & Find The Best Times To Study
3. Schedule Your Week & Get Your Priorities Done
4. Order & Finish Tasks Using The Priority Matrix
5. Schedule Your Ultimate Day
6. Make Detailed Plans For Upcoming Assignments & Avoid Cramming
7. Pace Yourself Studying Using The Pomodoro Technique

☆★☆★☆★WHAT’S INCLUDED★☆★☆★☆

• Title Page/Cover 
• Time Management Tips
• Subject Assessment Overview – 10 Weeks
• Subject Assessment Overview – 12 Weeks
• Weekly Time Blocking – Horizontal Colour Coding Key
• Weekly Time Blocking – Vertical Colour Coding Key
• Weekly Planner – Monday to Sunday, Top 5 Priorities, Due This Week, Reminders, Coming Up Next Week
• Priority Matrix – Urgent, Not Urgent, Important, Not Important
• Daily Schedule – 6am – 12am, 3 Priorities & Task Breakdown with Timing
• 10 Minute Time Blocking – 5am – 12am, 3 Priorities, To Do List, Reward, Colour Code Task Key
• Assessment Action Plan – Subject, Criteria, Due Date, Sub Tasks & Importance Rating, Prioritised List
• Deluxe Priority Matrix – Overdue, Due Today, Due Tomorrow, Due Later, Takes 5 Minutes, Takes an Hour, Takes A Day, Takes Days
• Pomodoro Study Planner – Task Tracker, Break Tracker

You can also get this printable planner as a digital planner with hyperlinks for an iPad Pro or tablet !

Wait! Before You Go…

Are you interested in language learning?

Be sure to check out either my printable language learning planner or digital language learning planner!

And my article with great tips on self studying languages!