How to Manage Time: Time management is something a lot of people are struggling with in this fast-paced world. With the advancements in technology, even the patience level of people has come down as well; now they want everything to be quick. The food delivery shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes; the groceries would be available at your door as soon as you wake up, and your favourite TV shows and movies are instantly available to watch on OTT apps, and the examples are endless. This sudden change in the society has created a sense of hurry and restlessness among the people. Think of a decade or two earlier; things were completely different.

People used to shop (mindfully) for the things they actually needed, not the ones digitally curated as their assumed preference through some really good algorithm. Those were the good times, and so was the time management of that era.

There was no streaming platform to binge-watch; people had to wait for the next episode of a series for an entire week, and more importance was given to the things that actually mattered, like your family, friends, and close ones; career development; and sports; and time wasn’t wasted on endless and mindless scrolling of reels on social media platforms. 

Take our parents’ or grandparents’ generation, for example. Even today, they sleep on time, they wake up on time, and there’s a fixed routine they follow for everything, and still they have more energy left at the end of the day than us, the students. How? And how can we fix our routine? Is it even possible? The answer is yes; with a little effort, a good routine can be made, and not just the students, but everyone can learn how to do time management.

“Time is what we want most but what we use worst.”

• William Penn

William is absolutely right when he says this: when it comes to time management, we never care, and later it is us only, in the end, cribbing about how the better situations could have been if time was used effectively. Like, for example, students are often seen struggling with how to manage time for study, but they have enough time to be active on social media & gaming platforms.

In this blog, let’s understand better and more effective time management tips that can be actually and practically helpful to everyone, especially students, and also know how to manage time in exams. 

How to Manage Time?

Cut the distractions

The very first thing that should be looked after is cutting all the distractions. Muting unnecessary phone notifications can be the first step in this direction; if possible, remove all the spammy apps or even the ones that are of no use to you anymore. This will help students to focus on only the important things and not the background noise. The same can be applied to the real world as well for better time management, like organising books & study material in the cabinet and keeping your environment clean and hygienic so it’s easy to access things.

Prioritising Tasks

When learning how to study for exams, the most important thing is how students manage their tasks. How do they prioritise what’s important and what’s not and what’s urgent? For example, a student has an interest in gaming, and a gaming competition is coming next month as well, where he/she wants to participate, but he/she also has his/her exams next month. He/she has to prioritise that studies are important; gaming can be done in any free time, but one doesn’t get his or her career back.

Also, while learning how to manage time in exams, one has to prioritise what chapters are most important so they need to be studied first.

Goal Setting

The ultimate output of time management is always achieving a goal, reaching a final destination that is important to one, and it could be anything from personality development goals to academic aspirations. Identify the most important tasks, the things you want to achieve, and break them into smaller steps. Like, a student’s aspiration is to crack the UGC NET exam; for this, he/she needs to first complete his/her bachelor’s in his or her choice of subject, then a master’s degree, and then eventually he/she will prepare for the UGC NET exam.

Stop Multi-Tasking

As Arjun only saw the fish’s eye, students have to do the same; they have to be sure about the things they want to pursue and invest their valuable time into. They can’t be focusing on 10 things at times. It’s nice if they actually can, but the lesson here is, instead of focusing on so many things, why not focus just on what is the need of the hour? 

If the student is confused and preparing for five different entrance exams after 12th class, the chances are he or she might not get selected even in one because his/her attention is divided into five different things simultaneously, while on the other hand, if he or she prepares for just one and puts all the time and energy into the same, the probability of cracking that one exam is higher than any of the five exams.

Find Some Time to Relax

In between everything, learning to relax is very important. One has to understand the value of rest. Humans are not machines, and unlike machines, we need some time off from work as well. Students can learn how to manage time, make goals, and break them into smaller steps to achieve them eventually, and also stop multitasking, but in all this process, one doesn’t have to get obsessively involved in the work. Students can take breaks, go out, deep breathe, play some sports, or just simply rest for a while in between their work and once in a while. Rest helps to replenish the energy back so one can work better.

What are the Benefits of Time Management?

Some of the benefits of having good time management are as follows:

More Productivity

When time is managed properly, it results in better productivity, as the quality of the work done is not only better but also more efficient in the output. Increased productivity results in overall growth, better standards of living (for professionals), and gaining a greater sense of achievement, especially for the students.

Improved Decision-Making

Once you don’t have a lot of tasks in your hands that you’re continuously juggling simultaneously, you can easily be a little relaxed and a little more mindful, which can enhance your decision-making powers. The best example of this is once the students have completed studying the entire syllabus for their exams, they can easily focus better on completing the sample papers and mock tests, helping them to score even better on the exam.

Lower Stress & Anxiety

When you’re not in a hurry for some work to be completed, you don’t feel restless, as you know you can manage it eventually with the help of time management skills you learn. When you don’t have to multitask, you have nothing to worry about. Moreover, once you start focusing on just what matters and what is important, the less important things don’t scare you anymore. You know they are not worth your time and that free time can be used in doing something better and productive.

More Focused

The fewer things you have to deal with, the more engrossed you will be with the current and important things. Studies are the most important part of one’s career development. When students are meaningfully engaged in academics and personality development, with ample quality time devoted to both, the appeal of distractions like social media reels naturally diminishes.

Free Time

Once students have completed their academic and co-curricular responsibilities, they often find themselves with ample free time. Instead of letting it go to waste, they can choose to use it productively—whether by resting, exercising, catching up on sleep etc. 

How Does K.R. Mangalam University Help Students with Time Management?

The university has always been focused on an overall development of its students since its initial years from 2013. When the other institutions were just focusing on academics, K.R. Mangalam University (KRMU) understood the value of true holistic developments of the students and how important it is for them, their families, and the environment. The university helps the students with personality development, teaching soft skills like how to maintain good body language, and also teaches the importance of time management. Guest lectures as well as webinars are organised to help the students with the same. This is one of the reasons why K.R. Mangalam University is among the top universities in India.

Conclusion

In this blog, we have explained how to manage time for students: from some time management tips to the benefits of following a good routine. Time management is a good way to make your life easier by decluttering & reorganising things which are important, and following a daily discipline of good habits, which can result in productive outcomes, which further helps the students (and even professionals) with making better goals and understanding their priorities in life. Good time management can also help you have plenty of free time, which can be used to rest, and relax.

FAQs

Some frequently asked questions about time management are as follows:

How to manage time for study?

Students can start with organising their books and study material, then fixing a daily routine to study at a particular time when it’s easier for them to memorise and think clearly.

Is time management really helpful?

Yes, but only if it is followed on a disciplined basis; then the students will be able to see the results.

How to follow a routine?

One can start following a routine by preparing a to-do list and maybe setting alarms for their particular projects.

Some of the best tips on how to manage time in exams​?

The two best tips for managing time during exams are to first prepare a study plan and secondly, understand the syllabus with a practice of past papers.

Explain the benefits of being more focused.

Being more focused helps students to increase productivity, improve decision-making, and be anxiety and stress free.

Also Read: Mastering Time Management: A Key to Success in Work and Life