How many times have you found yourself taking on more activities than you can handle? Do you often feel nervous when taking a mental break or hanging out with friends thanks to a nagging feeling of a thousand deadlines? Have you ever pulled three all-nighters straight just to catch up to speed with your classes and extra-curriculars? Well, you’re not alone. But luckily, there’s a cure! The ingredients are discipline, efficiency, and consistency.
Step 1: Get a planner
Writing down your day-to-day, hour-to-hour activities in a planner will help you stay on task. Think of it as an advanced To-Do list. If you have a phone with a Calendar function, that works well too. To begin, write something for every time slot, so your whole day is planned out. A typical day might look something like this:
8-9:30 – Breakfast/Study at home.
10:00 – Study spanish
11:00 – Study in Powell
1:00 – Lunch & Dhuhr prayer
2:00 – English
3:00 – Art History
4:00 – Asr & down time.
5:30 – Maghrib prayer & Powell
7:30 – Dinner & then back to Powell
10:00 – Down time/Gym/Isha prayer
Midnight – Sleep
Not too bad, right? Of course, it’s a little trickier on heavier days with more classes and extracurriculars. But if you can manage to consistently schedule a few hours of studying every day, and still try to make some down time to prevent burnout, you’ll find yourself being a lot more productive.
Step 2: Multi-Task
Think about all the time you spend that goes to waste. Walking to class can take anywhere from five to twenty-five minutes. If you have phone calls to make, unplug your iPod and start dialing! At the gym, you can spend half an hour on the elliptical, and another 20 minutes walking back home. If it doesn’t make you sick to read while moving, take note cards or books you need to read for class while on the cardio machines. Or you can go over information from your classes in your head, and ask yourself questions to quiz your understanding. When you’re pressed for time during lunchtime, don’t skip your meal – keep a lunch or snack packed and eat while studying or on the go. By turning your excess time into work time, you increase your efficiency and lessen your workload for later.
Step 3: Study smart
When you really need to focus, it helps to remove yourself from a place where you are distracted when you’re studying. If you are someone who tends to socialize when studying with friends, then try studying alone, or find a good study buddy. When you get to a point when you are getting twice as much done in half the time, then you know you’re doing the right thing! This takes a little more discipline, but once you learn to study better in shorter periods of time, and frequently, then hopefully the all-nighters will no longer be necessary.
If you would like to share your own tips, feel free to add them in the comment box below!
Handy, jazaks
A planner is such a good idea. I always plan my study time the day of but don’t dedicate enough time to it because I let other things get in the way. And jazaaks for the simple formula, insha’Allah I others in same boat as me will follow through!
I love the multi-task part! I started doing that recently while I walk to class, especially since it takes me about ~15 minutes to walk all the way from my apartment to North Campus. I also found that with time management I was comfortably able to dedicate more time to my prayer/reading Qur’an without worrying about my studies (which often ruins our khushoo).
Another tip, especially for those who have difficulty with concentration: depending on your attention span, try to study for 25-40 minutes straight and take 5-10 minute break in between. Sometimes it’s difficult for people to study for 1-2 hours straight so mini-breaks will keep you sane and productive, insh’Allah!
Thanks for the tips! Just in time for exams too!
Nice article. You can’t have enough articles about organization.
Nice! JazakAllah khair for these secrets of success that are practical and applicable in our daily and busy lives!
Great Article……I like your tips and suggestions !!
I need to apply this and make use of my time. I need to spend more time outside of Kerckhoff. Insha’Allah I’m going to request that people remind to make use of my time! JazakiAllahu Khair Sakinah!
good stuff
This reminded me dat i need to go n studyyy!
Thank youuuuuuu!
i wish i had these tips before…
Thanks for the reminder; I just need to keep reminding myself to follow my schedule!
Jazaki Allahu Khair, this is a great template. =)
Now that I’m in college, I will need these tips! I look forward to reading more articles on academics.
My biggest advice is to stay on campus, study on campus. Once you go home, you are never in the mood to study and there are too many distractions. Study on campus!
JAK! great advice! inshaAllah I will start implementing these tools
Salam
Real good stuff, couldn’t agree more. On the topic of planners: I had the biggest ego thinking I was organized enough without one, I finally gave in and alhamdulillah it works wonders. Once you write down what you have to get done, you realize it is not a million things as you thought.
Great article!