College is often the first time many of us have to plan our own schedule and be self-motivated without an adult keeping us accountable. Although I’m not perfect at time management, I’ve been consistently using some tools and techniques to keep my tasks in order. You might already use some of these, and I encourage you to try out any that you might find useful.
The two main tools I use are my virtual planner and calendar. First, I’ll explain how my planner functions. I use Google Sheets: the top row has all the days of the week, and the leftmost column has all my classes and extracurriculars. Each intersection is the assignments I have to do for that class, and I update the columns each day. This helps me compartmentalize tasks for different subjects. I also have a row for miscellaneous tasks like housing search, internship applications, or career events. I include the color-coded date for each deadline. Red means due tomorrow, orange means due in two days, and green means due sometime after that. When I complete a task, I bold the text. This helps me keep track of important deadlines.
To schedule these tasks into my day, I use Outlook Calendar. I’ve heard of other people using Google Calendar or Notion as well; anything works. There’s several different ways to set up your calendar. In the past, I would just put my class schedule, major due dates (like essays or midterms), my work schedule, and meetings on my calendar. Now, I use a color-coded system to map out my days. You can do this by creating a new calendar and changing the color; I suggest customizing the colors so it’s visually appealing to you. Main events are in blue, and any plans are marked in green. By “plans,” I mean time blocks for tasks. For example, I have a lot of time after my Monday and Wednesday classes. I fill out a list of suggested tasks I can do in that time period so my day feels more structured (rather than just having blank space). I put the events in green instead of blue because they’re not required; if I need a break or end up making other plans, I can shift things around. I also turn off the reminder notifications for the green events. Because I see them as more optional, I don’t feel like I’m forced to do them. If all my calendar events were in one color, like blue, my schedule would feel too rigid and I’d be tempted to break free of the structure.
I’ve been experimenting with this lately, but I’ve found that alternating tasks helps me focus better than creating giant time blocks for one assignment. For instance, I might work on an essay for an hour, then switch to studying for a midterm, then go back to the essay. Since it’s only one hour at a time, I feel like there’s a mental endpoint. In contrast, I give myself three hours to work on an essay, I end up procrastinating for most of that time.
The last thing I tend to do is take notes on everything. I take extremely detailed notes in class, and I also take notes during or after important meetings. That way if anything important is mentioned, I’ll remember to add it to my calendar or planner. It’s helpful in the cases where a teacher mentions an assignment once and then never brings it up again, or if they briefly say “this quote might be helpful for the exam/essay.” I’m learning more tips for productivity as I go. If you know any good ones, feel free to reach out and share!