Time Management for College Students: How to Beat Procrastination
Why is an anxiety specialist talking time management?
Unsurprisingly, college students with anxiety really need help when it comes to time management. Often, they flip from task to task, and quickly become overwhelmed with trying to do everything at the same time. Or, they start to procrastinate because they don’t want to engage in this anxiety-provoking task.
Procrastination and avoidance are okay.
In fact, they’re totally normal! It’s just your body and brain’s way of trying to take care of you.
The problem is, procrastination can get really out of hand, really quickly. It can cause you to miss simple assignments and doubt your preparedness for college and the real world.
3 Tips for Time Management
#1 Figure Out the Master Plan
Make a list of all of your tasks that you need to complete, figure out how long each one will take, and write out the due dates. From those three data points, you can work backwards to figure out when everything needs to start. Rewrite this list a second time, putting everything in that priority order. Check off each item from your list once you complete it - and don't start jumping around to the next task before you finish the first!
#2 Prioritize
Working backwards, figure out due dates for each of your assignments, and then assign the amount of time you’ll need to each of the tasks before hand.
Example: You have two midterm tests and two papers coming up, and you’re freaking out just a little bit. But you start off with your master list, and then you figure out due dates:
English Paper: Due September 24
History 3 pager: Due October 1
Science Midterm: October 4
History Midterm: October 8
Next you break it down into the smaller steps:
English paper:
Finish book
Read assigned articles
Outline essay
Finish essay
Edit essay
And then you figure out the time you need:
Finish book - 2 nights
Articles - 5 hours
Outline - 1 hour
Finish essay - 3 days
Edit essay - 1 day
Turn in
Now we work backwards:
Turn in: 9/24
Edit essay: by 9/23
Finish essay: start by 9/20
Outline: 9/19
Read articles: 9/18
Finish book: 9/16 and 9/17 to finish up
#3 Build In Break Time
The typical brain can only pay attention for about 20/25 minutes at a time, so make sure to build in short brain breaks, taking a quick walk outside or closing your eyes and taking 5 deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth. You'll find that taking this short break will help you return to the task more alert, and you'll be able to work through the remaining material more quickly.
You can also set a timer to go off every 20/25 minutes, during which time you can move to a small break. The trick is not to get totally sucked into the more fun thing - so, even if you want to check the ‘gram, make sure you’re only doing this for about 5 minutes before moving on to your next to do.
Remember that anxiety can get in the way.
You might be chugging along on your master plan, when all of a sudden you hit a bump in the road. Panic attack, lack of self-worth, doubt, overwhelm… That’s ok! You can get through it!
But sometimes it’s easier to get through it when you have a therapist who can help with the anxiety and stress management side of things. Someone who helps with the plan AND helps with the emotional regulation side of it, too.
Even just talking with someone else about what you’re feeling and what’s getting in the way can be helpful. And because your therapist isn’t living your life, they have a different perspective. They’re not in the midst of it. And they can help you tease out patterns and figure out those stumbling blocks for next time.
Further Reading:
Why You Procrastinate (It Has Nothing to Do With Self Control) - The New York Times
Productivity 101: An Introduction to The Pomodoro Technique - LifeHacker
Anxiety Therapy for College Students in St. Louis - Compassionate Counseling St. Louis
Curious to learn more about productivity, anxiety, and stress management for college? Compassionate Counseling St. Louis works with kids, teens and college students to help build relaxation skills and figure out what’s getting in the way. We work with students from Wash U, SLU, and UMSL, along with the smaller schools such as Fontbonne and Webster. St. Louis is a college town! You should be able to work with a therapist who loves college students and anxiety. Set up your free phone consultation right here on our website: www.compassionatecounselingstl.com/consult