How will you rate your time management skills? Perfect ten? Average seven, or a poor five? Well, whatever it is, I plan to help you! As an online student—especially if you are pursuing International A Level courses—you must bring your A-game when it comes to effective time management to ensure a smooth journey. Since I have been one, I know how tragic life becomes when things fail. So, I actually empathize with you if you are unable to manage things.
This article includes 8 time management tips for online students. But that’s not all. While everyone advises on how to manage time, no one talks about how to recover when everything fails! So, today, I will share a secret weapon. Keep reading!
Table of Contents
8 Time Management Tips for Online Students
Let’s begin with the 8 tips and strategies that will help you manage your time and smooth your online learning journey!
Firstly, Create a Calendar: Digital or Analog!
Online classes do not have a set schedule. Though flexibility is supposed to bring stability, it often makes things messy. We have always had schedules, so this freedom often leads to missing out on things!
Therefore, create a calendar. It can be digital or analog, whichever you prefer. This will help you increase your productivity.
Secondly, Plan Ahead with Constant Reminders
Nothing works without a plan! So, once the calendar is ready, plan everything. Plan how you will manage time for your classes and assignments while partying with friends, going out with your partner, and working as a full-time employee!
Add your deadlines to the planner to stay on top of your online education journey. Also, make the most of your study sessions by setting reminders to revisit the recordings and study materials to understand and learn concepts quickly.
Thirdly, Set Aside Time for Extra-Curriculars
Just because you are studying does not mean you have to leave everything behind! You can always get help from AI to prepare a study schedule, but personalize it by adding your preferred stress-buster activities.
You can binge-watch your favorite drama or play soccer with friends! This will not only keep your dopamine levels normal but also keep your physical health in check! Extracurricular activities enhance your productivity and help you excel in all spheres of life!
Fourthly, Stay Organized with Tools
Are you a procrastinator like me? Then you need much more than a schedule and plan! You need some tools to keep you on track!
Tools like Papier, Plum Paper, and Moleskine are awesome day-to-day planning apps. They help you remember your deadlines and upcoming exams and track your meetings so that you cannot procrastinate at all.
Furthermore, you can use Asana or Trello to live a structured life. These are digital to-do lists where you check things done and feel accomplished every day.
And then, we have note-taking apps like Notion and Evernote. Why do we need them? Well, many of us are still old-school and believe in keeping things in writing. However, you cannot carry your notebook everywhere. But you can continue your online education even on the go, so these apps help you have everything at your fingertips.
Awesome, right? I know!
Fifthly, Prioritize by Establishing a Routine
See, I am giving you time management tips to help you make the most of your time and not compromise. But at times, things become messy when you suddenly find out about a last-minute meeting or maybe when you hit a breakup! Sad, are we?
Well, I can’t help with heartbreaks because my relationship game is worse than Ross!!! I know! But if that happens, you must learn to prioritize tasks.
For this, you can use the Eisenhower Matrix (also known as the Urgent-Important Matrix). To begin with, you must start with things that are urgent and essential. Then move to important but not urgent. From this, we move to urgent but not important and finally end the day with neither urgent nor important.
Confusing, check out the image here:
Next, Manage time to Take Breaks
How about a KitKat? Out of nowhere? Obviously! You did not plan breaks, but you need to. Breaks help us recuperate and revitalize so we can give our all again!
Working and studying too much can make it impossible to deal with life. So, sometimes, take a break and focus on enjoying—I mean it!
Okay, listen. Have you ever watched an intense movie? Have you noticed comic relief? No? Well, in Frozen, Olaf is an example of comic relief! How? Our beloved Olaf often acts as a fool!
We often see him unaware of the seriousness of things happening around him. His bumbling comments and slapstick comedy provide comic relief when things get tough. So, take breaks!
Moving On, Ask for Help When Needed
But what if their break cannot fix you? Well, for those moments, you can simply ask for help. Be it your teacher, friends, partner, senior colleague, parents, family, or anyone. Just let it out. Talk about your confusion, problems, and issues you are facing with the projects or assignments, and you will be amazed at how easily you get the solution.
Everyone deals with problems related to online learning and work life. When you share your pain, they might come up with solutions that have helped them. So, talk to them.
Furthermore, some math questions require a little bit of extra grey matter at times. 😉
Lastly, Track Progress and Revise To-Do List
I know that you will procrastinate even after planning, scheduling, and whatnot. You will end up missing deadlines and feeling like a failure! So, once in a while, maybe every month (if possible), track your progress and revise your list so that you can increase productivity and effortlessly ace your online class.
Now, let’s move to how college students can make the most of their time!
Time Management Tips for Online College Students
4 time management tips for college students to manage time effectively:
Set Up a Dedicated Study Space
It is no news that if you dedicate an hour to studying without getting distracted, you will learn quickly rather than spending three hours getting distracted every 15 minutes. Therefore, start with an aesthetic and spacious study space. Keep all your study materials, notebook, laptop, and other essentials handy.
Avoid Multitasking
Proper project management includes dedicating time to one task at a time. No matter what, never multitask. Set time for every task. For instance, your study time must only include college work, and you may stay focused on that. To work more efficiently, do not compromise your scheduled study time, thinking of work if you are a working professional and vice versa.
Break Larger Projects into Smaller Steps
When pursuing a college degree, good time management techniques include breaking bigger projects into smaller ones to effortlessly digest everything. So, when taking online courses, set aside your valuable time for each task, break huge assignments or school projects into smaller chunks, and finish each one-by-one!
Maintain Balance & Avoid Burnout
Schedule time for chores and errands. You must also engage in self-care by taking regular breaks in between tasks. Therefore, when planning or making your schedule, set time to study, go for walks, watch TV, and even read casually. All this will help you master time management and avoid burnout.
Time Management Techniques for Online High School Students
Honestly, high schools have the toughest life. From first love and breakups and sudden hiccups in friendship to quarrels with parents and the hit of adolescence, everything seems too much! So, here’s what you should do to avoid poor time management,
Create a Distraction-Free Study Zone
Effective time management is crucial to keep your life and studies on track! So, just for your scheduled study time, keep your study zone free from distractions. Daily distractions like scrolling through TikTok and instagram and also keeping a tab on the most popular girl in school!
Well, I know it’s essential to know about trends and gossip about them, but let’s just keep that aside for 2-3 hours daily, what say?!
Use the Pomodoro Technique
See, procrastination only leads to failure! So buckle up! Whether you study at home or engage in group study with friends, use the Promodo technique. This makes you more productive. It helps you create a proper schedule that works well and achieve success while taking care of your physical and mental health.
So, after studying for 1-hour or completing a task, take a 25-minute break. Online degree is not easy; with this, you can stay on track and even have time to relax.
Participate Actively & Seek Help Early
Lastly, be an active participant in the class. Let go of the imaginary love life and use time wisely by genuinely focusing on the study material. If you spend your time thinking about how to solve the problem, then take help from friends or peers.
While we have mainly discussed all, let’s talk about the problems people with ADHD feel.
Time Management Strategies for Students with ADHD
For students with ADHD, the following tips can help you better manage your time:
- You can try creating visual schedules with color coding, which can help you avoid wasting time on redundant tasks.
- You can also use calendars or planners with distinct colors for schoolwork, extracurricular activities, and personal time.
- I know that stress and anxiety make you vulnerable, so be consistent, as consistency reduces stress and decision-making fatigue.
- Set regular times for waking, studying, breaks, and bedtime to build habits and predictability.
- Short, frequent breaks help recharge attention, so breaking big chunks of time into small ones can help online students with ADHD.
- Check how much time you spend at a stretch without fatigue, and then plan for physical activity or stretching during breaks. This can enhance focus when returning to work.
- Establish incentives (e.g., short gaming sessions, snacks, leisure activities) after completing challenging tasks. This means celebrating accomplishments to reinforce positive habits.
While all this can help you achieve success in life, here’s a special advice: having an accountability partner, mentor, or tutor helps everyone stay motivated and on-task. Also regular check-ins boosts commitment to one’s goals.
Importance of Time Management for Students in Online Education:
The primary importance of time management for students is that it promotes academic performance. Proper scheduling ensures adequate study time and consistent, high-quality assignments. It decreases panic and anxiety attacks.
Moreover, it makes students more responsible and disciplined. Overall, time mamagemnt transforms you as a human. It gradually increases your capacity to things get done in a day.
Secret Weapon: Online Class Help!
Now, as promised in the beginning, it’s time for the secret weapon that helps 83% of US students achieve excellence in their online degrees: online class help services.
We always try to be on top of our game, but sometimes, we fail. When I failed to manage my Master’s course with a full-time office, I paid someone to Take My Online class. The professional subject expert took my class online and helped me manage my block of time to achieve top grades.
While there are multiple do my online class services, I did some research and chose the one with the best reviews online. They took care of my discussion boards and assignments, and I cracked my exam.
However, I was careful not to take advantage. I used their guidance and references but never blatantly copied and pasted their solutions. So, be ethical!
