10 Time Management Tips

During this busy time of year, many of us seek to place greater emphasis on improving our time management skills. Successful students and professionals are always looking for ways to make better use of what seems to be less and less time to do the things that we need and want to do. We hope that the list of tips below will help you to start the new year off right. Special thanks go to Ms. Gail Zimmerman from Dartmouth College for sharing her tips with us.

  1. Plan your day each morning or the night before and set priorities for yourself.
  2. Keep paper or a calendar with you to jot down notes about things that you have to do and deadlines that you must meet.
  3. Try to avoid wasting time — all time can be useful.
  4. Try rewarding yourself when you get things done as you planned, especially important ones.
  5. Be sure and set deadlines for yourself whenever possible.
  6. Stop regretting failures and start learning from your mistakes.
  7. Remind yourself, “There is always enough time for the important things.” If it is important, you should be able to make time to do it. Counselor Note: Make sure that exercise and relaxation are “important things” in your life. If you become overly stressed or ill, it will be very difficult for you to accomplish your goals.
  8. Examine and revise your life-time goals on a monthly basis and be sure to include progress towards those goals on a daily basis.
  9. Put up reminders in your room about your goals.
  10. Concentrate on one thing at a time.