OnlineProfessor

Working full-time and going to school online is no easy task. Your friends and families still need attention, and you want to find some time to relax, too. You can find time to live it up a little if you practice stellar time management.

Time Management Tip List:

• Use a calendar. Gone are the days when you can remember everything. There’s too much at stake. Get a calendar and jot down all family obligations – weddings, birthday parties, anniversaries – and also, in different colored ink, mark down all major school assignments – midterm exams, research papers, group projects, etc. If you can see bottlenecks on some weekends, plan to complete school work way ahead of time to get it out of the way.
• Ask the professor. Sometimes, the professor mentions assignments later on, but does not share specific details until a couple weeks before the deadline. Ask the professor if he/she can give you the assignment early so you can start early. There is seldom a professor who won’t share this information unless it somehow compromises another assignment. Most instructors will appreciate this initiative.
• Give yourself fake deadlines – and stick to them. If something is due on a Monday, tell yourself to finish it by Friday or Saturday morning. While it’s tough to work such a tight schedule, a free day on a weekend will be a great reward.
• Find time in small increments. Instead of waiting to do all your homework in the evenings, why not find some unused time such as: during your bus/train commute; over lunch; sitting in the doctor’s office, etc.
• Cook meals in batches. Whether you’re eating out or cooking at home, get twice as much food and freeze/refrigerate leftovers. So much time is wasted trying to cook on the fly or figure out what you’re going to eat.

Good planning is a way to get your degree while balancing some social obligations and enjoyment. Stay a step ahead with good time management. And if you’ve never been good at planning, commit to changing that or accept the misery that will come when you always feel scattered and overwhelmed. The choice is yours.