Five ways to make the most of your time as a student in 2016

First of all, Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a lovely and peaceful holiday, without too much university or school work hanging over them.

I bet we all have a few New Year’s resolutions and, whether they consist of joining the gym or starting your coursework earlier, I’m sure everyone’s resolutions could be helped with better time management in 2016.

Here are a few of my personal tips for making the most of your time in 2016.

Make use of ‘dead-time’

By ‘dead-time’ I mean the time it takes for you to get to campus, the time in-between lectures etc., so when you are actually home or at the library you can devote your time 100% to doing work. For example, I often use the bus ride home to check social media, call or text my parents, or read the news. Not too say I don’t do this at home, but when I’m home I can focus on other things and I don’t have anything I ‘just have to check’ before I start doing work.

Structure the day

Writing down everything you need to have done by the end of the day is a good way to plan ahead. This way you can hopefully avoid forgetting that you have to return your course collection book at 11am, or similar nightmares. This includes writing down what work/reading you should have finished by the end of the day.

Sleep

Probably not the most surprising point in this post, but sleep is so underrated. I mean, even if you are sleep deprived and haven’t slept properly in a week you still get your work done, hence it is possible to work without your 8-hours-a-day. However, to do well over a long period of time, having a good sleeping pattern is important. It makes a nice change to sit in those 9am lectures and focus on what the lecture is actually about, instead of focusing on staying awake!

Structure your notes 

I’m personally horrible at this because in lectures I just try to write all the things I find essential (which often is almost everything). However, by structuring your notes, you save so much time later on. Use markers on important concepts and devote one notebook to each, so it’s easier to find later. Instead of copying everything from the PowerPoint, focus on writing down the things the PowerPoint doesn’t tell you. The slides will be available online later anyway.

Stop the procrastination

This one is obvious, but just think about how much time you could save by diminishing the time you procrastinate. OK, you probably think about it all the time, because I know I do, but instead of half doing your work while you keep your eyes on your phone and then ending up with watching a movie, take breaks while you work. Use these breaks to do something other than university work and then go back to your studies. For example, work intensively for 45 minutes. and then a break for 15 minutes.


This year I don’t have a lot of New Year’s resolutions. My three resolutions are to be better at making the most out of my time, calling my grandad more often and start walking more. Yes, I have an obsession with the step counter on my iPhone - I want it to be above 7,000 steps every day!

A little picture from cold, cold, cold Oslo (currently -11 degrees here) 

Happy New Year!

Alexandra