As a student, one thing that I found very horrible and frustrating was time management because I was the kind of student who generally doesn't take time management more seriously.
I mean what else can you expect from a 17-18 year old teen and believe me my school days were horrible why ?
Let me tell you !
Our subject teacher used to give us assignments and a deadline when we had to submit our projects to the respective teacher and I was the kind of student who used to work when the time had already finished and it was the end of submission.
So then I used to work hard and try to finish my work on time and I do finish my project because then I used to give my 100% on my project spending a whole night working and regretting.
Like if I would have done this type of hard work before then I am sure I would not be wasting my whole night here.
That's my story and I guess this is the story of almost every student right now. January to March is often considered as the exam season in India because all varieties of exams are conducted in between these months.
Lakhs of students appear and believe me one thing where each of us has fallen during the preparation of exams is lack of time management.
Time management is often a widely discussed topic over the internet. People search a lot and when I was a student, I used to search queries like
“How to manage my time ?”
“ How to stay productive ?”
“ Top ways to stay consistent and focused”
and many more .
You see, there are many videos available on YouTube and tons of pages on Google, even though I have written articles on this topic before.
So ya but the fact is all those methods mention are very generic and in fact it's just waste of time watching those videos because at the end they gives a fake motivation like “ you can do it”, “ Wake up early and conquer the world”, “ Successful people either sleeps at 4am or wake up at 4Am”and so on so.
So I am not going to deliver those rubbish and generic methods we will be diving deeper into this topic.
Let's start
1. Eisenhower Matrix:
You may have learned coordinates in mathematics, x axis and y axis where we were given a point (-2,1) and we have to point this on a graph.
This time management technique is similar to the concept of quadrants: a graph divided into x axis and y axis consisting of 4 quadrants.
Quadrant 1 is about urgent and important work.
Quadrant 2 is about Important but not urgent.
Quadrant 3 is about urgent but not important
Quadrant 4 is neither urgent nor important.
So our main focus is on the two quadrants first and second. Urgent and important, important but not urgent.
Let's see how it works.
Create a table x and y axis then name the quadrants as above. Now the first thing that you want to do is right down all your goals, works and priorities.
In short create a to do list but remember the work in this to do list must be placed according to the quadrants not like the generic one.
So let's take an example: suppose I am planning to generate an Eisenhower Matrix for my whole day. So how would I do that?
Let's start by identifying my priorities.
Quadrant 1
( Urgent and important )
I have to submit my assignments and I have to complete my notes . This is my first priority and is placed in the first quadrant.
Quadrant 2
( Important but not urgent )
Let's say I wanna prepare myself for the upcoming test. Then this would come in the second quadrant.
Quadrant 3
( urgent but not important )
This quadrant can contain your day to day routine activities like hair cutting, market for buying something and talking to your crush !
Quadrant 4
(neither important nor urgent)
This quadrant is all about rest and doing what you love.
Now when you have set this to do list , it's time to start accomplishing each goal. Start from the first quadrant and one by one accomplish all of your goals.
This technique is better than making a generic to-do list . You have enough clarity to consider what's more important for you.
2. Two-Minute Rule:
I remember a quote that I read on Instagram last day and that is it's not hard to finish your goals, what's more hard is to start working on your goals.
I will not lie, seriously it took me more than 2-3 hours and then I am writing this blog because while researching this topic, I was procrastinating and then I used this 2 minute technique that we will be discussing after a while.
So ya this technique actually works.
What you have to do is: If a task takes less than two minutes to complete, do it immediately. This rule is attributed to productivity expert David Allen. By addressing quick tasks immediately, you prevent them from accumulating and becoming a source of stress or procrastination.
This technique not only helps you in saving your time but will help you in keeping moving forward, see the fact here is very simple.
We know that the work we are going to do takes more than 2 min but your mind doesn't know this , so you just have to act like you would be doing this for 2 minutes and once you get into this then no need to look back.
Apart from this there is some work like we have discussed above in quadrant 3 ( urgent but not important ) and quadrant 4 ( neither important nor urgent ) so if these works can be done in 2 minutes then obviously just do them.
You will realise that you have saved enough time.
Moving on to the third technique is time blocking technique.
3.Time Blocking with Themes:
Time blocking technique, this technique is best used in a long term approach. For example you entered in the new semester or in a new class starting your studies from scratch.
This time instead of repeating the same mistake you can work smartly. Divide your time each day for some specific work.
Monday for assignment, Tuesday for revision, Wednesday for completing notes, Thursday for revision and new learning, Friday for notes again. Saturday for recapping what you have studied till now and lastly Sunday would be the fund day.
This helps in maintaining a focused mindset and reduces the mental effort of switching between unrelated tasks.
So this will help you a lot and would surely make you less prone to procrastination. You can manage your time more effectively and efficiently.
4. Reverse Engineering:
The concept of reverse engineering is mostly seen in wars where countries use reverse engineering to construct the same missiles as the enemy has from the broken parts of the enemy's missiles.
Here we are not going to talk about missiles but yes about goals. Reverse engineering is obviously important and can be an alternative for the Eisenhower Matrix, the first method that we discussed.
In this method you have to start with your end goals.
Begin with your end goal in mind and work backward to identify the steps needed to achieve it. Break down the goal into smaller, manageable tasks. This technique provides a clear roadmap, making it easier to plan and execute each step toward the ultimate objective.
5. The 2-Minute Meditation Break:
We all know how meditation can bring changes in life. I am so fond of meditation that there are so many articles available on my site. You can give them a try too.
Taking naps is boring. Meditation is the new age of getting your goals done on time and I am sure that this method is far more than taking 30 mins break.
Obviously you will feel hard at the Beginning but in the end you will be better and more productive. So the fact is that you have to meditate for 2-3 minutes and then you can extend these sessions for a maximum of 10 minutes.
Meditation has many benefits and for sure meditation will help you in focusing, boosting your productivity and having a greater apan.
So students that's all from now and I believe that your minds don't need to take so much load right now. Hold yourself tight and work on your goals.
If you find any difficulties then share them in the comments section, I will look at them and for sure try to address them in the upcoming posts.
Till then keep working hard, Best of luck, Don't take stress.
Keep grinding:)
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