by Leigh Goessl

Created on: July 22, 2009   Last Updated: July 31, 2009

Time management is difficult for everyone, but for college students, it can be quite an obstacle. Prior to college they had the added support of family reminders to help them meet deadlines. Mom and Dad, who were very familiar with their child's schedule, would make those casual comments like, "You're going to be late" or "Don't you have a test to study for?"

College is different because a student is now on their own, and heading off to college brings on a myriad of changes. One of the biggest adjustments students cope with is figuring out how to balance a full schedule with assignments, projects, social life, family or job without that gentle prodding from home.

This feeling of never having enough time is a common theme amongst college students, and doing the juggling act often gives a distinctive feeling of being crunched for time.

If you find this problem fits you, here are a few ideas to help get you started in developing time management philosophies to integrate into your daily routines:

*Planner or Calendar

Scheduling time wisely helps you effectively manage coursework with the other facets of life. One of the advantages of time management is you can prioritize your tasks and get them completed in a timely fashion.

One of the best ways is to keep a planner or track due dates and other important information on a planner or calendar. Make it a regular habit to write down assignments, appointments and other obligations and then religiously follow your planner. Monitoring responsibilities through written organization can help you stay on top of your work. If paper calendars are not your style, try using an online calendar or e-mail reminder.

Putting a visual to your due dates and other obligations is a good tool to use to strengthen your ability to meet commitments.

*Prioritize

One of the central philosophies to good time management is to understand prioritization. This means you need to learn how to list all your tasks, due dates and other important academic obligations and figure out which ones take precedence.

This is an important talent to keep in your skill-set because if you cannot figure out which assignments and deadlines need to be completed first, or need long-term consistent attention, you will have a hard time staying on track.

You can start prioritizing by planning each day the night before; this way you know ahead of time what's coming up the following day and you can schedule which assignments to read or write out first and tackle

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