Managing time can be very hard for many people, including me. Often times people will forget to do homework or have to skip things they wanted to do because they don’t have enough time. I decided to bullet point some of the best ways to manage time and how I find they have worked out for me.

Time Boxing

Time Boxing is a time managing technique which uses “boxes” to manage time. In time boxing, someone would set off two set time dates and do the thing they wanted to do in that time frame. It sounds a little confusing but it makes more sense when seen visually. Personally, Time Boxing is my favorite technique to use and is basically the only way of time management I use. For example, my Time Boxing Schedule looks something like this.

1. 6:00am-7:35am: Get up, take a shower, have breakfast, and get to school.
2. 7:35am-2:00pm: School.
3. 2:00pm-4pm: Stay after if I have clubs or I need extra help, lift, get ready for practice.
4. 4pm-6pm: Practice.
5. 6pm-10:45pm: Dinner, shower, homework, study, if extra time do whatever.
6. 10:45pm-6am: Sleep

Since I have 6 things listed out I would have 6 “boxes” of time because all 24 hours are being used in the time frame. This method has worked great for me and I would highly recommend it to anyone who struggles with deadlines. A big problem with this method however is if one “box” is messed up it ruins the whole thing. However, if you came prepared, you can fix that. Take for example the 3rd box that says to lift; if I don’t have enough time to complete my reps, I would have to move that to my net box, which is why I give so much time to it–about 4 hours and 45 minutes of a break. Overall it’s a great time management technique with little problems and rewards with many benefits.

Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro Technique is a great way of getting work done, especially for people (like me) with bad attentions spans. The Pomodoro Technique has 7 main tasks.

• Choose one task to focus on (this could be anything, like studying, math, reading…).
• Set a 25 minute timer and start it.
• Starting your task and stop when the timer goes off.
• Take a 5-minute break, although you can do anything during the break I like to eat during it to get energy.
• Repeat steps 2-4, three more times.
• Take a 30 minute break.
• You can change tasks after the break or you can continue to do the same one and start the technique over.

I find the Pomodoro Technique really useful for when I’m doing work and can’t focus. Although extremely useful for short burst working, I sometimes feel like it’s best to not take a break. I think this technique is extremely efficient though. I personally use it while studying and not while I’m doing homework but it’s useful for anything.

Prioritization

Prioritization is the method of creating a list for what to do in the day and going through it top to bottom. Most people probably accidentally do this. Prioritization is an extremely good way to list what needs to get done but it does not help manage the time. I like to use Prioritization hand to hand with Time Boxing. A ‘prioritization list’ can look like anything, but I like to put the stuff that is due in a day or something from a class I have the lowest grade in on the top. The stuff that has the furthest due date and the highest grade I prioritize on the bottom. For example, it could look something like this:

1. History Hw (DBQ)
2. English Hw (Worksheet pg.5)
3. History Hw (Extra Credit)
4. Chemistry Studying

In this list I would do my History DBQ first then work down the list.

Goal Setting

Goal Setting is breaking down larger tasks into multiple smaller tasks. Goal Setting is incredible useful for when things have a long due date. For example: if you have an essay due in 7 days, you could write one paragraph a day and finish the essay on day 5, with 2 days still remaining. You could also make slightly larger tasks and do 2 paragraphs a day for 3 days (on one of the days you would only have one though). This method is really useful for people (like me) who are terrible at dealing with large tasks given. This method helps me mentally shrink down a lot of tasks and I would highly recommend it.

Deep Work

The Deep Work method involves doing work or studying with absolutely no distractions. Deep Work can be extremely hard for people and I personally find it incredibly hard to do, but many people can do it well and enjoy this method. The method involves focusing on something for hours on end and without any distractions. This means no music, no phone, nothing that could distract someone from what they need to complete. For example, I could have my day planned out like this.

• 3 hours of studying Chemistry
• 3 hours of studying History

This method is probably the best overall method in my opinion, if done correctly but it requires practice to build up to it. This method is often considered the opposite of Pomodoro because Deep Work prioritizes long hours of work while the Pomodoro Technique involves many miniature breaks. I think that the Pomodoro Technique is a great way to build up to being able to do Deep Work though. While using the Pomodoro Technique, take longer work periods and don’t use any “distractions”. Doing this can slowly build up for the removal of the technique (I think that the Pomodoro Technique is far better though).

Their are many other time management methods but those are the ones I mostly commonly use or try and I think are extremely useful. Good luck studying and getting your work done!