Time Management Tips for the Busy College Girl

Jumping for joy because today I’m finally talking about my time management tips! A few weeks ago, I asked on my Instagram stories what you all wanted to see on the blog. Someone said, “Maybe how you manage to do school/work/AND run a blog?!” I loved this request, but I actually laughed when I saw it. Friends have mentioned that I seem like I have my life put together and some days that’s true, but other days it is far from the truth. With that being said, these are some of the tips that have helped me. Grab a coffee and settle in!

My General Schedule

Before we get into my tips, I’ll give a little background into my schedule/how busy I am! Truly, the busyness comes and goes in waves. Some days I’m stressed out and feel like I’ve taken on too much. On other days, I’ll watch Netflix and think, “What else could I be doing?” Then another busy day comes and I snap right out of that, ha!

I’m a junior in college and I’m taking four (somewhat easy) morning classes. Because I’m majoring in Professional and Public Writing, a lot of my classes don’t have exams but they do have writing assignments and papers. Besides class, I have two small jobs. I’m the managing editor of my college’s literary magazine as well as a consultant at our university writing center. Both of these only take a few hours a week, but they are a part of my schedule, so I have to take them into consideration! I’m also involved a few ways in my church, which leads to different obligations. Every single day has something going on, but I love it!

Along with my school/work/involvement schedule, I’m very structured with blogging. I post on Tuesdays and Thursdays and push myself to stick this self-made schedule. Today’s tips will focus generally on day-to-day life, but I’d love to share time management tips for blogging. As always, let me know if that’s something you’d be interested in!

Time Management Tips

1. Find your priorities.

One way I’ve been able to stay on top of blogging and my other non-paid obligations is by prioritizing them. Obviously, I prioritize my jobs and class… because in one way or another, my money’s involved. It is a LOT harder to make other things a focus in your life, especially with how busy life gets. Instead of biting off more than you can chew, my tip is to find your priorities. If you’ve been struggling with time management, go get your planner or a piece of paper, and write out the areas in your life you are focusing on or want to focus on.

My list right now would include: faith, friendship, class, work, blogging, exercise.

This is a very doable list for me at the season of life I’m in, but this many things may not be possible – or you may have even more! Because these are my priorities, I can firmly focus on them. They’re also not all of the same importance – if I’m not able to finish a blog post, it’ll be okay.

2. Give yourself grace.

Have you ever heard the saying, “You can have it all. Just not all at once.” Because I FELT that. Some days I will be able to finish my homework, write a blog post, and hit the gym. Some days I’ll feel so tired that going to class is a struggle. That is okay! The beauty of balance is in knowing that your identity isn’t in how much you can accomplish in a day. Give others grace when they slip up, and give yourself that same grace! Hannah Montana said it best, “Nobody’s perfect.”

3. Write it down.

You can be a paper planner gal or swear by your iPhone reminders. No matter what, take the time to write down your obligations! That way you won’t overbook yourself. I always talk about planning out my week on a Sunday, and it’s such an important way for me to manage my time. If I see that I have a ton of work on Wednesday but not too much on Tuesday, I can plan to write my Thursday blog post then instead. If I look at my week and see that a meeting’s been canceled or that I have a free day, I can work in another one of my priorities, like exercise!

When I am super stressed, I like to plan out my day by the hour… This is a little obsessive, and I really really give myself grace with this schedule. It just assures me that I really can get everything done! This photo is from a few weeks ago, but you can see that my Monday and Tuesday are really busy, but the rest of the week gets a lot easier. Does anyone else plan their day this much… or am I just odd?!

4. Be honest about when you’re most productive.

For a long time, I thought that I was both an early bird and a night owl… mainly because I’m able to wake up early if I need to with a smile on my face, only a little coffee involved. But this year has been showing me that even if I can wake up early, I’m not productive until later in my day! I could wake up at 9 in the morning on a Sunday and do small things around my house, but not actually start getting work done until around 5 and going to sleep around midnight – don’t ask me why! Now that I know this, I can let myself sleep in later (when I don’t have class, obviously) because I know that I’ll be staying up to get work done anyway.

The truth is, the best way to be productive is by finding what actually works for you. Don’t try to be like the fashion blogger you see getting work done at 5 in the morning or your friend who constantly pulls all nighters if that’s not you!

So, these are my time management tips for the busy college girl, from the busy college girl. What are yours?

xoxo, Cecilia