Good time management in college comes down to three habits: map every deadline for the term in the first week, plan each week on the same day and block specific times to study instead of waiting for free time to appear. College has fewer scheduled hours than high school, so the structure has to come from the student.
Why it is harder in college
- Fewer hours in class, more unstructured time
- Big assignments due weeks away with no check-ins
- Nobody tracking whether you went to class
- Social life, jobs and activities competing for the same hours
- Irregular sleep that pushes everything later
Underneath all of this are executive function skills, which keep developing into the mid-twenties. Struggling with them is common, and they improve with practice.
The term map (do this once, in week one)
- Gather every syllabus.
- Put every exam, paper, project and quiz in one calendar. Not several: one.
- For each big assignment, add two or three earlier mini-deadlines: topic chosen, outline done, draft done.
- Mark the weeks where several things collide. Those weeks need to start earlier.
- Add school deadlines too, such as the last day to drop a class (see should you drop a class).
The Sunday plan (20 minutes, every week)
- Look at the next two weeks on the term map
- Write the top three priorities for the week
- Block study time in the calendar for each class: specific days, times and places
- Schedule the fixed things: work shifts, practice, meals, sleep
- Leave some open time; plans with no slack break by Wednesday
At the end of the plan, take two minutes to look back at last week. What got done, what slipped and why? The goal is not to judge the week but to make the next plan a little more realistic.
Daily habits that make the plan work
- Use the gaps. An hour between classes is enough for a reading or a problem set. Students who use these gaps often free up their evenings.
- Study in the same places. A library seat or a quiet room works better than the bed.
- Work in focused blocks. 25 to 50 minutes with the phone in another room, then a short break.
- Start with the hardest task when energy is highest.
- Keep a steady sleep schedule. Most time management problems get worse with late nights.
- Write things down immediately. When a professor mentions a change, put it in the calendar right then.
When you fall behind
Everyone does at some point. The mistake is avoiding it. Instead:
- List everything overdue or due soon.
- Sort by due date and by how much each item affects your grade.
- Email professors about anything you will miss, before the deadline, with a proposed plan.
- Cut optional commitments for a week or two.
- If it keeps happening, look at the cause: too many credits, too many work hours or something else. See college burnout and how to stop procrastinating.
For parents
You cannot manage a college student’s calendar from home, and trying usually backfires. You can ask whether they have a term map, offer to do a first Sunday plan together on a video call and then step back.
Where a mentor makes the difference
Knowing the system is easy; doing it every Sunday is the hard part. A mentor runs the weekly planning session with the student by video, in their time zone, checks in midweek by text and helps adjust when things slip, until the student can do it alone. With the student’s permission, parents receive progress updates. See mentoring for college students, first-year college mentoring and accountability coaching.
Related
- Mentoring for college students
- Study habits that work in college
- Executive function skills
- Build a daily routine
Common questions
How many hours should a college student study?
A common guideline many colleges share is about two hours outside class for every hour in class, though it varies by course. Your syllabus and professors can give you a better sense for each class.
What is the best planner for college?
The one you will actually check every day. A phone calendar with all deadlines in one place works for most students.
Can you work and go to college full time?
Many students do. It works best when work hours are fixed and blocked into the weekly plan, and when the student cuts back if grades start to slip.
Get started
Want help getting a student organized? Call (888) 305 5422, email contact@blackburnmentoring.com or start with a short assessment. A member of our team reviews every assessment personally and sets up a free intro call.