The routine of classes, work, homework, and sleep doesn’t sound too exciting, yet it's a reality for many students. Having a job does open many doors to being more financially independent, but it frequently comes at the cost of studies or leisure time. The chances are you have heard of time management being key in juggling all your responsibilities. And while your time allocation can never be perfect, it can come close with these recommendations.
Be realistic in your abilities
Setting a schedule is key to better time control. You can use different approaches:
- The 7-8-9 rule could mean setting time for sleep, work/study, and personal activities.
- The 3-3-3 rule for dividing tasks according to their length and importance.
However, even if you squeeze in and perform all the activities in their designated slots, you won’t feel satisfied and fulfilled. After all, you don’t want to just live by your schedule; for a comfortable lifestyle, your schedule should work for you. Thus, don’t be set on your schedule; be realistic when planning. For instance, you might imagine being ready to focus on work for 3 hours straight, but in reality, you might struggle to feel motivated or productive.
So, consider shifting your schedule instead of wasting three hours of frustration and pushing yourself. Everyone is also unique, meaning different approaches might help them focus on the task. One popular trend involves watching others study on social media, but you should try to find what works for you (like listening to motivational and upbeat tracks).
Changing your habits with tools
You can take a more modern or aggressive approach to achieving your goals:
- If social media and other apps are genuine time wasters, consider blocking access while studying. Most smartphones allow you to do this, but if not, you can find third-party apps.
- Task manager apps let you quickly see all assignments, deadlines, and progress in one place. Furthermore, you can even gamify your experience through apps that transform task tracking into games.
- Visual boards simplify note-taking and help you create next-level study material.
- Tools like Zoom or Google Meet can help you organize study groups, with each student feeling supported through their tasks.
The lifestyle of a working student
Most students work part-time, allowing them to participate in classes and have more study time. Even then, the remaining time might be insufficient if you want to experience more, such as a spontaneous outing with your roommates. However, you can explore more flexible money-earning opportunities from home:
Freelancing
Freelancing can become a very successful method of earning money for students. If you have specific skills, such as writing or graphic design, use them! You can explore various options, from video editing to tutoring. The benefit of this is that you choose your working hours.
Selling digital products
Repeatable income is an incredible opportunity, possible by selling various digital goods like planners, templates, ebooks, images, tutorials, or artwork. It generates passive income, meaning you can earn money from buyers without any additional effort after the initial effort of creating the product.
Passive income
Sometimes, you don’t need any effort to make extra money online. For instance, you can sell your notes and study guides. Of course, you might need to digitize them, but thanks to various tools, your handwritten notes will quickly turn into digital products.
On the other hand, some options, like sharing unused internet bandwidth, are available whenever you need money now but don’t have enough time for additional activities. With internet sharing, the services paying for your contributions do not require any unique setup or effort. The same applies to cashback apps, letting you earn some money back from your purchases in physical and online stores.
Conclusion
Students can struggle to find the time for everything: studies, jobs, friends, and relaxation. Yet, by improving your time management, you can quickly discover your biggest time wasters and settle on particular priorities for your activities.
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