Time management is a key to academic success. The sooner you understand it, the better. From knowledge of time-saving hacks you will work smarter and feel less tired.
It can be a challenge to plan your time and stick to your schedule. But you stand to gain from understanding the peculiarities of your biorhythms. Biorhythm is an internal “body clock” which regulates the rise and fall of your energies. It affects physical, emotional and intellectual aspects of the human organism.
The individual cycles are divided into two groups. The early risers are more active in the first half of the day. Evening people or night owls prefer working late hours. Night owls sometimes are accused of being lazy because given a chance they will sleep in. Mike Gardner, a time management coach, believes it’s unjustified. Just as early-risers do their best in the morning, night owls find late-night hours more productive for getting meaningful work done.
Let’s consider 10 time-management useful tips for the both types!
1. Find your optimal time to wake up
Early-risers don’t need an alarm clock. They are alert in the morning and at noon. They have an appetite and don’t miss breakfast.
If you are a morning person, start your day on good terms. Do morning exercises, yoga, or jogging. This will hearten your body and mind.
Avoid oversleeping, if you’re a night owl. It lowers your effectiveness. Get to work starting with a challenging part of a task you are curious about. Remember that the night owls’ appetite rises in the afternoon together with their work performance.
2. Schedule studying as your regular morning activity
Both early risers and night owls need some morning routine. Let it be studying. If you make constant effort to do your best in the morning, the result will be not long in coming.
Studying at the same time every day establishes a routine. It becomes a regular part of your life, just like eating and sleeping. When the scheduled study time comes up, you will be mentally prepared for it.
3. Drink coffee smart
Humans often interfere with their body clocks, either deliberately or by accident. For example, you may drink coffee, stay awake at night and experience fatigue in the morning after having not enough sleep.
Early-risers can feel tired around 2-3 p.m. Drink a cup of coffee or a strong tea to cheer up.
Night owls can also have another cup of coffee before 2 p.m. Consuming caffeine late hours increases odds to have a sleepless night.
4. Record your performance during the day
Schedule activities around your body cycle as much as possible. Get a diary, organizer planner or an electronic tool. Plan your time in the following way:
- Enter all your fixed commitments, such as classes, seminars, team practices and part-time jobs.
- Mark in the times for study blocks. Let your study time coincide with the times of your energy peaks.
- Mark in non-study activities.
You can evaluate your productivity in your planner. Thus, you will discover your best time of the day to learn. Later, you will be able to improve your schedule according to your observations.
5. Define hours you are good at creative work
Use your time wisely. Feeling exhausted, frustrated or overwhelmed? There’s no point in staying up late or force yourself write an essay early hours if you don’t feel inspired.
In perspective, morning and late night hours are not much different. Both dayparts are quiet and have the fewest distractions. Use your preferable time for your creative work and enjoy the peace and quiet.
But don’t overleap oneself! It can be hard to stop when it’s 3:00 a.m. and your creative juices are still flowing… Still, try not to disturb you sleep cycle.
6. Do monotonous tasks when you’re most awake and focused
Your ability to focus is limited. Mental fatigue plays a part in preventing you from exhaustion. Follow your own biological rhythm in order to leverage your most productive time. Learn the most complex material when you are attentive and awake. Get down to a challenging research when your physical energy rises.
For early-risers, this is easier. Aim to get your most important assignments accomplished first.
For night owls, this is a bit more tricky. Try to mechanize as much as you can throughout the day. In the evening you will still have mental reserves.
7. Set the priorities
Make a list of learning tasks in the order of importance. You can use The Eisenhower Matrix. It is one of the best ways to prioritize projects by urgency and importance.
If you are an early riser, plan your studying routine in decreasing order. The assignment you are up to in the afternoon can be a hard nut to crack at night. Start your day with the most important tasks. It’s a right time to do researches, write papers and make calculations.
If you are a night owl, plan your daily activities in increasing order. Start from studying the subjects you are interested in. Write the most complicated assignments at the end of the day.
8. Take breaks
Avoid marathon study sessions. If you try to handle too much at one time, you’ll end up tired and ineffective.
Create blocks of studying time with plenty of breaks. Blocks around 40 to 50 minutes are perfect. But they may be longer or shorter. It depends on the difficulty of the subject and your ability to focus.
Have a snack, breathe some fresh air or do exercises! You will restore your mental energy.
If a tough deadline forces an early-riser to burn the midnight oil, it’s better to have a nap in the afternoon. It will recharge your energy.
9. Switch from one activity to another
Don’t spend too much time on one task or subject in a single study session. It results in boredom and inattention. And dullness is a productivity killer! Some students put off their study session because of lack of interest in the subject. But let’s look at some tricks!
The most effective study session is a mix of activities. Change subjects and learning techniques! When you feel pessimistic because of an academic paper, cheer yourself up with a task you find engaging, pleasurable and not stressful. You will avoid burnout and apathy.
10. Have a good night sleep
You need enough sleep, no matter what your biorhythm is. But don’t overdo it! Owls, don’t sleep until noon even if you went to bed at 3:00 a.m. Too much sleep can leave you groggy and unmotivated.
Too little is also harmful to your well-being. It’s the most evident consequence is sleepiness. It impacts your college performance! Furthermore, dreaming is essential to the psyche. It provides an opportunity for the brain to “clean out” the information.
To be an early riser or a night owl is not a question of better or worse! Find out what biorhythmic type you are. It’s about understanding your organism and being productive. Manage your studies in a proper way! Listen to your body clock, as it is a perfect time planning machine.
About the Author: Jennifer Lockman is freelance writer and student majoring in Journalism. She contributes to EssayService as blogger and editor. Follow her on twitter. She never minds discussing psychology, self-development and e-learning.
