Do you ever feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day? Do you feel like you have more things to get done than you have time to complete them? If so, these time management tips and tricks might help you feel less stressed and actually enjoy getting your tasks done.

Being a senior who takes rigorous courses, plays multiple sports, and still wants to have a social life, I’ve got a lot on my plate, and sometimes it’s hard to get everything I want and, more importantly, need to get done accomplished.

These few simple suggestions are the only reason I’m able to get all my tasks done, and hopefully, they’ll help you manage your time better.

PUT YOUR PHONE AWAY.

I’ll be the first to admit: it’s hard. We’ve become so addicted to these tiny little devices, 

it’s just flat out hard to put them down sometimes. 

They’re not evil, but when they start getting in the way of what’s really

important–homework, practices, even sleep–that’s when you should realize your phone

is keeping you from getting what your tasks done.

If you have a little bit more self-control, you can simply just place your phone on the

charger while you complete your to-do list. 

If you’re more like me, and placing your phone on the charger is just too tempting so

you take “breaks” every so often, it’s probably better to place it in a separate room until

your task is complete.

Another option is to limit your screen time. If you know you’ve got a busy week ahead of

you, and you’re going to need every bit of time to get everything done, limit your screen

time to something you think is reasonable that way you don’t even have to worry about

temptation winning.

Anyway, those are just a couple suggestions about how to keep yourself from wasting

time by scrolling for hour after hour on your phone when you’ve got work to do, but I

think the biggest tip you can take away from this article is to put your phone away.

Putting your phone away is the first step in time management; it acknowledges where

your time really needs to be spent, and it’s not scrolling on TikTok for three hours straight.

Prioritize having a good sleep schedule.

I know it sounds silly, almost obvious. You’re probably thinking, “Duh, but what does this have to do with time management?”

It’s simple really: if you’re not getting enough sleep, you’re not going to have the energy to get everything done. And when you don’t have the energy, that’s when you’re going to start doing things half as well as you would normally.

And it’s not just getting enough sleep; it’s being consistent in your sleep schedule, too.

Being consistent with sleep will clear your brain and leave you feeling refreshed enough to do your tasks. When you’re all out of sorts, it’s hard to get things done effectively. 

Basically, getting enough sleep and having a consistent sleep schedule will allow you to complete your tasks to the best of your ability.

Get a planner!

If you’re like me, and you’re trying to juggle seven periods of homework assignments, what time you’re practicing this week, and when and where you have games, when this form is due, when that field trip is, and just on and on and on… it can get a little confusing.

Sometimes just trying to keep up with everything you have to do seems like more work

than the actual work itself!

Getting a planner, a calendar, even just a sheet of paper where you write down what it is you have to do each day, will help you stay on track of what tasks you need to complete and by when.

For me, a planner has proven to be the most useful because it’s kind of got everything you need wrapped up into one book. I’ve got my calendar where I write my practice and game schedules, what SGA field events we have, and etcetera. Then, it goes deeper into my weekly to-do list, where I write my assignments from each day. 

My planner helps me keep track of everything, but it also helps me feel accomplished 

when I mark through my completed assignments. It helps me know when I’m free to hang out with my friends and family. And it gives me an opportunity to practice my calligraphy, which I enjoy.

So having and completing your planner doesn’t have to just be another task you put on your list. Have some fun with it! I think you’ll find your brain will feel a lot less scattered, which will help you get everything completed.

Rank your tasks from most to least important.

I think it’s a given that some of your tasks are going to be more important than others, but it’s also a preference thing. You have to decide what’s most important to you.

This one’s pretty self-explanatory; you simply gather all the things you need/want to get done and place what you think is most important on top, least important on bottom, and fill in the middle respectively.

Doing this will allow you to have a list of all your so-called “assignments” on hand and get what’s most important to you done first.

Sometimes, you just don’t have enough time. It’s as simple as that. It’s not fun, and it’s frustrating, and you don’t like it, but it’s the truth. 

So in cases like that, where you have too many things to do and not enough time to do them, ranking your tasks from most to least important and completing them in that order will at least allow you to get the ones you see need to get done first out of the way.

Alright, let’s do a quick recap: Put your phone away, prioritize having a good sleep schedule, get a planner, and rank your tasks from most to least important.

These few simple tips and tricks seem almost too simple to even help, but remember: it’s the little things in life!

I think if you try these few easy suggestions you’ll find they’ll really help you in your time management needs!