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Have you ever felt that time just slips through your fingers without you gaining any ground? You can not find a balance between your studying/working and personal life? You feel stressed because of the time pressure, so you just procrastinate? It’s okay, we’ve all been there. You probably just don’t know how to manage your time properly. These 6 tips can help you not only to manage your time smartly and to successfully reach all of your goals, but also to keep your sanity!

1. Set your priorities

The key to your success is the right priorities. For example, imagine a flashlight. If you turn it on and leave it on for several days, even though you don’t need it, the battery will drain quickly. What happens in a week when you really need a flashlight? Nothing, the battery went dead. Time management works in the same way. You should manage your energy rationally and direct it first to where it is most needed. For instance, what will you need more time and effort for – to complete an important study project or to meet friends at the movies? Time management does not mean giving up your favorite things, but it means distributing your efforts and energy in a balanced way.

2. Use a calendar

You might think: ‘Duh, it’s a no-brainer, too easy!’ But yes, time management is actually easy, if you know exactly what you’re doing. And a calendar can help you with this! It can be an ordinary table calendar or one in your planner. Just keep it in a place where you can see it every day. Mark some important events, meetings, upcoming deadlines or tasks, so you won’t be afraid that you forget or miss something. You can also use digital calendars, e.g. Google Calendar, Calendly, Fantastical, Outlook Calendar, various mobile apps or even your smartphone notes and reminders. Even better is if you create it yourself, so you’ll be focused on particular tasks.

3. Start with the hardest

It probably sounds crazy and impossible, but it works. If you complete the most urgent, important and complicated task in your to-do-list at first, it will be much easier for you to do smaller things. And vice versa, if you leave your biggest goal for last, such as studying for an important test, then you will feel overwhelmed, stressed out, and anxious. Begin with the hardest, and after finishing it you will feel much better and motivated to do the rest.

4. Focus not on the past, but the present

When you face a setback (such as a bad grade or being late for a meeting), don’t obsess about what you did wrong. You can analyze and draw some conclusions, but forget it, it has already happened and will not return. It’s better to focus on what you have to do right now, not yesterday or tomorrow. When you live at the moment, pay attention to what is now, you have better control over your life, because then time’s working for you, not you for it.

5. Specific time or good old deadlines

In fact, this point is one of the most important. Going with the flow and doing things when they seem most appealing to you can become a bad habit. Studying or working without stress is great, but a little stress always goes hand in hand with time management, so it’s even useful. So, set yourself a time frame. If you plan to study, for example, from 16:00 to 19:00, then study from 16:00 to 19:00. And not from 15:50, 16:10 or 20:00, because you suddenly wanted to. Clear and strict time limits will make you a little stressed but yet will help you focus better on the task, so you will work productively.

6. Time to relax

Make sure to give yourself some breaks to chill out and do nothing. When you’re working/learning all the time, it’s quite easy to lose track of what you’re doing and why. An overworked, cluttered and disorganized mind can make you more unproductive in the long run. Overworking is harmful, you can catch burnout. Therefore, in order for time management to really work for you, you also need to know how to rest well. Go outside for a breath, run around the house, cuddle your pet or lie down on the sofa, close your eyes and quietly reflect on your activities to clear your mind.

I hope these tips were useful for you. Learn to properly organize your time, and soon you’ll see how much better and easier your life can be!