Effective time management skills are essential for getting the most out of your college experience and it can be one of the most frustrating and/or rewarding challenges that one can face while pursuing a college degree. Depending on one’s lifestyle, juggling the many different tasks as a student, parent, employee, or all three, can be rather challenging at times. As college students, managing time properly to ensure all tasks are completed on time and to fullest potential can mean the difference between passing and failing. All students have the same 24 hours in a day and the same seven days in a week, but the crucial skill of effectively managing time seems to create problems for some while working to the benefit of others. For those who are struggling to manage their time effectively in order to complete tasks, it is important to develop a research strategy to overcome this frustrating dilemma.
What Time Management is
The first step in developing a time management strategy is to overcome poor time management skills and to understand what time management is. According to Carter, Bishop, & Kravits (2007), “time management allows you to complete work on a reasonable schedule and minimize stress.” The purpose of time management is to accomplish goals and tasks by effectively constructing and managing one’s schedule. In the book Keys to College Studying: Becoming an Active Thinker, Carter, Bishop, & Kravits (2007) state that “goal achievement is directly linked to effective time management.” If an individual fails to set and stick to a strict schedule that encompasses all their tasks, goals, and responsibilities in a realistic timeframe, it will then be difficult to accomplish everything in a given period. To help develop a plan when focusing on time management strategies, it is important...