Why time management is important in university?
 |
| Source: Stellenbosch University twitter |
When arriving in university for
the very first time from high school things can become really difficult at the
beginning. Sometimes you may feel that you spend most of your time just trying
to keep up with your lecture notes and assignments because you have not gotten
used to the pace at which work is expected to be done at university level.
Students usually feel that they are overwhelmed by the work and feel that they
have no time to spare for themselves. I have to say that many students feel
this way in their first year of study. Some are convinced that they will never
have enough time for a social life while they are still in university and
always wait for vacations to do all of this.
The greater the amount of time
one spends doing their course work the less at risk he or she is in from
failing courses as logic suggests. But also, the less interaction a person has
with others the higher risks the person has of feeling overwhelmed and stressed
out by their course work. These people may often get so stuck in their course
work that they sometimes do not become aware of what is happening in their
surroundings. They sort of lose a sense of reality because their lives are now
controlled by their course work. These people are also at risk of over working
themselves and are at higher risk of being stressed out.
Also in university there are
those students who do not know or fail to allocate enough time to their course
work and end up falling behind on their work and always have to be playing a
catch up game. These students do not stress much during the semester and only
begin to stress when they hear the DP list is soon to be published because they
know they have not been working hard throughout the semester. Therefore as a
student in university or as a high school student planning to come to
university it becomes important that you understand the concept of time
management and use it efficiently.
Within a school environment learners are also
expected to be able to use their time wisely, it is no different when you come
to university the exact same process applies. The only difference in the
university environment is that there is nobody watching over you or advising
you on how to manage your time therefore students who weren’t self-disciplined
in high school will find it difficult to survive in the university environment.
The essence of time management
lies in the ability of a student to distinguish the difference between study
time and play time. Students have different preferences so I cannot advice you
on how to structure your own study time table. But as a student you have to
understand that at the end of the day you did not come to university to have
fun. So obviously your priority has to be course work. But this does not mean
that this is all you should be doing because there are other key aspects to
being a successful student. You have to strive to be an all-rounder, your
health should be on point, you can’t be looking like your father while in your
20’s so make sure you make time to cook a proper meal if you live by yourself,
get exercise if you want to be an over achiever. Also, try and socialise with
as many people as you can without affecting your study time. The goal is to try
and make your life as exciting as possible without having to compromise on your
study time. Be adventurous, sticking to one routine is what leads to people
being bored and stressed out.
The problem students have with
managing their time in university comes when students only want to have as much
fun as possible while doing the least possible work or when they want to work
all the time without having a little bit fun to keep themselves sane. Therefore
achieving a balance between the two is essential , so make sure that you are
enjoying what you are studying, attend all your tutorials and lectures and
reward yourself for all the hard work you have been doing by having a little
bit of fun.
