Five Time-Management Tips for Sophomores

You’re likely starting to get into the rhythm of high school, or at least a little more so than freshman year. Still, every student needs a little boost at times.

Almost all students need help with time management. Here are five ways you can effectively manage your time:

SMARTPHONES = DISTRACTION MONSTERS. Did you know that a recent study showed that people have a difficult time having a conversation when their phone is just visible on the table? How can you study when you’re bombarded with Facebook alerts, news stories, emails, and texts? Computers and phones can be great educational tools, but for focused studying they really need to be turned off or on silent.

SAVE THE “FUN WORK” FOR LAST. Most students want to do the fun or easy work first and save the drudgery for later. But think about how awful it is to do taxing work late at night. Save the fun or easy work for later.

CONSISTENCY IS EVERYTHING. Try to get into good habits: keep a daily and monthly calendar, schedule reading and study time, etc. This will help you throughout your whole life. If possible, try to have a consistent, early bedtime. It’s better to finish work early in the morning than late at night.

WORK FIRST, PLAY LATER. Of course it’s important to have leisure time, but don’t switch on the TV when you get home from school. Do your work first, and if you have time for TV or friends afterwards, great.

LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES. Sometimes, you need to fail a few times before you really understand the need to better manage your time. If this happens, take a good look at what your weak spots might be, and see how you might learn from this experience. Don’t dwell on your failures--move on!

Related Articles

Signet CEO Jay Bacrania had the pleasure of speaking with Rebecca Shafir, an executive functions coach in the greater Boston area. The conversation from Feb 2018 covered managing executive functions (and dysfunctions) in students, but also topics such as mindful communication, personal responsibility, and the life lessons that will help students thrive well into adulthood. Read more

Humans are capable of extraordinary feats. We have climbed Mt. Everest, completed Iron Man triathlons, built computers, flown into deep space, and more. But the most difficult part of these accomplishments isn’t scaling the mountain or piloting the space shuttle, but rather consistently making the everyday decisions that help move one closer to these major goals. We explore how to establish routines around the various skills required to be successful in school, as well as in life. Read more

Over the years, we’ve seen that when students study, they often lose focus, getting overwhelmed by distractions (smartphone, friends) or going down a rabbit hole and spending way too much time on a single topic. In order to combat loss of focus and increase students’ productivity, we highly recommend using the Pomodoro Technique. Read on to learn how to use this technique. Read more