published : 31 December 2015
You know in order to be a super student you need to learn how to establish control over your time. And it is not very difficult. All you need is to be aware of how you spend your time and learn to live according to a schedule.
Usually, we spend our time doing four types of things:
Urgent, such as answering a phone call, opening a door or dealing with some other unavoidable situation
Important, such as preparing for classes or exams, making notes, exercise, meditation
Urgent and Important, such as studying before the exam, helping in house work, finishing assignments before a deadline, etc.
Neither Urgent nor Important, such as watching a TV show, playing games on the computer, chatting on the cell phone, just hanging out, or over sleeping
An ordinary student spends most of his time on number 3 and 4. But as a super student, you should spend most of your valuable time on number 2 and 3. You should be careful that number 1 does not take up too much time and try to avoid number 4 as much as possible.
The first step in making a schedule is to make a list of important tasks such as your exam schedule, assignments, report etc. and stick it on your desk, so that you see it as soon as you enter the room. Then make another copy of the list and carry it with you in your school bag, wallet or purse.
Make a list of the tasks you will have to repeat every week and make several photocopies of the list. Use a copy of the list every week.
Break your weekly schedule into daily one. In this way you will be able to bring your whole life under a routine. Make the schedule for the next day before you go to bed at night. Your schedule might look something life this:
Date : --------------------
Saturday
Morning 5.30 – 6.00 Waking up, freshening up
Morning 6.00 – 6.30 Exercise / Yoga
Morning 6.30 – 7.00 Meditation
Morning 7.00 – 7.15 Breakfast
Morning 7.15 – 7.30 Getting ready for college
Morning 7.30 – 8.00 Going to college
Morning 8.00 – 1.00 College
Afternoon 1.00 – 3.00 Coming home, taking a shower, lunch and rest
Afternoon 3.00 -5.00 Private Tuition in Accounting
Afternoon 5.00 -7.00 Coming home, watching TV, spending time with family, dinner
Evening 7.00 – 11.00 Studying
Night 11.00 – 11.30 Meditation
Night 11.30 – 5.30 Sleep
Be realistic. Don’t make a schedule you will not be able to follow. It may take some time to understand what is realistic and what is not. But after some time you will get a grasp of it. You will enjoy the pleasure of disciplined life.
Start the day in a planned way. Then there will be a nice rhythm to the rest of the day.
Find out at what time of day or night you feel most active and energetic. Leave the most challenging, tiresome, or monotonous tasks for those times.
Keep your routine eventful. Instead of studying the same topic for hours and hours at a stretch keep some variety in the topics of study. You will find it easier to concentrate in your studies.
Remember it is not how long but how much you are studying within your scheduled time that matters.
Don’t be disappointed if you cannot follow the schedule. Try to come back to the schedule for the remaining hours of the day. Even if you can follow only 80% of your schedule, you will be ahead of most students.