Time Management Secrets for College Students summary

You’ve probably heard the Magic Penny scenario before. You have to choose between taking $3 million right now or a single penny that doubles in value every day for thirty-one days. Of course the magic penny is the better choice in the long run, but it's hard for us to wrap our heads around small, daily growth adding up to something huge down the road. 

This is where time tracking comes in handy. Start tracking how you spend each hour in a day – whether it’s studying, social media, commuting, or other things. You'll quickly see where your time leaks away and where you can become more efficient. Then you can start to schedule your time purposefully based on your goals. 

Stress is an inevitable part of life, especially in college. But how you view stress makes a big difference. One study tracked 30,000 adults for eight years, asking how much stress they experienced and if they thought stress was harmful. Eight years later, researchers compared those adults with death data and found that the people who reported high stress levels and believed stress was harmful had a 43% higher risk of premature death. But this risk didn’t apply to those reporting stress who didn’t see it as harmful.

The takeaway? You might need to change your relationship with stress. The goal isn't to eliminate stress completely but to reframe how you think about it and respond. 

Staying motivated through the ups and downs of college life can be tricky. This is where it’s key to understand the salience network. This is a network in your brain that detects things that are exciting or novel and directs your attention to them. That's great when the novel thing is your studies, but not so great when it's a distraction like social media. This is a key factor in how we end up procrastinating on things that we should be prioritizing.

We have to get good at choosing when to listen to the impulse to dive into something and when to override it with conscious decisions aligned to our goals. It takes practice, but you can train your brain. When the salience network says "Check Instagram!", but you had planned to study, acknowledge the impulse but firmly tell yourself "No, I'm studying now." 

Let's do a quick brain basics crash course. Your brain contains billions of neurons that communicate through neurotransmitters like cortisol and serotonin that impact your mood.

Cortisol is the main stress hormone. High levels make it hard to focus and may contribute to anxiety or depression. Serotonin is the "feel good" hormone that regulates happiness and wellbeing. 

Energy, like time, is finite. No matter how much you have to do, you only have so much fuel in the tank. So you need to spend your energy as wisely as your time.

When your energy is running low, you have two options – create more energy, or redirect the energy you do have toward what truly matters. 

You likely have more going on in your college life than just studying. What if you have a job? If this is the case, you can communicate your class schedule and exam times with your manager so they can accommodate your student status. See if you can restrict your work hours to leave room for studies. Consider an on-campus work-study job that may offer more flexibility.

When it comes to partying, enjoy this time with friends, but keep it in moderation and aligned with your priorities. Set a drink limit for yourself on nights out and keep some days totally alcohol-free to focus on self-care. Manage your social life wisely like you manage your energy and time.