If your to-do list is getting longer and longer because you can’t overcome your inner pig, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll show you how to get everything back under control with good self-management! Effective self-management is important to manage every task and project in your studies – and in your life – without stress.
Let’s get started with seeing things through! The first thing to do is to get an overview of all your to-dos. To do this, it’s best to write down all the appointments, tasks and deadlines that are buzzing around in your head and organize them by category. After that, you should think about which goals you actually pursue and then arrange them according to your personal relevance. This way you can determine which tasks are important and which you can put on the back burner for now.
This brings us to the next step, organizing. Since the tasks in the university can often be quite complex and therefore daunting, it is helpful to divide them into individual work steps, sort them and complete them one by one. Working along individual manageable subtasks will help you work through your to-do list more easily and without pressure.
Let’s move on to dividing. To manage all your tasks in the long run, you need a good schedule. In any case, you should take advantage of your bio-rhythm. You’ve probably noticed by now when you’re especially fit at university and when you’re mainly busy trying not to fall asleep. You should time your study and work phases accordingly. It is also helpful to set concrete deadlines for your individual work steps. This way you will work in a more focused and goal-oriented way.
Let’s move on to the fourth step: execution. Here the first rule is: singletasking instead of multitasking. This means that you should not work on several tasks at the same time, but rather devote your full attention to just one thing at a time. In addition, it is best to work in stages. These are learning units in which you focus completely on your task and are not distracted by anything. So it’s best to put your smartphone away or turn it off – checking messages and surfing the Internet belong in the breaks between your learning units.
And that brings us to the last step: letting go. Holistic self-management should not only help you to complete your tasks efficiently – it is just as important to gain distance from your tasks and not to let the pressure to perform become too great. Therefore you should be aware that you can’t always do everything perfectly. And even if you write a bad grade or miss a deadline – mistakes happen! The important thing is that you don’t lose motivation in the long run, but learn from them.