The goal of this page is to provide a time management guide for students who do not have a traditional schedule or who do not live on campus. If you are working, raising a family, commuting, or juggling multiple responsibilities, this is for you.
If you need a conversation partner as you plan out your schedule, schedule an Academic Coaching appointment.
- Time Management With a Busy Schedule
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- Prioritize your tasks and set realistic goals
- Set up a consistent study space with essential technology
- If possible, sit somewhere you don’t typically lounge or do other activities in
- Minimize distractions: Place in another room and silence notifications
- If you need to be available by phone, manage the settings so that you only receive notifications you need, then turn on the ring tone and place it out of sight
- Utilize to-do lists
- Break responsibilities down into specific tasks that include academic and other responsibilities
- Keep track of deadlines with a physical planner or a calendar app
- Use the Pomodoro technique
- Select a single task from your to-do list, work for 25 minutes, take a 5-minute break, repeat
- Set boundaries
- Communicate with your roommates, friends, and family that you are trying to get work done
- Prioritize your well-being
This video recaps some of these ideas, and this infographic displays it in a visual way.
The steps below guide you through how to manage your college tasks while balancing a busy schedule. You can also visit Study Lab for more tools and resources.
How To Set a Weekly Study Schedule
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Step 1: Calculate Your Available Time
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What to do: Calculate how you spend your time each week, then adjust as needed to make space for your priorities.
To create a schedule that works for you, the first step is to determine how much time you have available to study and how much time you have for other activities and commitments. You can utilize this online time management calculator to visualize how minor changes could help you organize your time efficiently. See this example representing a student working a full-time job and enrolled in a part-time course load.
Busy schedule? The general rule of thumb for coursework is 3 hours outside of class per 1 credit hour (i.e., 9 hours for a 3-credit course). However, you should adapt that rule in a realistic way that meets your priorities. The quality of learning matters more than the amount of time you spend on it.
- Step 2: Understand the Learning Cycle
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What to do: Prioritize learning in a consistent routine.
This is a model that helps you visualize a weekly routine for your studying. The format is simple: As you plan each week, identify what you need to do before, during, and after your lectures. Then, at the end of the week, reflect on how the week went and make adjustments for the next. For additional study strategies, see Active Study Strategies.
The Learning Cycle builds in time each week to study, review, and practice what you are learning rather than waiting until deadlines approach. For test-based courses (like many science courses), this allows you to practice “spaced review,” which means testing yourself repeatedly over time, strengthening your long-term memory. For courses based on reading, writing, and discussion (like many humanities courses), this routine helps you make incremental progress on large projects and clarify your ideas. Continue below for steps on how to make this into a fixed weekly routine.
Working full-time? You don’t need large blocks of time to build your own Learning Cycle. Even 15-30 minutes in a consistent routine can add up to deeper learning and stronger memory.
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Step 3: Create a Weekly Task List
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What to do: Create a list of tasks you need to complete each week, including what is required as well as tasks that you determine are necessary for your learning.
Breaking down your coursework into specific tasks can make it easier to take action and can free up mental energy for studying. Tasks might include reading before class, actively reviewing notes, completing practice problems, or working on a long-term project or paper. This list will naturally vary each week, but in the next step you will explore how to make it into a consistent routine. Take this one step further and order your list by highest to lowest priority.
Working full-time? Include home tasks (maintenance, finances, meals, errands, etc.) in your weekly list to help you account for these responsibilities within your weekly routine.
The key is to include tasks on this weekly list that you need to do to work towards exams and projects, rather than only required assignments. For example, if you have an exam in one month, you actively review course content as you learn it each week. If you have a paper due in two months, you might identify the individual tasks you will need to complete to write that paper and add those tasks into your weekly routine. Add active strategies to the list to strengthen your learning each week. See example lists below.
Table: Example Weekly Course Task List
Course Biology American Literature Meeting times Monday, Wednesday, Friday plus Recitation Tuesday, Thursday Tasks - Review previously learned concepts
- Preview textbook chapter before lecture
- Actively review notes after lecture
- Complete practice questions
- Complete homework assignment
- Visit office hours and tutoring
- Complete required readings before class
- Actively review notes after class
- Write weekly reflection
- Work on one step of research paper
- Visit office hours
- Visit the Writing Center while working on a paper
Read more here, and download a blank weekly task list (PDF).
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Step 4: Establish a Weekly Routine That Fits Your Schedule
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What to do: Create a permanent schedule using the weekly task list and keep track of assignments and deadlines as they come up.
Build your schedule: Map your tasks and responsibilities onto a recurring weekly schedule that gives you a routine so that your learning builds over time. Decide what day you will do each task (e.g., preview Biology lecture on the same day you attend that lecture). If you prefer, go one step further and specify what time you will do each task (known as "time-blocking"). Create your weekly schedule using a planner, smartphone app, computer, graphic organizer, whiteboard calendar, or whatever works best for you. See here for a printable template (Weekly Task List Template, page 2).
Taking online classes? Create a regular "learning block” in your schedule to replace a live class session. Use this time to complete the reading assignment for the week or watch a video or recorded lecture. Then, complete routine tasks before, during, and after that activity that will strengthen your learning (e.g., brain dump what you know about the topic before reading, take notes on key points during a recorded lecture, or explain or even recreate an educational video after watching it).
Taking evening classes? If you don’t have enough time to review after an evening lecture, set aside time the next day. Consider spending even ten minutes during a break at work to preview before a night class or review a previous lecture.
Here is a hypothetical schedule representing a student working full-time during first shift (most common business hours) and taking evening or online classes.
Have an unpredictable schedule that makes consistency a challenge? Keep your schedule loose and rely more on your weekly task list. Rank your tasks by priority so that whenever you have 15 minutes to spare, you can make meaningful progress.
Alternatively, use a permanent to-do list with tasks organized by day so that you can stay consistent while easily rearranging the time that you do each task if your schedule changes.
- Adapting to a Nontraditional Schedule
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Here are tips to help you adapt to your unique schedule, whether you are taking online or evening classes, balancing caring for others at home, or navigating a job while being a student:
- Effective study tasks can be incorporated into smaller blocks of time, wherever you can fit them in.
- The benefit of active review is that you can keep learning without having to commit to long study sessions - even if it is only 5 minutes immediately after and 15-30 minutes here and there 24-48 hours after
- Include non-academic tasks, such as responsibilities at home, in your weekly task list and schedule, and if possible, build them into your routine
- Move routine tasks from one day to the next (or previous) as needed to adapt to other responsibilities – if you can't review lecture notes after an evening class, do it the next day instead
- Schedule a learning block for completing learning activities for asynchronous courses
- Schedule separate hours during each day for school versus work versus rest/family/home to create structure
- Prioritize tasks, especially if consistency is difficult to maintain
- Make connections between what you're learning and the experiences and knowledge you've gained to strengthen your grasp of new information
- Plan ahead for the week leading up to an exam or a paper deadline so you are prepared for longer study sessions.