The Single Most Critical Tool for Academic Success

Last week we said we’d look at basics of success regardless of age and stage in your academic career.

Out of all the main skills for academic success, if I were to pick one that my clients benefit most from building, it would be time management. Confidence, stress reduction, memory, study techniques, test savvy, motivation–all of these incrementally build toward success, and all of them can be short-circuited without consistent reliance on the tools and skills of time management.

So what is time management? At the core, time management is building efficiency in the effort you spend to get the result you are looking for.

The best tool my clients have found useful is to write it down. This approach can be expanded and generalized and fine-tuned, but, for starters, it’s simply writing down the night before what tasks need to be done. That sounds pretty obvious, but it helps concretely lay out the tasks ahead. Write down every appointment, every deadline, every upcoming exam, including reminders early enough to avoid getting caught by surprise. You will need to have your calendar with you all of the time. So the calendar on the fridge is not the best tool here.

Next step is to prioritize the items according to urgency and importance, the so called “must-be-done items”. And looking at this list several times in the day. (Are you doing this?)

We’ll talk about further polishing in blogs to come.

We’ve just discussed the first task (write it down) and the first tools (something to write the next day’s do list on, and a portable paper or electronic calendar). If you’re already doing this, congratulations–with these two tools, you have the basics for effective accomplishment, whether as a high school student, a grad student, or studying for your Red Seal qualification.

In later blogs, I will be sharing tips on fine-tuning time management, and responding to requests to address stress management (hint: time management helps!).

In the meantime, let me know how it’s going for you. What would you like to see addressed in these blogs? [email protected]