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College. It can make or break you and how to manage your time in college will be a big part of it. I know of a fella who was very intelligent but got “weeded” while he was in his third year simply because he had a lot of extra curricula activities. He went on to join another college where he graduated with his degree in engineering with distinction. What changed? The way he managed his time, or should I say,himself.

Here is how I did it back then.

Take the Course

First of all, I took a time management course. The guy who offered the course was really good at managing his time and was fairly successful so I was hooked.

List Down Your Priorities

Ask yourself why you came to this college. What is it the college will rate you for by the end of your course? Extra curricular activities like sports or hobbies or your academic performance? I learnt early during my first year that the college was interested in my academic performance so this is kind of what my priorities list looked like:

1. Get my credit degree (I don’t know why I shot for credit)
2. Develop my relationship with God
3. Make as many friends as possible

And I must say I got the first two to my satisfaction but I am not sure I got the third…anyway, the point is, I had priorities. You should have the same. It helps you weed out a lot of stuff that would take you off course. Not because they are bad, they just are not essential for you to achieve your goals.

Draw Up Your Career Path

What do you want to do in life? I always wanted to be a computer scientist but I was locked up in the education sector. After trying for a whole semester to change and failing, I decided I was going to be an language educator (aka teacher) and be good at it. So I chose all my courses towards towards that. Sure, along the way I informally studied guitar and some music but there I was, with a definite career path.

Make use of your course outline

Every college requires that the lecturers give you a course outline…at least mine did. This basically says what you will be covering in the course of the semester. I found that to be a great heads up.

I made it a point to study a topic or two ahead of the lectures. That helped to get the best out of it. I did not struggle much because I advantaged myself. The lecturer simply chiseled out the rough edges. And that helped in doing assignments as well.

Don’t Wait for the Due Date

Because of the course outlines, I was also better placed for completing the assignments without the time pressure. Once the task was given, I would do my research within that week and jot down any initial findings. We were usually given four weeks to do them and I almost always finished within three weeks with well polished assignments.

That course outline is a great tool. Use it wisely.

Fitting in the extra curricula activities

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Never mind why they picked on Jack. You need to develop yourself as well. Chose wisely, college can be a forest of extra curricula stuff for you to do. Whatever lifestyle you want to pursue, you will find the supporting structure, formal or otherwise. Make your decision wisely because most of the stuff you pick here will stay with you for a long time.