Not everyone views the concept of time the same way: for some people it is a horizontal line, others view it as a cycle of recurring events. No matter what time is for you, your professors may have other ideas about the deadlines for your work. That is why efficient time management is a loophole to save nerves and improve your marks.
Prioritize
Although the to-do list is usually the first piece of advice for novices, not everyone can follow it through in the right way. For example, if your bullet points include both “pay a visit to the new ice-cream place” and “send an e-mail to the professor”, it is pretty clear which one is more pleasurable to do first. Therefore, prioritizing is essential: while making a to-do list you can number the assignments according to the order in which they need to be done, from the most urgent to the least urgent. Then strictly follow it. If your urgency is more or less the same, another trick is to order your tasks from the one you want to do the least, to the most. Following such a plan will get you rid of tasks that put pressure on you and help clear your head.
Avoid Multitasking
Multitasking may seem like a solution to kill two birds with one stone, or, in our case, two tasks in one hour, but unfortunately, not everyone is capable of having such an omnipotent power. While multitasking, the productivity of the work lowers, and in most cases, you will have to start from scratch to achieve a decent result, losing more time in the process. It is better to concentrate on one thing only, and do it perfectly. Remember, that this does not concern creating an atmosphere: you can still turn on some music in the background if it makes you focus on the task.
Self-discipline
Training your self-discipline is crucial if you want to achieve success. Maybe you are one of those people who cannot function until they have removed all the notification bubbles from their phones. If that is the case, train yourself to stop procrastination. Turn off the phone and enjoy a whole afternoon of productivity. You will realize the world has not stopped spinning while you did not pay attention to it.
Organize Your Deadlines
Imagine that writing your paper is the same as reaching the top of a giant staircase. Your deadline is within a month. Now, you have two options. The first one is to set up a camp under the staircase and ignore the assignment completely, until it is the night before the deadline, when you will have no choice but to run up two steps at a time, stumbling and falling, without having had any physical training. Sounds familiar? The second, and better, option is to ascend a few steps at a time, taking deep breaths and having some time to enjoy the view. The same goes for your deadlines: it is a good way to count how many steps you need to do per day in order not to run a whole marathon on the last night.