Managing your time is probably the most important survival skill you will ever develop. We all have the same amount of time each week - 168 hours - and how we use it can make the difference in whether we're successful or not. Here are some tips to consider that can help you manage your time better.

Identify the essentials.

• Work commitments. If you have a job make sure your boss knows you are going to school, when the classes are, and what you are trying to accomplish.
• Classroom attendance. Find out from each of your instructors what is expected from you - will classroom participation impact your grade? Is interacting with other students and the instructor essential to learning?
• Family obligations. If you have a spouse, children, or others who depend upon you for emotional, as well as tangible support, make sure they know how much time is required for schoolwork. Don't completely abandon your family commitments - this will have consequences as well. You can generate a lot of unnecessary stress by alienating a spouse, your children, or others who are personally important to you because it appears that you don't have time for them any more.

Prioritize your available time.

• How much time is required for study? Rule of thumb: 3 hours of study, research, and assignment preparation is required for every hour of classroom work. But don't study for more than 2 hours at a time. Take a break every half hour or so, get up, move around, and do something radically different from studying - check your e-mail, get some refreshments, make a phone call, or whatever to give your mind a break. When you come back to studying spend a few minutes reviewing what you have already covered before you move on to a new area.
• Don't forget eating, sleeping, and your health. You can cut corners once in a while - but don't make a habit of eating on the run, staying up late and getting up early the next day or your health will soon start to fail. Depending on caffeine drinks to stay awake isn't wise and poor performance in the classroom and on the job won't help you with your grades or your work obligations. If you can't stay awake at work, or fall asleep in the classroom eventually your academic career (as well as other aspects of your life) will suffer.
• Use the tools your instructors give you. Many instructors will give you a course overview, list objectives, describe learning outcomes, or outline the main points that will be covered. Use these handouts to keep you focused on the class and to help you keep pace with the learning requirements. More about the value of these tools is covered in the note-taking section.
• Don't wait till the last minute to start a class project or research assignment. If you know that you have a project, research assignment, or other large, daunting task associated with a class it is best to get started on it right away. Divide the task up into small chunks and try to complete a chunk at a time. Work backward from the final product. If research is required, save yourself some time, and make sure you annotate your sources while your gathering the info - you'll need it for your footnotes later. This requirement is discussed further in research and projects.

Online classes are options.

• Check to see what is available. Online classes offer flexibility when your schedule won't fit the classroom schedule. Make sure your online classes are accredited, will meet your academic requirements, and that you can adapt to their unique requirements. Don't confuse flexibility with time saving. Most online classes will require just as much reading, studying, researching, and reporting as a traditional course. And if you are uncomfortable reading off a computer screen - then maybe online courses are not for you!
• What's your computer situation? If you tie up the family computer for your online study (in addition to your report writing, researching, and other computer-dependent tasks associated with your traditional courses) will you have the support and understanding of other computer users in your household? Do you have a high-speed connection or can you live with dial-up speed? How are your computer skills? These are all questions that you need to think about when you start analyzing the time management challenges your college career can present.

Set up a calendar/schedule.

• Keep an academic calendar. Once you have your class schedule mark your classes on the calendar, annotate known test dates, and dates when major projects, research papers, or other large tasks are due.
• Set up a study schedule. Based on the time assessment you have done start blocking off study times. This should include planning for homework completion, reading, studying, and research, report writing, and test preparation.
• Make room on your calendar for others. Make sure you also mark other important events like birthdays, anniversaries, and take into account holidays that occur during the academic term.

Identify disposable time.

• What can you give up? If you work full-time and have an hour lunch, can you "brown-bag" it, and use this time to study? Do you commute using public transportation - can you use this time to review notes or flash cards? Do you have family obligations that turn you into a chauffeur? - Why not use your time waiting on the kids to study, review your notes, or study flash cards? Look at your day - where can you convert time to your advantage? Record favorite TV shows so you can watch them on your schedule - not the networks'! These are just a few areas where you can maximize your time, we're sure you can find others.
• Time wasters can be people too! Just because you've been friends since third grade doesn't mean that you are attached at the hip! Hanging out with your friends isn't a bad thing, but if you spend more time than you can afford then maybe you should avoid doing so until you can control the amount of time you spend with them. Use your home answering machine to screen incoming calls, this way you can return important calls on your schedule and not interrupt your study time. Turn off your cell phone as well when you study. Take control of your time.