A planner with a weekly schedule. Photo by Benjamin Ellerbrook
By: Benjamin Ellerbrook
As midterms approach, many students—particularly freshmen—face stress from juggling multiple exams and projects all due in the same week. Effectively managing time becomes crucial as they navigate the challenges of studying for several subjects simultaneously.
The Learning Center at Texas Tech offers students different academic resources to aid in their success, such as peer tutoring and supplemental instruction. Peer tutoring is peer-to-peer help for students in classes with high enrollment, such as Chemistry 1307 or Math 2300. Supplemental instruction is a study group where students go through a guided handout together.
Managing Time
Time management strategies provided by TTU Support Operations for Academic Retention.
Learning Center Director Patrick Bohn said students should be constantly practicing time management skills, not just during midterms or finals week.
“We only have a certain amount of time during the day,” Bohn said. “We have certain things we need to accomplish. Students should be focusing on time management from the beginning of the semester and lay out a plan of what they have to do.”
Bohn recommends that students utilize a scheduling app or planner with an hour-by-hour daily layout, starting by inputting their class schedule. If students have work commitments, they should also incorporate those into their planning to create a comprehensive schedule.
“There are a lot of students who think they are busier than they are, so we always suggest they start with their schedule,” he said. “Outside of class, you have more flexibility. You can start branching out into other things you would like to do, whether it is going to a football game, study time, or an organization you would like to belong to.
This advice highlights the importance of time management for students facing academic challenges. Balancing coursework and extracurricular activities can be daunting, but effective planning can help. Senior nursing student Ashley Van Gundy knows this well, as she regularly juggles two exams each week in her demanding program.
“I focus on one day at a time, and I like to schedule different days for different objectives,” Van Gundy said. “I have exams on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so what I would do is have all my homework and blueprints done by Friday and Saturday. I will take Sundays to rest or finish everything I didn’t finish on the weekend. Then Monday, I will focus on my Tuesday exam, and then Wednesday focus on the Thursday exam.”
Van Gundy emphasizes that while planning is essential, students should also remember to be kind to themselves during this learning process.
“It is important to plan ahead, but one thing I always say to people who ask me questions on how to be the best nursing student is, ‘The best student you can be is the healthiest student you can be,’” Van Gundy said. “The healthiest student you can be is one who takes breaks, one who schedules self-care time, one who gives themselves grace and is flexible.”
Bohn said different time management skills are going to work differently for different students but being proactive in managing time and not waiting until the last minute prevents stressing yourself out.
“Some students are partial to physical planners because it helps keep them on task,” Bohn said. “Some people are into digital things and have apps that remind them about everything. There is something called the Pomodoro time management method where you spend 20-25 minutes doing something, then take a 5–10-minute break. On TV and movies, you see this idea where you have to spend four hours the night before an exam studying to do well, but you typically do not have to do that unless you put yourself in that position.”
Van Gundy recommended having a daily to-do list and once you finished that to-do list, do not do any more.
Managing Stress
TTU Support Operations for Academic Retention recommends a four-step process for dealing with stress.
- Recognize the Stress – understand stress is going to happen.
- “Stop the Stress” – when a stressful situation occurs, stop. Take time to understand the stress before you respond to it.
- Organize the Stress – is the stress out of your control? Is the stress immediately going to impact you?
- Respond to the Stress – now that you have organized the stress, respond to it appropriately.
Similar to time management strategies, Bohn said stress relief is different for each student.
“What is stress relief for me may not be stress relief for somebody else,” Bohn said. “At this point, students should kind of know what things bring them joy, what things they enjoy doing, and they need to allow themselves time to do those things when they hit those stressful points.”
Bohn also introduced the concept of energy management, emphasizing that each person has a finite amount of energy to draw from throughout the day. This approach encourages students to be mindful of how they allocate their energy to maximize productivity and well-being.
“We are most productive at certain times of the day,” he said. “Some of us are most productive from 8-11 in the morning then it starts going downhill. Some students are most productive in the afternoons or late evenings. Using the idea of energy helps students wrap their heads around it. When you start thinking about needing to do something tough, then you need to do it when you have the most energy because it will be easier for you to do. If you try to accomplish something that is going to take a lot of time and effort at the time of day where you are least effective, it is not going to work.”
Prioritizing Time
Van Gundy emphasized her planning method by saying it is important for her to start studying for exams the week before, that way she does not feel as stressed the week of her exams.
“The week before the exam, I would take a couple hours in little boxes to start studying for different classes,” Van Gundy said. “I would take a little time for chemistry, then take a break, then take some time for pre-calculus, then take another break. Then the day before the exam, I am only studying for that class.”
Building on this idea of proactive studying, Bohn pointed out that students tend to perform better in subjects they are comfortable with, often requiring less preparation time.
“It is going to be the classes you are struggling with that are going to take more time and more effort,” Bohn said. “If you go back to the energy idea, you are going to spend your most effective time when you are at your peak performance focusing on the class you are struggling more in. You have to figure out when your peak performance is and plan to study for that particular test or subject when you are firing on all cylinders.”
Bohn further advised students to begin their exam preparations early, especially for subjects they find difficult.
“You know you are going to have to designate more time for the classes you are struggling and that is when you can spread it out,” Bohn said. “If you have a test in two weeks, you should start studying a little bit every day now up until that two-week mark hits. If you wait until the last minute, and it is a subject you struggle in, it is going to be tough to be successful on that test.”
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