How To Manage Your Time Like A Girl Boss

As every Girl Boss knows, it’s no easy task juggling a thousand different things at once. Between school, work, and our busy social lives, it can feel impossibly overwhelming to do it all—and still have time to sleep. But never fear! These time management tips and tricks will get you back on top, living your best stress-free, Girl Boss life.

It’s important to never let due dates sneak up on you. Without constant reminders from your profs, it’s not uncommon to find an email in your inbox, reminding you of an essay submission due the following day. (Cue the horror movie music.) The best way to make sure you’re never caught off-guard is to be on the ball from the get-go. Your first week of classes, when you get syllabus after syllabus piled in front of you, don’t ignore the due dates listed within. Make a note of them, be it on your phone, on a sticky notes app on your computer’s desktop, or even just on a piece of paper. Keep this list updated as other things come up, like tests and exams, and maybe even a presentation or two. And if there’s anything you can knock out early, make use of that slow period at the beginning of every semester! Your future self will thank you.

Now that you’ve got that planner, it’s time to put it to good use. The monthly overview is an excellent place to jot down your due dates and social engagements, making it easy to see at a glance what the month looks like for you. Take it a step further and colour code this section—each course should have its own designated colour, as well as your various extracurriculars or work responsibilities. Not only does this make it brighter and prettier, but it’ll also make it way easier to zero in on exactly what you’re looking for.

The weekly spread is where you’re going to get specific. Sure, you might’ve noted in your monthly overview that you have a particular week dedicated to writing your Intro to Philosophy paper, but what does that entail? By breaking your week down into little, manageable tasks, you’ll avoid getting overwhelmed or stressed at the big job you have ahead of you. Jot down that Monday is for reading through your textbook and making rough notes. Tuesday, you want to get some research done. Wednesday is the day you want to write your detailed outline, while Thursday and Friday are your writing days. Take it one day at a time, and you’ll be surprised at how much stress you’ll avoid!

It doesn’t matter how pretty your planner is the first week you get it if you toss it in the back of a drawer and never look at it again after that. Keep it on your desk, open to the week so that you can always glance down at it whenever you pass by. Schedule half an hour every Sunday to plan out the following week and keep the cycle running smoothly. Throw on your favourite Netflix show while you’re at it—take it as a little break from all of that studying you’ve been doing!