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Time Management Strategies 

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Sleeping Positions of Different Students

First year is BIG on learning time management. This skill will allow you to sleep well and set aside time for extracurriculars, health/wellness, and socializing – even on the busiest days. 

How You’ll Spend Your Time in EngSci

First-year EngScis have an average of 6.5 hours of class per weekday, including lectures, tutorials, and labs. 

Let’s assume that every weekday you’ll need an hour to get ready and have breakfast, an hour to eat lunch, an hour for dinner, and an hour to commute. Then, let’s factor in up to four hours for self-directed studying on weekdays. This can be learning material, completing labs and assignments, and preparing for midterms. Note that this is simply an estimate and your actual schedule will vary depending on the day/week.   

Added together, at the busiest estimate we get 14.5 total hours a day spent on classes, studying, and eating/getting ready/commuting. That leaves at least 9.5 hours every weekday for you to spend outside of school. You may spend this time on relaxing, taking care of yourself, clubs/design teams, sports, hobbies, socializing, and sleeping!  

Time Management Tips 

Open your phone and check your screen time. Seriously, do it now! How many hours did you spend on your phone last month?  On social media? Scrolling mindlessly? 

Think to yourself: “With a busy EngSci schedule, do I really want to spend this much of my limited time on my phone? Imagine how much else I could get done in that time!” Try everything in your power to mitigate distractions, whether on your phone or otherwise. Remember, the best way to resist temptation is to remove it. Instead of telling yourself that you should use your phone less, just put your phone away in another room while you work. Research suggests that the mere presence of a smartphone even if you aren’t looking at it reduces cognitive peformance. While your methods may vary, the result should hopefully be an increased amount of time to pursue academics, extracurriculars, hobbies, or sleep.  

Summer Student Tip: A lot of my friends in EngSci have completely deleted social media apps like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube from their phones to make their social media usage more intentional. If you have to open your browser to search for the app, you’re more likely to think the decision through. I also know a couple of people who have switched their phones to black-and-white mode to make them less addictive. 

Use a calendar, whether physical or digital. Really, give it a shot! With a digital calendar, you can import your timetable from ACORN and build upon that. On your calendar, block off time for eating, commuting, or studying for different classes. This will hold you accountable to work on specified tasks and avoid procrastination.

However, don’t forget to be flexible and don’t be too tied to your original plans! Plans can change at any time for a variety of factors, so make sure you have appropriate backup plans for how you’ll spend your time.

A tip for those from different time zones: when you get to Toronto, make sure your devices’ calendars are set to Toronto time (ET)! If they aren’t, you’ll end up with appointments at the wrong time when someone sends you a meeting invitation.

When blocking your time, make sure you dedicate time to each subject every week instead of jumping from one subject to another based only on whichever midterm is coming up next. You should be on track with all of your courses all of the time – but it’s also natural if sometimes things go a little off track. Just make sure to recognise it and to steer yourself back.

Many students block their time and keep a daily, weekly, or monthly to-do list on the side. As soon as you receive your course syllabi, you should write down all upcoming assignments, tests, and deadlines in a single calendar or document. Sketch in some prep time. You could even add a column for the grades you receive. That way, throughout the semester, you’ll have a clear system for tracking what’s coming up and how well you’ve progressed over the term.

Not all tasks are created equal. Depending on your own priorities, you may choose to spend less time on calculus problems than design team projects, for example. Deadlines approach fast, so keep those in mind; work on a difficult task with an approaching due date as opposed to something due at a much later date. It may not be optimal to pour hours into an assignment that’s worth few marks. It’s important that you carefully make these decisions and optimize your own plans.

Know when to leave something for later and move on to the next task. For example, if you’re struggling to finish your ESC194 homework, you might want to move on to your CIV102 problem set and meet with your ESC194 TA the next day. This strategy will save you time in the long run, and you’ll likely learn better, too.

Balance relaxing with working ahead. When you do get blocks of free time, like at the start of a semester or right after some midterms, balance relaxing with working ahead. You may be tempted to leave off studying for a few days if you have little due that week, but you’ll have to make up for that by doing extra work later. Balance your work and fun each day and you’ll find a happy medium. In fact, an article published by Johns Hopkins University on school-life balance states: “School-life balance is important for optimal academic functioning.” We highly recommend learning to pace yourself if you want a good school-life balance and healthy sleep habits. Remember: this is a marathon, not a sprint.

Managing Sleep & Staying Healthy 

Sleep is essential for both your physical and mental health, as well as your academic performance. Your life may be busy, but you should and can set aside time for sleeping. Make this a non-negotiable commitment to yourself. Set up a sleep routine and stick to it. This will ensure you’re getting enough sleep – which means 7-9 hours per night. Here are some tips that can help with this:  

Try to sleep and wake up at the same time every day, regardless of what time you have class the next day or if it’s the weekend. You might be tempted to sleep in, but a few more waking hours in the morning can help you avoid staying up late on a Sunday night. Our bodies are wired to work on routines and schedules, so this is very important. It’ll help you feel more rested and productive. 

Account for wind down time. Most people can’t switch from studying to sleeping in just a few minutes, especially if they’re stressed. Your mind and body need time to calm down before you can drift off to sleep, so make sure you build that wind down time into your schedule and sleep routine. Otherwise, you’ll be promising yourself eight hours of sleep and getting less, every time.  

Burning off energy during the day by working out, playing sports, or just going for walks will help keep your sleep schedule consistent. Try getting involved in one of our intramural or varsity level sports or go out and use one of the many athletic facilities on campus.  

Learn more about getting good sleep. 

Of course, all this is easier said than done. We would be lying if we said we had it all figured out ourselves. Setting up a sleep routine takes time and practice, but if you start early, chances are you’ll succeed early, too! Try it out, iterate, improve – just like with everything else in EngSci. You can also talk to and learn from your fellow EngScis (or your academic advisors, who love talking about time management and sleep hygiene). There are many more lessons, tips, and strategies upper-year students such as GEARS mentors have learned and are willing to share with you to help make your time in EngSci just a little bit easier.  

If you’re struggling to maintain a good sleep schedule or manage your time, you can reach out to your Academic Advisor or the Engineering Learning Strategist through the Engineering Portal. U of T Student Life also has some resources that may be of interest.