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Nursing school. Family. Studying. Papers. Reading. Your time becomes valuable and in short supply. Several study sessions were an hour or two flies by. Many nights watching the clock strike at 4 am. Time vanishes. What’s important as the student is to learn time management. Time management as a nurse will be your number one skill.
#1 List your goals
Every time you sit and open your textbook, you should have a list of goals to achieve during your study session. List intentions for the week and break it up for each day. The weekly list should include study topics, reading the assignment for that week, flash cards or study guides to be made and any other projects that need to be done. Scheduling study session simply means finding and putting time aside for the study. Be realistic with what you want to accomplish and what you are able to achieve. There is something so satisfying about being able to cross items off a list.
#2 Use a planner
In just about any endeavor in life, a planner is a great tool. I began using them for school to remind myself of homework and long-term projects, in nursing school I would have gone crazy, or at least crazier without one. I used a physical planner that requires actual writing down items, but if you prefer using a virtual planner like Google calendar or other application similar they will also get the job done. I have tried using Google Calendar, but for some reason, I can’t get into a habit of regularly using it, it just doesn’t work for me. The planner is a great place to write out your schedule of a lab, lecture, and clinical, with the due dates to assignments. Then realistically understand when and how much time you can study or accomplish tasks. A planner that breaks down day by day makes for an excellent checklist.
#3 Be Realistic
I know I have already briefly mentioned this but its important enough to say again. I had problems with this in school. A task like writing out flashcards, in my head should only take an hour, but to my surprise would take two to three times that until I finally finished. You will find that each week you have a similar task, pay attention to the amount of time it actually takes you to accomplish tasks. That will help you to stay within a specific timeline and get things accomplished. In regards to time, I always try to overshoot the time projects will take me. Applying more time, you will either finish early, or you are able to start or tackle an extra item on your to-do-list.
#4 Prioritize
Prioritization is important to learn. Nursing is having ten things that need to be done now and having to get to them done one at a time. Review the weekly task list, as deadlines reach items will crawl up in priority. A high priority is a deadline for a paper at the end of the week, have you started it? Is it written? Or are you just waiting to proofread? Are there any specific requirements for a particular laboratory or clinical? First I would look at items that are not in your typical weekly to do first, then review your weekly details. I try to have my reading done before the lecture, but if time doesn’t allow then by the end of the week is a must. My flashcards were made by the end of the week unless there was an exam, then the topics on the exams needed to be complete and reviewed. Subjects on the next test were pushed aside until the night after the exam. Figuring out what can wait and what is pressing may take some time, and Nursing school much like Nursing itself will throw some wrenches that you need to stay flexible.
Each person with their own study and preparation what ends up being on top of your priorities?