Do you know why a lot of students who are our fellows usually miss important assignment deadlines? They do so not due to unfamiliarity with the concepts that need to be discussed in the prose but due to poor time management skills. 

Many undergraduate or even master’s students reach out to us for academic assistance because they are not bad at writing essays. Instead, they are short on time and are burdened with too many tasks simultaneously. 

That’s why we have brought some effective and easy-to-adopt time management tips for students like you to bring back work-life balance and mental peace to life. Make yourself good at managing academic and social tasks, and you will outperform everyone.

What is Time Management?

Time management is best defined as a process of coordination between tasks and activities to get the most out of an individual’s efforts. The only motive behind time management is to make people get their work done in less time. Time management is the combination of organisation, planning, and scheduling to take the juice out of every minute.

Below mentioned time management tips for students are designed to make them utilise their capabilities and characteristics as effectively as possible to cover important activities in less or desired time frame. For a student, time management is the plan containing a road map to follow for doing assignments, and joining in family dinners or parties on time without missing anything. 

Why Time Management is Important for Students?

It is not possible for a student to submit a dissertation proposal,  literature review, lab reports, and other kinds of academic stuff on time by also showing up at every friend’s party, family festivity events, etc, without using academic time planning techniques. If a student is not planning academic and social activities in an organised manner to work on.

Then there are evident chances that they will end up in hot waters where they have more pending assignments, essays, to submit and socialising events to attend, but less time to deal with each task timely. All in all, if you want to live a stress-free life, then make sure to opt for scheduling study sessions for success.

Benefits of Time Management for University Students

There are literally hundreds of benefits associated with time management, not only for university students but for school, and college goers as well. But we have only picked the top three ones to discuss in detail and make you realise how important it is for you to learn about time management techniques for achieving excellence.

If you really want to score straight As in your class assignments without taking university assignment help from anyone, due to being short on time. Then learning how to manage study time effectively is necessary for you.

Make sure to implement the time management tips discussed below in your life and start seeing the difference in your productivity and the grades you are getting.

• Improves Academic Performance

One of the primary benefits of adopting time management tips for students is that their academic performance starts getting better. For example, if a student is scoring average grades in homework and class submissions before working in an organised manner using time management tips.

After making a change in working habits by putting in-stream the management techniques, they will start seeing improvement in their grades and class participation because now they have more time to conduct ample research and write down assignments deserving of an A+ grade.

Moreover, when you have enough time to prepare class lectures thoroughly, your participation in class will be automatically increased and result in appreciation from teachers and better performance in class tasks.

If you are currently studying at a university, you will surely be passed out in a few years and have to step into the world of business or networking to earn money. The strict daily routines for university students that you must have passed have made you self-disciplined and responsible towards your responsibilities, either academic or social.

This adoption of time management tips will make you a better professional outside of your campus who can excel at cracking deals and employing personal growth due to innate habits of always doing things in their assigned time frame.  So always try to work with a discipline in university to excel in your professional life as well.

Say goodbye to the days when you have to take stress from short deadline assignments approaching you and pending class presentations looming on your head because time management tips for students like you have got you covered. When you have planned and organised every academic and personal task with time reminders, there’s no space left for stress and anxiety. 

Time management techniques make students set time limits and prioritise tasks according to their intensity so that they will follow a clear path with signs to chase and resultantly get their class assignments, essays, dissertations, lab reports, presentations, and other tasks done before the deadline. 

This will help students make deadline management an easy matter to strike a balance between work and study.

Effective Time Management Tips for Students

We have consulted with expert educationists from Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, and so on, to find out what time management tips they are suggesting to students and working well. Their response was overwhelming and we have received around 30+ techniques from them, but we have shortlisted them only to discuss the easily doable for students of all levels.

If you want to put your academic and even professional life back on track, then make sure to adopt the time management techniques mentioned below that are suitable and workable for you to enjoy improving your academic performance and winning big at life. Feel free to tweak the suggestions according to your environment and requirements.

• Start Planning and Scheduling 

First of all, make a habit of planning and scheduling tasks, either academic or professional ones, to make things organised in a traceable manner. 

You can use a weekly planner or calendar to write down the tasks and their deadlines in an order, reflecting important ones at the top and less important ones at the bottom, with time you can spend on them. 

We know it’s an age of technology and using conventional planners may not work well for some students. That’s why you can use a digital planner or a scheduling platform as well, like Notion, etc. 

This will make you updated or aware of the projects that you have to deliver in the meantime. Planning is among the most used productivity tips for students. 

Implement the Eisenhower matrix in your life to categorise tasks as urgent/important, not urgent/important, and urgent/not important. This time management technique is the most effective one used by students because it makes them able to prioritise tasks based on importance and work on them accordingly, as well as to avoid procrastination in university to utilise time efficiently.

For example, if you have a deadline for a class assignment tomorrow and a presentation a day after tomorrow, then you need to prioritise your tasks, like writing assignments before working on presentations, to not miss both deadlines by just working strategically.

The only mantra of time management is doing tasks with close deadlines first, and then the others according to the urgency.

Set goals before starting to write an essay on a small family, and other tasks for class submissions. This will help students like you to work with motivation to achieve the set goals with maximum efficiency possible. 

The only thing you need to keep in mind while setting goals is achievability and measurability because both matter a lot in increasing productivity.

For example, if you have set a goal to write a research paper in the night of 5 pages, then surely you are not going to achieve this goal and fail badly because a human can’t work like a robot. Your goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound to enjoy maximum efficiency.

Being a multitasking student or a professional is no doubt a good thing, but it also affects some students negatively. That’s why always juggling between academic submissions and professional chores is not a good idea, especially when you are just an inch away from your dissertation submission or a likewise important task.

If you keep switching between multiple tasks at one time, then there are chances that your efficiency will start decreasing and make you spend more time on a task that usually needs less time for completion. You can rely on time management techniques like the Pomodoro method to get the best out of your energies without wasting a moment.

• Take Short Breaks to Avoid Burnout

Working to and fro for long hours without taking breaks is the most drastic mistake you can do to yourself for ruining your whole productivity and efficiency. 

If you want to manage your time in the best manner and enjoy more efficiency while working, try to add a short 10-20 minute break in your cycle, and you will be amazed to see the energising effect in yourself.

For some students going for a short walk, doing stretching and yoga works well. It boosts their productivity and prevents them from getting fatigued as well. If you want to submit superior-quality assignment solutions, then make sure to add this technique in your life to avoid getting burnout at crucial moments of your academic journey.

• Allocate Time Blocks to Tasks

When you are burdened with class presentations, and lab reports, you need to prepare for exams as well. The only technique that can save you from burnout or procrastination is dividing your tasks into blocks and assigning them a fixed time to cover. 

For example, if you are writing a research proposal and preparing notes for the exam right after two days on a single day. Then there are evident chances that you will spend more time on one and less on the other, even though both need your complete focus and time.

You can divide them into two blocks and assign a period according to their importance, and don’t take a minute extra to do both tasks on time.

• Say Not to Unnecessary Commitments

Have you ever realised that you are missing so many important deadlines just because of your unnecessary outings and last-minute parties with friends and family? You can easily utilise your time getting wasted in these kinds of redundant activities and spend it on your academic tasks.

The best way to stop wasting your time in activities of no value or importance and unnecessary commitments is to say no to anyone asking you for a party when you are required to study or write down your project reports. 

Just saying no can solve your half of the problem, and another half you can solve by working instead of procrastinating.

• Stop Using Smartphone While Working

There are several students who are pissed off by their habit of using their smartphones unnecessarily while studying or working on their life-changing projects. You too, can save your hours every week that you are spending on scrolling aimlessly and invest in your academic growth. 

If you want to lessen the time that you spend writing your homework by using your phone repeatedly, make a habit of not using your smartphone while studying and also not using WhatsApp, Facebook, and other platforms on your Laptop as well during that time.

Some students have tried to put their phones in do not disturb mode (DND) while working, and they have become better at productivity or creativity due to no distractions interrupting their workflow or thought process.

There’s a very famous saying floating among creative thinkers and writers that “Procrastination is a good thing, if you don’t have bills to pay”. We have tweaked it for students who happen to be over-thinkers, “Procrastination is a good thing, if you don’t have assignments to submit”. So if you really want to strive in academics and professional life. 

Just stop procrastination and start utilising that time to refine your homework or business proposal manuscripts that you have prepared for submissions. Whenever some distracting thoughts pop up in your mind, just say I have assignments to submit (pun intended), and again start doing your work.

Increase Your Productivity Using Tools and Resources

As mentioned above, some time management tips for students require some tools and resources to work on them. It totally depends on you whether you like to use conventional things like a planner book, a calendar, and so on to organise and manage your tasks. 

In case you are a tech savvy student, you can use digital calendars or planners as well to improve your workflow. Feel free to use whatever type of resource you are comfortable with to enjoy more efficiency and productivity while working.

Common Challenges Faced by University Students

Now, you are aware enough about the potential benefits of what time management tips for students can do to their academic or professional life. Let’s move on to the hurdles that some students face while implementing the proposed techniques in their routine. These are the most common ones that we have found in our research process.

There are chances that you may be facing entirely different challenges in your academic life. That’s why feel free to tweak these issues and their proposed solutions according to your requirements to enjoy seamless productivity in your academic writing process. 

Keep in mind that it is not necessary that what works and triggers others in balancing work and study may do so to you as well.

Students happened to be the best procrastinators and overthinkers who got the best riddles to solve right before the deadline. Have you ever happened to be engaged in totally irrelevant and distracting thoughts while writing the homework or conducting research for your paper?

Obviously, everyone gets caught up in it, and it happens when you are too overwhelmed with academic and personal responsibilities, while everything is clashing with each other, and you have no way to get out of this chaotic situation. It will make you delay writing important pieces that need instant submissions, and even in the next 4 hours.

If you remain driven by procrastination, then your academic performance is going to be affected drastically and you may secure a C grade in your next assignment.

Students who tend to work with inconsistent style and speed usually fall prey to getting burned out, especially at the crucial moment where you have just a few days left in submitting the dissertation proposal to secure your academic future. For example, if you have suddenly started working 10-12 hours a day for a week and meeting all the deadlines.

Whether you want to or not, your mind and body will start burning out from the very next week because your ecosystem is not adaptable to such immense working conditions. That’s why instead of getting blank at the deciding moments of your academic journey, start changing your habits gradually and more importantly with a strategic plan to receive desired results.

Whether you are studying in school or in university, there are evident chances that you will fail to manage each task on time and make submissions on the assigned date and time. It happens due to a lack of focus and a plan to follow for dealing with high priority tasks before tasks of less importance or value.

All you need to do is make a list of tasks monthly, weekly, or on a daily basis, whatever suits you and start organising them in a chronological order based on the time left in submission and importance. 

After stacking all the tasks in the list according to the time, indicating how soon it needs to be delivered. You will have a clear sense of what to write first and submit, resulting in making you play strategically using the technique of prioritisation.

Who’s still saved from distractions popping in your head and even appearing in front of your eyes while working upon the most important business psychology dissertation topics and so on? 

Everyone studying in school, college, or university gets caught up in distractions due to being poor at managing time and doing tasks in their required time frame.

You can still make it to the deadline and presentation by developing some time management skills in yourself, which will help you to stay updated with the upcoming deadlines through your planner or a digital app you are using on your phone. 

These swift reminders way before the last deadlines will make you not to distract yourself with unimportant things and focus on doing important academic tasks. 

Conclusion 

A life without any planning or organisational skills is of no use and will lead you to nowhere, because if you really want to strike success in your academic and even professional life. Then you need to learn about time management tips for students and implement them in your life to bring a real change in your academic journey.

When you are able to tame the speed of time according to your plans and requirements, then working on complex projects and bringing out the best results would not be difficult for you. Always remember to keep a balance between your social and academic life to enjoy the best of both worlds without getting exhausted or missing important events. 

Time is an element of utmost importance in everyday life that dictates anything from personal schedules to global business operations. However, a great confusion arises as to how the abbreviations AM and PM are to be interpreted and written. Whether you are writing an official document, academic writing, sending an email, or scheduling an appointment, understanding the right format for writing time can improve clarity and professionalism. 

This blog will explore the proper usage of AM and PM, their historical origins, differences between the time formats, common mistakes that you should avoid while writing time, and the best practices to follow for writing time correctly. 

What Is AM and PM?

The abbreviations AM and PM stand for two Latin terms “ante meridiem” which means before midday and “post meridiem” which means after midday. This divides the 24-hour day into 12-hour periods. This helps differentiate between morning and afternoon/evening times when using the 12-hour clock system. 

Not many are aware of this, but there is a third form, (m) which stands for “meridiem” meaning midday or noon. In writing, is it written as 12:00 m., but it is hardly used at all. 

Understanding The Clock Systems – 12-Hour Time AM/PM Format

Before we learn how to write time correctly, let us understand time notations i.e. 12-hour clock system and the 24-hour clock system. 

12-Hour Clock System 

The 12-hour clock system uses AM and PM as indications to set morning hours apart from evening hours. If these indicators are removed, then people can get confused about whether a time refers to morning or evening.

24-Hour Clock System 

The 24-hour clock system, also referred to as military time, runs from 00:00 (midnight) to 23:59 (one minute before midnight). Thus AM and PM aren’t necessarily required, which minimises confusion. This type of clock system is also used in healthcare and transportation as it provides clarity for time.  

How To Write AM And PM Correctly? – Rules Explained 

Let us look at the different rules that need to be followed to write time correctly: 

Capitalisation Of AM & PM

You may have noticed that we write AM and PM in capital letters. 

For example: “The meeting ended at 4:45 PM today.”

However, that is not the only way. You can also write them in lowercase letters, such as: 

Example: The meeting ended at 4:45 pm today. 

Or, you can write them in small caps as well. All three options are acceptable for writing time, However, you should not switch between your writing as inconsistency can give a poor impression to readers. 

AM & PM Punctuation Rules 

Another important rule for writing time correctly, is adding periods between each letter. This rule is mostly followed for lowercase letters, although you can add it for both capital and smaller caps. However, you do not need to add an extra period at the end of the sentence. 

 

Spacing AM & PM 

The third most important rule of writing time correctly is ensuring that there is a proper space between the time and abbreviation. Here are a few examples for your understanding: 

Spaced and Unpunctuated: I have a class at 2 PM today.✅
Unspaced and Unpunctuated:  I have a class at 2 PM today. ❌
Spaced and Punctuated: You need to be there by 9:00 a.m. ✅
Unspaced and Punctuated: You need to be there by 9:00a.m. ❌

Writing Time According To Style Guides 

In academic writings, such as research papers and essays, we often follow specific styles, such as APA, Oxford, Chicago, etc. These style guides also have a proper format for writing time correctly. Let us take a look at the rules that are followed for each: 

Style Guide	Uppercase/Lowercase	Punctuation	Spacing
APA	Lowercase	Yes	Yes
MLA	Lowercase	Yes	Yes
Chicago	Either lowercase or small-caps	Yes	Yes
AMA	Small caps	No	Yes
MRHA	Lowercase	No	No
Associated Press	Lowercase	Yes	Yes

Common AM/PM Formatting Mistakes To Avoid 

You are probably thinking about how anyone can make mistakes while writing time, but this is where you are wrong. Even though you might feel like this topic is boring from primary school, it is actually very important for students and professionals to be aware of the rules that need to be followed during writing time. Here are some common mistakes that you can make and how you should avoid them: 

• Always make sure that you write AM for morning time and do not misplace it with PM which refers to evening time. 
• Remember that 12:00 AM refers to midnight, whereas 12:00 PM is used for noon time. 
• You can use the words “noon” or “midnight” if you want to avoid confusion. 
• Do not mix time formats or clock systems. If you start with the 12-hour clock system, then you should use the same system within the document. It is not wise to switch to the 24-hour clock system. 
• For digital writing, use leading zeros, especially for writing schedules accurately. (eg., 09:00 AM instead of 9:00 AM). 
• For international or global communication, you must mention the time zones. (eg., 03:00 PM EST / 12:00 PM EST) 
• You should also avoid writing phrases like “10:00 AM in the morning or 4:00 PM in the evening.” AM and PM already indicate the time of day. 
• The best way to write time for social media, websites, and blogs is 10:30 PM. However, for legal documents, or emails, it is preferred to use periods. (eg.10:30 P.M.)
• Make sure that there is spacing among the time and abbreviations, like 02:00 AM instead of 02:00AM so that proper time formatting is followed.

Final Thoughts 

Writing AM and PM correctly can make communication clearer and more professional, especially for emails, business proposals, documents, and research proposals. Students and industry experts should stick to a one-time format and avoid mistakes while writing time. This will prevent confusion and keep your time references accurate.