By Daniel Loduca, First Year Advisor

Hi everyone! 

I’m back with another post to get you ready for the upcoming school year! After opening your eyes to all the opportunities available for you to get involved at Schulich in my last post, I think it’s time to bring your attention to the crucial skill of time management. 

In your first year full of taking initiative and making Schulich your “second home,” you may have a lot of responsibilities on your plate. In addition to school, you may have club, work, athletic, and personal obligations to attend to. It’s beneficial to develop your time management skills so that you don’t feel overwhelmed by life. In saying that, be mindful that it is possible to take on too many commitments, so be conscious of the time and effort that is required for each. Make sure to use your first year as a learning experience to see how much you can handle and remember that being able to say “no” also plays an essential role in time management. 

Honing the Skill of Time Management

Earlier I referred to time management as a “skill.” I wanted to point out my word choice here because many will overlook this detail. It’s important to know that like any other skill, your time management can become more efficient over time. Don’t get discouraged by early bumps in the road! A key part of time management is trial and error since there is no perfect formula on how to be a time management master. Everyone has different preferences and can be more efficient with different strategies. 

Many people vary in which tools they like to use to manage their time. Some students might like using an online calendar while others prefer a physical to-do list that they can carry around in their backpacks. If you can’t function without a physical agenda, the York Federation of Students (YFS) gives out free agendas at the beginning of every school year so keep an eye out for that! No matter the medium you use, what’s crucial is that you are being reflective on your time management practices and always looking for areas of improvement.  

One suggestion I would make is to try to adopt various levels of scheduling. Personally, I find that it is very helpful to have a daily to-do list of tasks that require immediate attention along with a “big-picture” monthly calendar that contains long-term tasks such as course projects and exams. 

Using Your Resources

York University offers aid for students looking to refine their time management skills. One of these resources that your tuition already pays for is called Learning Skills Services (LSS) and its goal is to provide academic support for all students. Check out their website here and their page specifically about time management here. For instance, at the bottom of the time management webpage, there are printable daily to-do lists, weekly schedules, and time tracking tools. 

As always, feel free to reach out (undergrad@schulich.yorku.ca) and ask me any questions about Schulich or any of the topics covered in my posts and I will be glad to help!