TCU Student Bryn Carden Offers Tips on How to Create a Stylish College Dorm Room
Life is full of challenges, and developing proactive skills such as time management can help better balance daily obstacles. The concept of time management is usually introduced during grade school and is increasingly practiced through high school. When transitioning from high school to college life, many students who have not fully mastered time management find a university schedule almost impossible to handle.
Bryn Carden, a Texas Christian University student, says that she found that the right time management skills made a world of difference for her and allowed her to excel in her studies at Neeley School of Business. Below, she shares a few practical time management tips to help first-year college students find success in both class and life.
Tip #1. Find a Time Efficient Organization Process
One of the keys to developing good time management skills is to stay organized. Everyone organizes differently, and there are plenty of available tools to help anyone stay in order. Technology provides the right platform to sort quickly and have information readily available, only if the user works well and is familiar with tech gadgets. For those who tend to slow their roll when faced with using technology, the paper route (such as sticky notes or notebook agendas) might better save time.
Tip #2. Set Goals
College can feel like a marathon, especially near the first or second round of freshman year finals. Students can burn out fast if they do not have something to keep their motivation levels up. Setting desirable goals can keep the mental gears going, and goals can be both long-term and short-term.
Tip #3. Create a Routine
Though college tends to make sleep a luxury, it is still vital to establish a morning and evening routine to help start and end the day. The lifestyle of a university student tends to gravitate to the freedom aspect that comes with living away from home. However, students who want to succeed eventually realize that regular routine and structure are not so bad after all and can tremendously help with balancing a schedule and staying ahead or on top of assignments. Avoid procrastination and boost time management skills by addressing school work and classes similar to appointments. This mindset will help with establishing a morning and evening routine to practice transitioning from being mentally “off” to “on” and then back “off” for bedtime.
Tip #4. Develop Self-Awareness and Patience
When developing time management skills, students may get frustrated from stress or feeling overwhelmed and fall back on bad habits such as procrastination.
Bryn Carden said, “When growing my time management skills, I found that I had to develop self-awareness because I’m not Superwoman. I am constantly reflecting on my mental and physical state and what attributes to it. I also have to be patient with myself when I might be off my game from lack of sleep or do not finish my to-do list for the day.”
The journey to better time management does not happen overnight. It is a continuous daily growth that only gets better with practice. Feelings of defeat will lead to frustration, and self-awareness and patience will help work through the ups and downs. Self-awareness can also help with identifying and eliminating things that weaken time management and strengthen procrastination.
About Bryn Carden
Bryn Carden is a young entrepreneur and philanthropist with a passion for real estate and design. She is currently studying at Neeley School of Business, pursuing a major in Finance with a Real Estate Concentration. Besides working towards her degree, she has already begun her entrepreneurial journey as a co-founder of BF Hats and a creator of Styles for Smiles – a company selling bracelets to help fund cleft palate operations for children in developing countries.
