Student Blog: Time Management: A Musician's Guide

I am someone who loves to commit to any activity I can. I love my school because so many extracurricular activities are offered. All of this means: I am committed to school, shows, and extracurriculars. Now that I’m a senior I have managed to get my time management skills down to a formula. Sometimes my schedule runs to the hour, minute, or second depending on the day. I have a running to-do list in my notes app too. In times of really high stress, it helps me to check my to-do lists to recenter. I’m reminded of my priorities. Following along how I manage to keep everything organized. 

Work from classes is going to pile up quickly. Giving each class a priority label helps when deadlines get tight. I separate tasks into urgent and rolling. Urgent assignments are due in one to two days, so all of my homework is urgent. Rolling priorities are those that have about a month to be completed. Within a few weeks they begin to creep onto the urgent list. It helps to have the lists ebb and flow so your work never feels stagnant. I dedicate an hour to homework then about fifteen minutes to a rolling task. I’ve always managed to balance my time well in school this way.

A foolproof guide to managing school is time management. When I got to college, I had to learn the best way to study. I found that twenty five minutes of concentrated study three days before I need to know the information helps. My stress levels lowered significantly the night before every test. Then before every exam I would thank me from three days ago for studying. Allowing time for studying is a way of being kind to yourself.

Speaking of being kind to yourself, I also schedule time for self care! The highest form of self care for me is journaling at a cafe with a matcha. It’s a flexible term that takes many different forms based on what I need. It changes based on what anyone might need! Sometimes it can be ten minutes in a practice room. Taking care of yourself should not go forgotten.

When I’m not in self care mode I’m at my extracurriculars. While being a leader at school it is important to be a leader who understands reciprocal support. I am one of a wonderful team of six. All of us are able to collaborate and delegate. It’s special to have people by your side who support you. They always make the burdens less heavy to carry. 

There are plenty of ways to make school, shows, and activities manageable. It’s a matter of time and learning how to use it. Just make sure you remember to have fun. I love going out with my friends or watching an episode of “Gilmore Girls”. Not everything is all work all the time. Take a breath, meditate, and go sing your heart out. You got this!