Tips for Grads: Managing the Balancing Act
Managing Projects and People
As an online graduate student, your time is constantly being divided between your current job or internship, your coursework, managing your expenses, hanging out with your family and friends, and trying to squeeze in
some time to take care of yourself. To help ease the struggle behind this juggling act of your life, try these tools and tips to
manage your time and stress.
Managing time. To help you manage your busy schedule of projects and to-do’s, try using the simple acronym LITE.
- List. List all upcoming projects and events you have for the month. Then narrow your list down by each week by the project’s appropriate due dates. Try using an app so you can access and edit your list from anywhere.
- Importance. Rank each item on your list by its importance. For example, if you have an upcoming deadline for a project or a job performance review, then you may rank that over the small reading assignment you have due two days from now.
- Time. Calculate how long it takes you to complete each task on your list normally, then factor in some extra time so you can have breaks while working. To help with this task, use this time management tool.
- Eliminate. Perhaps one of the most important and challenging steps is learning to eliminate some of the items on your list. If these assignments aren’t high priority and due soon, free up some personal time and take them off your list.
Managing Stress. The video below with University Health Services (UHS) associate counselor Michelle Bond gives 5 simple ways graduate students can alleviate some of their stress.
