We’d all like to be able to manage our time more effectively. Being able to fit in full-time employment, social commitments and time to ourselves can feel almost impossible. There are, however, small steps you can take to make things easier for yourself.

Improving your time management skills will help you be punctual and accomplish tasks before they’re due, leaving you with more free time to do the things you enjoy doing. This will be particularly important if you’re studying and have lots of deadlines to meet, whether these deadlines come in the form of exams or essay due dates.

Use an organizer

Something as simple as an organizer can make a whole world of difference. Invest some money into a small organizer that you can carry with you in your bag every day. You won’t have to waste time trying to remember when you’ve made commitments and you’ll avoid the problem of double booking. Having all of your planned activities laid out plainly in an organizer will make it easier to consider how everything else can be factored into the time you have remaining.

Set clear goals

We all know the feeling. You have chores, work commitments, social obligations and more that pile up day-to-day, stopping you from getting other things done. If you set yourself clear goals for each day, even if it’s just a small thing like tidying your room or doing some reading, you’ll feel a lot better when you’re able to tick it off your to-do list. Writing down some long-term goals can help keep you focused so you can spend your time on things that will be important in the long run.

Learn to say no

Making a lot of social commitments can be a good thing. You’ll learn how to juggle all of your engagements and manage your time effectively. But, it can be easy to take on more than you can deal with. It is important to learn how to decline opportunities. This way, you will be able to say no to things that you don’t really have time for and prioritize the things that are the most important.

Get enough sleep

You should be getting around seven to eight hours sleep a night to function optimally. While it might be tempting to stay up late to get more things done, in the long run you’ll end up burning out. The tasks you attempt to work on while you’re tired will be a higher quality after a good night’s sleep, and your overall physical and mental health will feel the benefit too.

Block out distractions

It can be all too tempting to procrastinate with distractions like Facebook and Twitter instead of getting on with what you need to do. To help you from wasting your time, you can use special browser extensions that will block pre-determined websites from your computer for a set amount of time, like StayFocusd. Cut out these time wasters and watch your productivity increase.

University Canada West, which is located in the heart of Vancouver, offers both online and on-campus Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Arts in Business Communication and MBA program. As a business-oriented university, it provides students with the experience to succeed in their careers and scholarships to recognize students’ academic excellence.