As college students, it feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day. We are constantly juggling school, work, clubs, sports, friends and time for ourselves. It seems as though the only activity that suffers, is sleep. However, we all get bits of time throughout our day that we might not know how to effectively use! Here are 5 ways you can make your spare time count:
Podcasts: Whether you are just walking to class or eating dinner, podcasts are a great way to gain information while your hands are busy. If you are interested in the field of Computer Science, download podcasts that discuss coding and industry events. If it takes you five minutes to walk to class and five minutes to walk home every day, you could potentially have over thirteen hours of learning time, in one semester, if you listen to podcasts. And this is if you only have one class!
Nix the Netflix: We all love our Netflix and no one is saying that you can never watch it. But just cutting back on your Netflix usage by thirty minutes every day, can give you so much extra time throughout your week! In one week alone, that could add up to three and a half hours of extra study or career development time.
Night Reading:
Most of us have a nightly routine and usually that routine involves using our phone. Instead of crawling into bed and pulling up Instagram, try grabbing a book. Research shows that new information can be best retained if read immediately prior to sleep. So capitalize on those couple minutes of extra memory retention. It could help you professionally or academically later on!
Transform Social Media: Social media has become such a large part of most people’s lives. Asking you to cut down or remove social media from your daily routine, would be really difficult to do. Instead of trying to remove that time spent, try making your social media time productive. Follow news outlets or your favorite companies on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Better yet, share useful information you’ve come across using hashtags for your field on LinkedIn or Twitter, to get noticed. The Purdue CCO, for example, has awesome social media accounts that provide users with lots of useful career information!
Remember You: As useful as it is to be productive during your spare time and to pack your schedule with different activities, sometimes you just need to remember to take time for yourself. Go workout, take a reasonable nap, grab dinner with friends, whatever allows you to relax! If you need assistance, check out the CoRec, talk to someone at CAPS or come by the CCO. It’s important to know that no one can stay productive without putting time into themselves.
