For the past week, a number of my students who are taking important exams this year did not complete their homework. I had expected it as school has reopened, and numerous activities would have taken up their time.

Nevertheless, I spoke to each student and provided them with some advice. As this is the beginning of the second semester and many students will be taking their national examinations in a few months’ time, I would like to share my personal experience on what I feel are key factors to achieving success and a balance in life (not just studies, but in all aspects of life).

All of us have only 24 hours each day. Why are some people able to accomplish so much in 1 day? Whereas others can hardly get anything done?  Secondary school students in Singapore usually have to juggle between 6 to 9 subjects on top of other extra curriculum activities. How can a student cope and do well in everything then?

The key lies in good time management. To be able to manage one’s time effectively, you need to have Planning, Prioritisation and Discipline.

Planning

For things to happen, you must plan for it. I like to plan on Sundays what I would want to get done for each day of the following week. I would also set aside time to do each activity (block time). If you are a student, you can also plan a schedule on what subjects and topics you would like to cover each day. Set realistic time blocks which are achievable, for example, 15 minutes a day on chemistry. If you were to calculate, 15 minutes a day on one subject, if done consistently for 7 days is equal to 1 hour and 45 mins a week. That is a significant amount of time. When you get use to this routine, you can slowly increase the time block for each activity. This small incremental amount of time spent each day on each subject has a cumulative effect and will lead to astonishing results!

 Prioritisation

Human nature is such that we prefer to do things we like first and procrastinate on doing things we dislike. Similarly, for subjects or topics that we dislike, they end up at the bottom of the ladder. We may end up not studying them or study them at times when we are already exhausted. Consequently, these subjects/topics also become our weakest ones and are our Achilles’ Heels. They will hinder us from getting our A1/A*s ultimately. Hence, when I had multiple subjects to study, my strategy was always to do what I dislike most/weakest. By doing this, I ensured that my weakest points were covered when I was most alert. I would also feel a sense of achievement after accomplishing them and I could look forward to doing what I liked next.

I strongly urged students not to give up on their sleep in order to squeeze in more activities. Our brains need to rest and our bodies need to rejuvenate. A well-rested mind and body can achieve much more than an exhausted one. Hence, please make having adequate sleep one of your top priorities too.

Discipline

The best schedule will not work if it is not put to action. Hence, discipline is vital for any planning to succeed. Discipline may involve sacrifices such as missing out on favourite TV programmes at times. However, if one looks at the bigger picture, these small sacrifices pave the way to achieving success at greater heights.

Last but not least, it is important to review what you have done to past week: have you use your time constructively, are there ways you could have improve on your time utilisation?

Remember: manage your time well to lead a balanced life !