How to Maximize Your Time in College

By Maranda Bennett on February 26, 2017

Here’s an assignment for you.

Fill in the blank: “As a stressed-out college student, I wish I had more  ____.”

If you’re anything like me, your answer was probably “time.” Or cash, or Ben & Jerry’s, or Netflix options, or friends …  But I digress.

If you’re vigorously nodding your head in agreement, then you’ll be thrilled to know that I have discovered the secret to increasing your productivity levels by at least tenfold. There are goldmines of extra time scattered throughout the typical college student’s day. I’ve done the first step for you by locating these intervals; now all you have to do is strategically convert this unused time into activity, and you’ll be on your way to becoming a lean, mean success machine!

https://girlup.org

Waiting for the Elevator

Studies show that the average NYU student spends upwards of 10,000 hours waiting for elevators over the course of four years. Okay, by “studies,” I mean my own experience. Trust me, though — I’m good at estimating things. I once won a prize for guessing the number of jellybeans in a jar, and let me tell you, it was a pretty big jar.

Most students spend all that time staring anxiously at those lit-up floor numbers and calculating how many minutes late they’re going to be for class. This, however, is a poor strategy if you want to succeed in life. In order to get ahead of the crowd, you should be using this time to accomplish serious goals. Want to build a business, achieve Nirvana, or write the next great American novel? Do it in the lobby.

Stuck Behind a Row of People in the Hallway

If you live in the city, then this trick works with sidewalks, too. You know how some people just love to arrange themselves into a wedge formation when they’re in a narrow space, effectively blocking you from passing and forcing you to slow your pace to a Jabba-esque crawl? It’s like the physical equivalent of waiting for Windows 7 to load.

Well, fret no more, because these hours you usually spend grinding your teeth and silently cursing humanity can be put to good use: just channel that pent-up frustration into productive energy. It’s probably not the ideal situation in which to practice your instrument or rehearse a dance routine, but if you can read while you walk, you could potentially finish over 15 War and Peace-sized classics per year. Plus, a paperback copy of Infinite Jest is the perfect size and shape for fending off personal space invaders.

countdowntothe50th.wordpress.com

Waiting For a Bathroom Stall

All the ladies in the house will especially relate to this one.  I’m constantly amazed by how long people can spend in a public bathroom. Once they get in that stall, they occupy it Fort Armistead-style, taking their sweet time while the rest of us are lined up outside doing the need-to-pee dance.

http://pleated-jeans.com

Annoying as they are, these bathroom stall tenants are actually doing you a huge favor. When you desperately need to relieve yourself, it gives you an overall sense of urgency that’s perfect for getting things accomplished quickly. The superhuman information-processing speed you gain when your bladder is on the verge of exploding makes this is a great opportunity to become fluent in Mandarin or memorize the complete works of Shakespeare.

Loading Websites on a School Computer

Do your college’s computers resemble artifacts from the Stone Age? Have you spent more time than you’d like to acknowledge staring into the abyss of the starting screen? Does the interval between clicking on a link and having access to the webpage often involve gazing into the distance, lost in intense and depressing reflections on your own mortality?

If the Dell gods don’t favor you, don’t worry: the productivity gods will.

https://media.giphy.com 

While the antediluvian relic in front of you struggles to wake from its deep, years-long slumber and remember that it’s a computer in the first place, you can be developing major skills and achieving your life’s work. Of course, any undertaking that requires a computer kind of defeats the purpose of this section, so mastering JavaScript isn’t really an option here.

Choose instead to paint your magnum opus or write an award-winning screenplay. You could even get cracking on your autobiography! Sure, it’s still decades too early to complete it, but hey. You’ve got time.

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Get Top Stories Delivered Weekly

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format