9 Time Management Tips to Master Your Hectic Schedule and Prepare for College

Summary

Top tips include:

1. Be Realistic and Flexible
2. Create a Calendar
3. Design a Task Hierarchy
4. Demonstrate Active Learning
5. Enhance Your Note-Taking
6. Find Time Management Courses
7. Join Study Groups
8. Learn to Divide and Conquer
9. Prepare for Tests

Mastering time management in high school is among the most crucial — and challenging — skills to develop.

Attending classes, studying for tests, hanging out with friends, participating in extracurricular activities, and taking downtime to decompress is frankly a lot for any high school student to juggle. Sometimes this can be overwhelming. 

This guide of the top 9 time management tips will help you accomplish what you need to get done and alleviate any associated stress. 

9 Key Time Management Skills for High School Students

1. Be Realistic and Flexible: Effective time management skills extend beyond creating a daily calendar and setting deadlines. It means budgeting for delays, unexpected hiccups, and added projects. It's about learning to pivot and make space for yourself. 
2. Create a Calendar: Whether you use a traditional paper calendar or prefer a digital version, reviewing and maintaining a daily calendar is highly beneficial. You’ll have a firmer grasp of how to structure each day. For more information on various options available, review our thoughts here.
3. Design a Task Hierarchy: Focus on the most critical assignments and deadlines first, and learn to delegate or seek help when needed. 
4. Demonstrate Active Learning: Enhance your engagement with reading materials by manually highlighting key points, answering topic-specific questions, and creating summaries or flashcards to reinforce your understanding.
5. Enhance Your Note-Taking: Develop your own personal note-taking style and practice reviewing notes daily to reinforce your learning. 
6. Find Time Management Courses: Many high schools—and even middle schools—now offer study skills and time management semesters. Does your school?
7. Join Study Groups: Collaborate with classmates to discuss concepts, clarify questions, and solidify understanding. 
8. Learn to Divide and Conquer: Create a schedule, prioritize tasks, and break down large projects into smaller, more manageable steps to alleviate feelings of being overwhelmed. 
9. Prepare for Tests: Practice test-taking strategies, such as starting with questions you are most familiar with and managing time effectively. 

Remember, mastering time management skills enables you to be more efficient with your schedule and allows you to better focus on the future. Are you considering what else you can do to help prepare for college? Maybe it’s volunteering, or perhaps you are set on taking pre-college online courses. Did you know that there are pre-college online courses in a wide variety of subjects, tailored for high school students? You can choose from business, medicine, psychology, engineering, leadership, or even sustainability in fashion. 

However you approach it, it's essential to differentiate yourself from your peers. Time management skills are one of the many critical stepping stones.

By practicing these college preparation tips, you’ll be well on your way to a successful collegiate career. Good luck!

This was last reviewed by Ashley Simmons on 05/14/2025.