Mike Abasov

If you were following any of my advices, you are probably struggling with finding time for everything like I do. I’ve never been so busy in my life, but, as time goes by, I find new ways to make the most out of every hour and not burn out. It gets easier with practice.

Here are a few things you can do to find time for everything and make your time constraint less binding.

Utilize

Look back at your days. You might find that you’re not utilizing a huge junk of time. You spend 2 hour a day commuting while doing nothing but mind wondering? You stay in lines for 10 minutes feeling bored? You wash your frying pan many times every day?

No wonder you feel like there is not enough time for anything! Try this.

Audiobooks for your commute time
I’ve been listening to one business book a week while driving for the last 3 weeks, and it’s an amazing time-saver! Try them at Audible and get a membership, if you find them awesome.

Multitask
Audiobooks is the first steps to multitasking. I also manage to check-in on Foursquare, while waiting for my tall no-whip mocha, or check email, if the line gets lengthy. How can you make the most of your wait time?

Group tasks
This one is about frying pans, for example. The problem with cooking every day is that you need to clean after yourself, heat the pan, etc. every day. Try cooking for a few days ahead in one session. This is also a great way to cut on sandwiches and chinese (nom-nom-nom!).

Utilizing sleep time is bull shit
Sleep is very important. It helps you learn and increases your productivity. You might want to cut on sleep to fit in more (I’m guilty of that), but it only results in low creativity. And low creativity stops you from finding easy and fast solutions (Rework). 

Speed up

You can do a lot of thing much faster.

Say showering. I got this advice from Men’s Health, and it really makes sense to spend under 10 (or even 5) minutes showering.

Or speed reading. As a student you are going to read a lot over a long period of your life. Why not learn to read fast? Try apps like EyeQ.

What else? You can do almost anything faster. For example, if you’re a blogger, check out these articles: “How to Write a Great Blog Post in Just 15 Minutes” or “HOW TO WRITE THREE BLOG POSTS A DAY.”

Hack It

You can be more productive by changing the way you do things, perceive them, or by using some tools. Research how other people make most out of their time. My favourite places are Lifehacker for recipes and Appstorm for apps.

Even such an incompetent source as myself can show you something cool, right? (Smile, you’re on camera ;-).

Classic Time Management

Use a calendar
I prefer iCal (Mac OS), but Google Calendar is pretty good too. Log everything to your calendar: birthdays, classes, regular workout times, etc. I believe that a perfect calendar has no empty spots.

Also, and this is a good one, set up automatic import of your events from websites like Facebook or Meetup.com. This is the most awesome thing that has ever happened to calendars. Ever!

I also use wall calendars to separate some specific categories of activities, like blogging.

To-Do lists
Gotta love them. I use Things (Mac OS, iPad, iPhone), combined with iCal and Highrise for my to-dos. I separate tasks by activities, such as “School” or “Shopping,” and by projects, such as “HootSuite Internationalization” or “Commerce 295.” 

The main reason to use these lists is pure simple—you forget less. The runner-up reason is also about memory. When you backup your memory in such a way, you can concentrate your thoughts on more important issues and be more efficient. 

That’s it

Sorry for taking so much of your time. But look, if you were reading this post at 1,000 words per minute, while on a bus taking a break from listening to “Crush It!”… you get the point!

How do you fit everything you need to do in you tight schedule? And, on another note, am I crazy?

The finals are coming up. Can you feel them? I can. 

Over the years of epicly failing and wining on exams, I have developed a list of tools and tips that I use to get through any test. Today I want to share them with you, and I encourage you to post your own advice in the comments!

Tools

1. To-Do lists. 
I use these a lot. For every assignment, textbook chapter or test, I have a task, a due date and other details. 

I also tend to divide chapters into subtasks like 13.1, 13.2, and 13.3 instead of “Ch. 13.” This gives me the satisfaction of crossing out something without competing the whole chapter.

2. iTunes U and Academic Earth. 
These apps save me time trying to figure out concepts that I’d missed in class (I blame it on you, Facebook!).

3. Double-sided highlighter.
Makes reading textbooks twice as productive! One side is red — for terms; the opposite one is yellow — for explanations. Mine is handmade, but you will probably look less weird, if you buy one.

4. iPod, Last.fm. 
I can study only with music. iPod for listening at a coffee shop, Last.fm for a perfect shuffle.

5. Coffee Shops. 
Starbucks, Blenz, Waves, whatever. Remember to check for free Internet access, good coffee, large enough single tables, and hours of operation (24/7 all the way).

6. Grades.
An awesome iPhone app that allows me to track my performance in every class. Replaced a lot of calculations I used to do myself every time.

Tips

1. First test is your  reconnoiter. 
Yes, I said reconnoiter. It doesn’t matter that much how well you do on your first midterm, but it matters a lot what you find out. See how the test is structured, what types of questions are there, how multiple choices work, how is the whole thing marked. 

The more data you collect, the better you’ll be able to do in the future by adjusting your learning style.

2. Raise the stakes. 
If I fail a course at UBC, I will waste 4 months, $2,000 of my parents’ dollars, get my ass kicked by the same parents and might as well loose my chance to immigrate. Surprisingly, I try my hardest not to fail or even get anything lower than a B+.

Raise your loss in case of failing. I don’t know, give a $100 to a good friend and and ask them to burn them, if you don’t get an A. Make a bet with another friend. Whatever you do, don’t leave yourself the power to change your mind — you will always cheat.

Good luck!

Only you decide what you get on your tests. Not a mean prof, not a crappy textbook, only you. Get used to this fact and show them how badass a student can be!

So what are your tips and tools for getting through the finals?