Stress and Time Management

To help parents navigate the world of online resources and apps designed to help their college-aged child, we asked Jason Manning, Executive Director of Strategic Communication at Arizona State University, to provide some insight and advice. Here’s what he shared.

How can college students best manage their time?

Managing time, tasks and stress can be a challenge for new college students. Here are some practices and apps that can help:

Carefully manage busy class and extracurricular schedules, as well as large chunks of unstructured time:
Enter class schedules, due dates, extracurricular activities, study time and social events into a single calendar.
Schedule weekly sessions for updating your calendar and planning for the week ahead.
Check your calendar every day, including your daily, weekly and monthly schedule.
Keep things balanced; schedule time for study, exercise, rest and social activity.

Recommended app:

Google Calendar (G-Suite) – You can’t beat Google’s apps for cost (free) and usability. These apps seamlessly sync your data and connect to many of the class-schedule tools used by colleges.

How can college students best manage multiple tasks?

Keep track of the many things you must do and accomplish:

Record every task that comes your way, from assignments and projects, to social obligations.
Prioritize from most to least important.
Set due dates and divide larger projects into checklists.
Always take notes.
Save everything digitally. Scan or photograph handouts, printed instructions, lists, brochures, menus and whiteboard information.
Save and organize all your assignments and projects.

Recommended apps:

Gmail Task Manager – Gmail has a built-in task manager that syncs with your email and calendar.

OneNote – OneNote is a powerful note-taking and task manager app that fully integrates with Microsoft products and software.

ToDoist, Trello, Wunderlist – There are dozens of task manager apps. These are recommended for their simplicity, design and ability to sync with calendars.

Google Drive – This gives you a load of free storage and syncs all your documents and files with other Google apps.

Evernote – Evernote makes note-taking easy and lets you add photos, graphics and scanned material.

DropBox – Use DropBox to easily store and share large files. It integrates directly into your PC’s file structure.

How can college students best manage stress?

There are several ways to help manage and reduce your stress:

Turn off technology — particularly social media. Spending too much time on social media can be detrimental to your mental health.
Keep a journal or diary to record and organize your thoughts and feelings. Remember to record positive thoughts and things for which you are grateful.
Practice stress-relieving activities such as meditation, prayer or exercise. Find out what works and stick with it.
Ask for help. If you feel overwhelmed by stress, anxiety or depression, ask a trusted person for help and seek counseling services.

Recommended apps:

Your phone – Mobile phones have settings that can limit time on the device and on certain apps. Set yours up for healthy usage.

OffTime, Moment, Forest – These apps, and many like them, will track and help limit your use of social media.

DayOne, Chronicle, Journey, Momento – Google Drive and Evernote can be used for journaling, but these apps take it to the next level by providing great editing and graphics tools, multiple ways to share, and automated features.

Happify, Pacifica, WhatsUp – These apps provide tools, exercises and resources for reducing stress and anxiety, evaluating your thoughts and moods, and keeping things in perspective.

TAO-Connect – Many universities partner with online self-help platforms for stress-management, anxiety and depressed mood. ASU uses TAO-Connect, which offers students free access to a library of self-help videos and assessments to build skills to help them through tough times and to keep them moving forward on a positive path.

Arizona State University

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