The power of the planner: time management and student health

College students face alarming mental health concerns, with poor time management being a core cause. However if used correctly, a planner may be the simple solution.

As a full-time student, I’m no stranger to the balancing act of college. In a typical day, I juggle homework, classes, workouts, meal-prep, social activities, and time to rest. The sheer number of things can be overwhelming.

I’m not alone when it comes to stress: about 8 in 10 college students report having high stress levels. Time management is a primary cause, with one study finding that “workload management and balancing commitments” were two of the largest stressors for students. Clearly, issues with time management correlate to poor student wellness.

However, there may be a simple solution: using a planner.

An example of a weekly planner, courtesy of GettyImages.

How it works

A planner keeps track of daily, weekly, or even monthly goals. The user writes down their daily to-do list, while simultaneously blocking out time to complete tasks. Planners can be physical notebooks or digital calendars, and can be used for activities in school, work, and one’s personal life.

Using a planner can help individuals (especially students) stay productive, relieve stress, and most obviously, develop time management skills.

Chapman student Brianna Schatt sees her planner as a necessity.

“As a person who loves staying busy, my planner is the reason I can afford to,” she says. “When I write things down it feels like something has been lifted off my shoulders.”

“I use my planner for every aspect of my day,” Brianna Schatt says as she blocks out her week.

Franny Hill, another student at Chapman University, is always on-the-go as she balances six classes, an internship, and her extracurriculars. Having used a planner since the third grade, she finds it essential.

“I think it really helped in keeping my productivity up,” she says. “For me, a planner has always been a great way to manage any stress and keep all of my tasks in order.”

Are there drawbacks?

Both Franny and Brianna find productivity, time management, and stress-relief through their planner habits. However, if planners are helpful in managing one’s time, why don’t more students use them? The issue may lie in over-planning.

An old page from Franny Hill’s jam-packed planner.

Elizabeth Grace Saunders, a time management coach, claims that over-planning can be a major source of stress for individuals. This can be because over-planning:

• Leads to neurotic behavior, where the individual only feels relaxed if they meet every planned goal.

• Causes close-minded behavior, where the individual limits themselves to only working in pre-planned blocks.

• Creates unrealistic expectations of how work and school life operate (i.e. things don’t always go to plan).

Additionally, some planners can be expensive, and cumbersome to carry around all day.

The takeaway

Are the potential drawbacks of over-planning worth the benefits of using a planner?

While I personally don’t own a planner, it appears that using one may help more than it harms. Having a place to keep my tasks in order may be more productive than my current system of scattered sticky notes and iPhone reminders. Brianna agrees with this sentiment.

“To me, it’s worth the hassle because it’s given me the ability to be incredibly organized and still live a very productive, balanced, and fun life,” she says.

So, if you’re a busy student looking for structure, why not give it a try? It may be the ideal cure-all for keeping students mentally well and productive at the same time.