Have you made it to your dream MBA college and are waiting for the day of inauguration? And are probably excited to know what all goes during an MBA and how MBA students are able to manage it all.

It’s true that an MBA is a very intensive and hectic degree; there are simply too many things to deal with. A semester lasts no more than three months and consists of both mid-term and end-term examinations. And academics aren't the only thing that matters in an MBA; because the MBA isn't considered an academic degree, more emphasis is placed on skills and CV pointers.

How does one obtain these CV pointers?

Through Certifications, PORs, Live Projects, and Internships. Dedicated time and effort are required to achieve these CV Pointers. Aside from that, there are weekly guest lectures, placement presentations, cultural fests, sports events, and other activities.

Life never stops in a B-School. Now, the students there are not superhumans, or perhaps they are, and if you want to keep up with them, you must learn time management in order to make the most out of your MBA. We'll guide you on how this major feat could be achieved through this article.

Mapping your MBA Timeline

As already discussed, there is a lot to do in an MBA, like gaining PORs certifications, skill development, and live projects/internships. Of-Course one is bound to become anxious with so much to do. So How to deal with this?

Make a structure as to what task should be your priority in which phase of your MBA Timeline.

During 1st year

For instance, initially, much emphasis should be paid to networking with your seniors and colleagues to grasp a better understanding of your college and seek guidance from them. All of these would help you plan things out.

Then come seasons of committee selections and club selections, your entire focus should be on that during that time and only for that time.

Now, during your 1st year, your focus would be on deciding your specialisation interests. For that, you have to manage time to do certifications and get live projects. Managing both of them simultaneously could become very hectic and sometimes not even possible, as there are also other things to deal with. The preference among live projects and skill building depends upon the specialisation in the case of finance, more preference should be given to gaining expertise first than live projects as it is a more technical domain. But in the case of HR or Marketing, live projects become more important.

Nonetheless your Summer Internship will be the ideal time to gain some experience in your domain of interest, even if you are not able to get hands-on with any live project. So, gaining knowledge and building skills should be your priority during 1st year.

Read How to Land Internship on Your Own

Apart from these events like sports festivals and cultural festivals also brings in the opportunity to gain certificates on extra-curricular activities, and you must have an eye upon them.

In the 2nd Year

Post completion of your summer internship. You would have clarity as to what specialisation you want to choose, and it is the time to gear up yourself for the placements. Major emphasis would go on developing skills and doing projects to make yourself placement ready.

Having this structure would give you a proper call to action plan and mitigate unnecessary anxiety and panicking.

Regular Occuring Tasks & Events 

Apart from the already mentioned activities, regular classes, Examinations and group projects happen in every semester and are important, and the most time consuming activities. How to deal with them?

Coursework & Examinations

Attend every class, and try to sum up your academics in the class itself, take notes and pay attention to what is being said. Dedicated time has to be allotted to read the case studies before coming to classes

Group Projects and Presentations

Apart from examinations, group projects and presentations are an important part of the curriculum. But they are group projects and are not the responsibility of you alone, Don’t overcommit yourself. Delegate tasks within your team and collaborate efficiently. Clearly communicate expectations, divide responsibilities, and leverage each team member's strengths to maximize productivity. This would make group projects a breeze.

Now, with the structure in place, we will tell you some Hacks and tips of doing all that is required, and without overburdening yourself.

Hacks to Manage your Time Effectively.

Setting Boundaries

Establish clear boundaries between Work and life. Don’t overcommit yourself, Communicate your Availability and limitations. Learn to say no to non-urgent and unimportant tasks if there is something to be done urgently. Learn to say no to your friends if they are expecting you to be available for them 24x7.

Make a list of all the tasks and then Prioritise

There are two ways to do it. Priority setting P1,P2,P3 technique and Time Management Matrix.First step for both of them is to list all the tasks in a sheet of paper. Then acc. To:

Priority Setting Technique

Prioritise the most urgent task by assigning it P1, then the next urgent task P2, and so on. Doing this gives you clarity as to what needs to be done and what are the most important things to be done first. E.g.

Time Management Matrix

This is a matrix Dividing tasks according to their importance and urgency. Urgency calls for their attention at the present moment; however, their importance can vary. Going to a college festival happening today is urgent but may not be important. But submitting a report by EOD is both important and urgent. Likewise, an examination coming after 2 weeks is important but not urgent, and Watching the latest trending Movie is neither important nor urgent.

Making this matrix helps you prioritise tasks.


Allocating Time to Each Task.

This hack is based on the Parkinson’s Principle acc. To which,” Work expands itself to fill the time available for its completion”. That means if you allocate a 2 hr window to complete a task, it will take 2 hrs. To complete that task. But if you give a 5 hour window for the completion of the task, then also you will take the whole 5 hours to complete the task. It is because in a shorter deadline, you are much more focused and put more effort and are more efficient to do the task. But for a longer deadline or no deadline at all, you tend to relax in between or put less effort.

Making appropriate time allocation for each task helps avoid unnecessary wastage of time, and helps you complete your work much faster.

Lastly, the most important Time management hack is to Take care of yourself.

Taking care of yourself

You must understand that you are a human, not a machine, and even a machine breaks down from working in overcapacity and without maintenance. The expectations that we impose on ourselves and what others impose on us make us overburden ourselves and give up on activities that we love doing, making us happier. Overburdening ourselves, we logically conclude that we should give up on these activities and make the most of our time. But guess what? This logical move backfires; it decreases our motivation and efficiency, and in the end, we can neither work effectively and efficiently nor enjoy our lives. Effective time management means balancing work and life, not giving up on your life to become a slave.

When feeling tired or burned out, take a break, spend time with your friends, call your family, watch the movie that you always wanted to watch, play video games, or do an outdoor activity. Do whatever you love. And you will find that keeping yourself happy will also increase your productivity, and that is what, my friend, is managing time correctly.