Time management in nursing helps nurses and nursing students be more productive, reduce stress and improve performance. There are many time management skills in nursing, including organization, goal setting, prioritization and strategic planning. Improve your time management by writing to-do lists, practicing cluster care and limiting distractions.
Many soft skills are integral to success in any workplace including time management. Time management in nursing is particularly essential — in both nursing school and health care environments such as hospitals and clinics. Managing the time demands of nursing school is good practice for your nursing career since you will develop strong habits early.
Acquiring time management skills in nursing is essential to balancing nursing school’s demands. Fortunately, in Harding University’s accelerated Bachelor of Science in nursing program, you will receive ample support from our dedicated faculty.
Below, we will explore effective time management techniques that will help you excel in your studies and career.
Time Management for Nursing Students
Simply put, time management is the ability to use one’s time wisely. It doesn’t involve filling every second of every day with as much work as you possibly can. Rather, it refers to coordinating activities and arranging one’s schedule in a way that optimizes productivity. Everyone has the same 24 hours each day; how you spend them is what matters — especially in a profession that’s always addressing emerging patient needs.
Time management skills in nursing are important because nurses must provide the same excellent quality of care to each of their patients while managing many tasks each shift.
Time management in nursing school is also essential because nursing students must juggle coursework and assignments, nursing skills labs, nursing simulation labs and clinical rotations — not to mention plenty of study time for both school and the National Council Licensure Examination.
Failing to use one’s time effectively can lead to falling behind rapidly. This is especially true in Harding’s ABSN program, which places students on a fast track toward graduating in as few as 16 months. An accelerated program provides no time to waste.
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Benefits of Effective Time Management
People tend to procrastinate when they are preoccupied with perfectionism or feel overwhelmed and unsure of where to start. When you learn how to practice effective time management skills, you can kick procrastination to the curb and enjoy improved productivity.
Time management in nursing school also offers these benefits:
- Less stress
- Better academic performance
- Sense of accomplishment
- Better school/life balance
- Better quality of work
- Improved self-discipline and self-confidence
Key Time Management Skills in Nursing School
Time management encompasses a wide range of soft skills that can help you become a more productive nursing student or practicing nurse. The most essential components of time management for nursing students include:
- Prioritization: Do you often find yourself struggling to get started on your work because you aren’t sure what to do first? You can practice better time management by labeling tasks as “urgent,” “important but not urgent,” or neither.
- Goal setting: Goal setting is another way to prioritize your tasks. By clearly defining your weekly and monthly goals, you can determine which priorities will help you reach them.
- Strategic planning: Always write down your schedule in advance and stick to it.
- Organization: Remaining organized can help you complete tasks promptly.
- Delegation: You can’t really delegate nursing school tasks, but you may be able to delegate some personal or familial tasks to loved ones. As a practicing nurse, you’ll work on a team, which means you may sometimes help others with their tasks when you have time, and your coworkers may return the favor.
Effective Time Management Tips for Nursing School
Time management in nursing takes practice, but if you consistently work to hone your time management skills, you will find that you work much more efficiently. Use the following tips to develop more productive habits.
At Harding, we use online coursework to benefit our students. Explore the 5 benefits of online learning here.
Set Realistic Goals
Setting goals helps you thrive in nursing school. You should set long-term goals (e.g., graduate in the least amount of time possible and pass the NCLEX on the first try) as well as short-term goals (e.g., ace the next exam and actively solicit feedback on each clinical rotation).
Be sure your goals are realistic, specific and measurable. Setting goals helps you easily prioritize your tasks.
Use To-Do Lists Effectively
To-do lists are essential for time management in nursing school. Creating more than one list for each week may be helpful. First, write down everything that you need to do that week. Then, working from the first list, create a second list of your most urgent and important tasks. Focus on completing that list first. In addition to creating weekly to-do lists, you can develop a to-do list for each day to remain on track.
Manage Your Workload Efficiently Through Available Resources
If you ever feel overwhelmed, consider your available resources. Make use of your nursing school’s student support resources, as well as those that you find on your own. For instance, if you have trouble keeping track of your to-do items and daily schedule, consider downloading a scheduling app for your phone.
Try Time Blocking or Time Boxing
Time blocking is an effective time management skill for students and nurses alike. It involves “blocking out” large chunks of time during the day that are devoted to specific tasks according to your priorities.
For example, you may have several hours dedicated to classes, followed by a lunch break, more classes or labs and study time. Blocking out time for both school and personal tasks is important.
Another time management technique is time boxing. Like time blocking, time boxing focuses on completing one specific task within a period rather than completing several tasks in one block. For instance, let's say you have an adult health exam coming up. You can prepare by boxing off one hour to study each evening leading up to the exam.
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Practice Cluster Care During Clinicals
Cluster care is the time management practice of completing several tasks in one visit to a patient’s room. For example, rather than making separate stops to administer medication, help patients get to the bathroom and check on their pain level, a nurse can practice cluster care and do all of these tasks in one visit.
This not only saves the nurse time but improves patient care by reducing the patient’s risk of urinary tract infections. When you begin clinical rotations in nursing school, you can look for opportunities to practice cluster care.
Limit Distractions to Boost Productivity
When you're working on a difficult assignment or studying a challenging concept, doing almost anything else — from folding laundry to watching TV — can seem more appealing.
Limit distractions to improve your focus and, consequently, your productivity. Plan on doing your coursework and completing study time in a distraction-free setting, with your smartphone silenced and the TV turned off.
Avoid Multitasking But Take Advantage of “Dead” Time
Multitasking isn’t very productive. If you try to do multiple things at once, you usually compromise on quality. However, there is an exception to this rule.
You can take advantage of “dead” time. For instance, if you’re sitting on a bus or subway commuting to school, you can use the time to answer practice NCLEX questions on your phone. You could also listen to a nursing podcast while washing dishes.
Take Breaks to Prevent Burnout
Accelerated nursing school is intense. Although staying productive and managing your time well are important, you don’t need to be productive every second of every day. Taking regularly scheduled breaks is equally essential to prevent burnout.
Work Toward Success at Harding University
At Harding University, our ABSN program teaches both hard and soft skills that are essential for success in nursing. Through our curriculum, support services and resources, we support our students as they develop effective time management skills in nursing and earn their Bachelor of Science in Nursing in as few as 16 months.
Our dedicated faculty and comprehensive curriculum thoroughly prepare our students to confidently sit for the NCLEX and tackle the modern challenges of fast-paced nursing careers.
At Harding, you’ll have the ability to complete coursework online, which allows you to work on your time management skills early in your education. You’ll also work alongside fellow students and highly dedicated nursing instructors in nursing skills and simulation labs, as well as completing clinical rotations at leading health care facilities in the area.
Ready to get started? Contact our admissions counselors today to discuss the next steps in the admissions process.