Time management is a true art. One which few ever totally master. Students are forever complaining that they don’t have enough hours in the day to get everything done. But 24 hours is a lot of time, right? So where does it all go? And how can you better use your time to become more productive? The secret to productivity is hidden in your dead time. Dead time will enable you to make more time available in your day-to-day life. Or rather, to make use of the time you were otherwise wasting.
What is it?  Â
Dead time is time in which someone or something is not acting productively. Perhaps the time spent when you are waiting for something, or when you do something without a real purpose.
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Dead time is everywhere… Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Your journey to school. The five minutes you spend between lessons. The two minutes it takes for your laptop to load up in the morning. Although seemingly insignificant in isolation, it really adds up. Based on the many students we’ve spoken to, we estimate that the average person has in excess of 1.5 hours of dead time every day! If you can get into the habit of using this dead time to do little bits and pieces of larger tasks, you’ll be able to use those random, useless moments in your day to your advantage.
Here are some examples of situations where dead time tends to hide, and how you might make use of it:
On your journey to school…Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
- Download Duolingo and practice your language subject                Â
- Make yourself a set of flashcards on Memrise to help you revise for an upcoming test
- Listen to podcasts. Whether related to your studies or not, listening to podcasts can make you feel worldly-wise!
Whilst you’re brushing your teeth…Â
Take a pack of post-it notes. On each, write a definition that you need to learn, a buzz-word or a quote. Stick these around your bathroom mirror. Then, every morning and evening when you stand there mindlessly brushing your teeth, glance over the notes. Remember – dead time adds up. You may only brush your teeth for 2 minutes, twice a day. But that’s half an hour a week. Two hours a month. 24 hours a year! That’s a whole lot of studying, and that’s time extremely well spent.
Waiting for anything…
Carry a small revision guide or some notes around with you in your backpack. When you find yourself stuck in a waiting room, or outside a teacher’s office, take it out and flick through. Perhaps even bring a highlighter in order to remember some key ideas!
So there we have it, a number of top tips to make sure you use your ‘dead time’ as effectively as possible! If you want to find out more about how Lanterna can help you with your IGCSEs, click here!
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