The effect of university students' time management skills on their achievement: The mediator role of stress

The concept of time flowing from past to present is of great importance for people. The fact that time is irreversible reminds us once again of the importance of time management. Time management is the process of determining how to share time effectively and correctly between different activities. The productivity of an individual who can manage his time increases, he achieves a career by approaching his goal more quickly and achieves success more quickly. Stress is a situation that every human being has experienced more or less. Due to excessive stress, low performance, inefficiency, burnout, anxiety, etc. occur in people. These situations will inevitably affect success negatively. In order to avoid such negative consequences, it is necessary to find the source of stress and determine methods of coping with stress. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of time management skills of university students on achievement and to examine the role of stress factor in this effect. In order to achieve this aim, a literature review was conducted and the data were collected by questionnaire method since it is suitable for collecting information directly. Validity and reliability studies of the scales used in analyzing the data were conducted. The scales used were found to be valid and reliable. A total of 327 students, 225 females and 102 males, studying at Elazığ Fırat University in the 2024-2025 academic year, participated in the study and the results were evaluated. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS package program. Analyses for mediating effects were obtained through the Process Macro plug-in in SPSS. According to the research findings, time management has a significant effect on achievement status. In the analyzes, it has been proved that stress plays a mediating role on the achievement status of university students' time management skills.