Welcome to Eight Skills for the Effective Online Criminal Justice Student!! Unit 2 Seminar: Time Management

What we will cover tonight Questions from last week Balancing priorities Time Management SMART Goals Final Project

Sonia’s Scenario Sonia’s now working with her insurance company, in addition to all of her other responsibilities (job, family, etc…) What can she do to better manage her time?

Time is a valuable commodity! Take control of your time and yourself. Time is valuable not only in “the business world” but everywhere.

Time Management Time management is really managing yourself. Some important things to remember: Don’t procrastinate Myths of multitasking Do take breaks!

Why do we Procrastinate? Superhuman expectations Whining Fear of failing Emotional blocks

Ways to avoid Procrastination: 1.Face up to the results of procrastination – and focus on the rewards of managing yourself and your time. 2.Break up big tasks into small ones. 3.Set a regular schedule (with time limits) and stick with it. 4.Establish study habits, which set reasonable, concrete goals. 5.Get help from your instructor. 6.Practice your new study habits for 21 days.. 7.Actually reward yourself when you have accomplished an important body of work. 8.Force yourself to jump into a project.

Ways to avoid Procrastination: (continued) 1.Start on the difficult, most or boring tasks first. 2.Practice “do it now.” 3.Find a quiet place to study and concentrate. 4.Gain the support of your family and/or friends. 5.Prepare to be successful by getting ready the evening before.

Suggestions for good time management skills To Do lists. Organize yourself at home and work similarly. Make notebook of repetitive tasks. Keep a calendar. Take breaks. Plan time carefully on large projects, particularly where working with others.

Organize yourself at home Show others in your household how to organize their work. If you are a perfectionist and want everything in your home to be perfect, get over it! Establish a time for study hall in your home. Put a message board in a convenient place for everyone to use. Delegate, delegate, delegate! Schedule at least one hour alone with each of your children each week. Make meals happy, relaxed times. Plan special times with your spouse or partner. Post a family calendar where everyone can see it.

Be careful of finances Book gives lots of suggestions for managing your finances. Review them. A big issue to remember: Identity theft. Need to be careful to shred all papers and documents leaving your house that may contain sensitive information.

WRITING AND ACHIEVING GOALS... SMART Specific Measurable Actionable/Attainable Responsible Parties Time bound

Start with Long Term Goals Start with life goals Evaluate what you need to do to get there Start setting intermediate and short term goals to achieve these long term goals Develop daily, weekly and monthly goals that will get you to your target.

Example: I want to become judge. Trial lawyer for a number of years; well respected; probably involved in local/state politics Go to law school; do well; pass the bar Complete AS and/or BS Perhaps work in the field during undergraduate studies

Evaluate your goals regularly. Are they too easily achievable? Are they taking too long? Are you feeling discouraged? Are you not sure that you’re moving forward? Are you rewarding yourself for achieving your goals?

Final Project Interviewing CJ professional. Unit 5 Proposal: 1 candidate, 1 back up, contact info on each, and areas of practice; also need your list of questions. Unit 9 Final Project: Brief summary of interview (two paragraphs); rest of the project is going to be a reflection on the interview and how it impacted you.

Final Project (Continued) Questions to consider: Do you have a personal interest in the career of the person you interviewed? If so, has your Interest changed due to your interview? What lessons did you learn or information did you gather from the CJ professional that may be valuable to you in your own career? Can you picture yourself as a CJ professional in the near future? If so, describe what you see? If not, why not? Appendix: List of questions asked and notes of their answers.

Questions? Please ask any questions you may have about this course.