Time Management & Other Tips Presented by Chareane Wimbley-Gouveia Learning Center WH 228

Your Life Plan: Achieved One Step at a Time! SUCCESS!!! Your dreams in life Your Long -term goals for each dream Your Short-term goals for each dream Your weekly action plan to achieve each dream Your daily to-do lists

To get whatever you want from life, you have only to set in motion the appropriate cause, and the effect will take care of itself. --- Keith Ellis, author of The Magic Lamp: Goal Setting for People

Activity: 1 Time Management Questionnaire 1.Fill out the half sheet that begins: “Answer YES or NO to the following questions.” 2.Total your points. 3.Be ready to share with a show of hands, your score: A. above 6 ? B. below 6?

When you want more hours in your day, find your Time Wasters Telephone, Television, Internet Game Unscheduled visitors Procrastination Poor Planning Lack of self-discipline Inability to set limits

Activity 2: Icebreaker Get in groups of two or three: Introduce yourselves Identify THREE Ways you waste your time. When you hear the bell, I’ll call for volunteers to call out time wasters

Activity: 3 Finding Time 1.Fill out the long half sheet titled: “Where does your time go?” 2.Total your time spent on various activities. 3.Subtract your total from 168 hours: hours per week - ____ hours of activities = ____ hours to study

The 2:1 Study Ratio Is Just an Average Many instructors suggest you study TWO hours for every ONE credit you are taking. Hint: This is Just an Average. Average Students make Average Grades Your learning style, academic preparation, and knowledge of subject matter will determine how much time YOU need to study 3+:1

Planning Your Schedule Term Calendar: Tests, papers, appointments, other commitments Find an LBCC monthly Planning Guide !! On-line, On Your Phone, On Your Computer On your Wall Fixed Commitment Calendar: – Sleep, Class, Work, Family, Commute Time, etc. – Use it to find your open times for studying and achieving your goals!

Weekly/Daily To-Do List List of all the things you need to get done Start with verbs and be specific – Study chapter 3 & 4 – Solve math problems pp 136 Rank the importance Urgent: Must do or bad things will happen – Need to do: but can put off for a bit Nice to do at some point

Make your Schedule Work Study Difficult or Boring Subjects First…while you are most alert Identify the best time of day to study Use the same place to study – enhances concentration Use the Library or Learning Center: signals your body and brain to get to work! Avoid distractions – research shows that multi-tasking doesn’t work!

What’s Important In College Not how long it takes you to graduate, but whether you get good grades. Advice: Never take more credits than you have time to earn straight “A”s without getting overly stressed! Example: 12 credits = 36 hours to study

Planning: Why Do It? Greater chance of achieving your long term goals Sense of order, progress and accomplishment Allows evaluation: am I meeting my goals or should I change them?

Action Planning to the Rescue! Goal: A specific thing you are trying to achieve Target date (the due date) Action tasks (10-30 minutes max. each) Materials needed (to get you organized) To Do date (earlier than the target date) Evaluation ( actual time it took – save for later) Outcome: Did you meet your goal?

Accept that Life will throw you Challenges… And schedule “extra time” as a cushion to prepare for them! (Don’t wait until the last minute! ) Example: If a paper is due in three weeks, strive to finish it two and a half weeks

Why do we procrastinate? We’re overscheduled We’re behind We think the project has no value We’ve got better things to do We’re waiting for the perfect time to start We think the project won’t take so long BIGGEST: We’re afraid we can’t do it

Overcoming Procrastination Procrastination is normal To overcome it, break big projects into tasks you can manage with an Action Plan – Tasks should not take longer than minutes – Tasks should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and easy to see if you’ve completed them! Make a weekly appointment with yourself to review your goals

Procrastination Caused by Fear Fear of the unknown Fear of Success Fear of Failure Fear of Difficulty – To beat your fear, face it squarely – Break the task into smaller bits, and do just one! – Ask for help: Career Counseling Center,

Ask yourself: What will I do TODAY that will take me closer to my goal? The student who is working for certification will focus on the topics she needs to know this week. The student who wants to ace a test will listen to a relaxation tape to reduce his test anxiety.