GET AHEAD UNDERGRADUATE SUMMER PROGRAMME 2012 Time management Sara Steinke

Aims of the session To identify how well you use your time at present To think about how to prioritise your tasks To explore how to make the best use of your time

Why consider time management? Adult learners have many, often competing/conflicting, demands on their time; particularly involving family and work Often it is not ability that prevents students from achieving their best, but poor time management Related to other study skills required at university – study space, essay writing process, revision, presentations, exams, reading for learning

Studying lectures, reading, writing sleeping/ eating exercise/ relaxation home/ personnel work travel socialising These are the usual daily activities. Think about how much time you spend on each activity at present. How well do you use your time?

How well do I use my time?YesNo 1.I use small pockets of time effectively. 2.I am well motivated to start work quickly. 3.I do enough rather than aiming at perfection. 4. I say ‘NO’ when I lack time. 5.I use a diary to prioritise my activities.

1.Small pockets of time – around 45 minutes – are more productive. Short and frequent portions of time soon add up 2.Pareto Principle – 20% of our efforts deliver 80% of our results; 20% effort delivers an acceptable result, not perfect, but good enough 3.L’Oreal principal – ‘because you’re worth it’; educate your family, friends and colleagues to respect your study space/time 4.Use one diary to create a ‘to-do list’; prioritise tasks; note deadlines; write down dates you must begin working towards the deadlines 5.Recognise and deal with procrastination; set short, medium and long term goals; identify your time wasters (self-inflicted and given)

Procrastination Perfectionism Lack of self discipline Worrying Personal disorganisation Lack of priorities Inability to say ‘no’ Indecisiveness Socialising (too much) Intrusions (visitors, calls) Not finding resources Excessive family demands Not able to contact people 1.Which of these time wasters apply to you? 2.How are you going to deal with these time wasters?

List of things to do A Importance Need to do scale 6 (unimportant) to 10 (essential) B Urgency Do now scale 1 (must be done at once) to 5 (it can wait) C Subtract the score in column B from column A. The higher scores in column C are priorities. D Order of priority/ When to do Number the order of priorities 1. 2.

Establish a study timetable 1.Identify the three most important time management skills that you have learnt /thought about in this session. Why are they important to you? 2. How are you going to use these time management skills to create – and stick to – a study timetable?

Recap of the session We have identified how well you use your time at present You have become familiar with key time management skills You have considered how you can use these time management skills to fit in studying with other aspects of your life We have thought about prioritising your tasks and establishing a study time table

Cottrell, S. (2008) The Study Skills Handbook, 3 rd Edition (London, Palgrave) chapter 4 ‘The C.R.E.A.M. Strategy for learning’ pp skills4study/studyskills/ learning/time.asp (relevant tips and activity related to the above book) mybirkbeck/services/facilities /support/time-management (online resources available on the Birkbeck Library website) mybirkbeck/get-ahead-stay- ahead/skills/organisational- skills (a 20 minute interactive tutorial supporting this Get Ahead Summer programme)