Time Management FYA101 Fall 2012

There are 168 hours in every week. How are you spending yours? Sleeping Going to the Gym Getting ready for class Working on campus Shopping for groceries Caring for family members Going out with friends Cultivating a relationship Meeting new people Going to office hours Volunteering Going to class Studying for tests Doing library research Taking a nap Exercising Catching up! Commuting Getting around campus Playing an instrument Trying to unwind Attending events on campus Helping a friend Checking Revising your essay Getting coffee Chatting with friends Keeping in touch with family How Does Everything Get Done ???

Time management is nothing but common sense. I do well in school, so I must be managing my time effectively. Time management? I work better under pressure. It takes all the fun out of life!!! No matter what I do, I won’t have enough time!

Yes! As college students, you are very busy people, and to make those 168 hours effective, you have to do some planning. What is Time Management? Simply, making the most of your time and energy! The Benefits of Time Management  You are more productive.  You reduce your stress.  You improve your self-esteem.  You achieve balance in your life.  You avoid meltdowns.  You feel more confident in your ability to get things done.  You reach your goals.

Why is Time Management Important???  “The Time Famine  Bad Time Management = Stress  This is life advice

People waste about 2 hours per day. Signs of time wasting:  Messy desk and cluttered (or no) files  Can’t find things  Miss appointments, need to reschedule them, late and/or unprepared for meetings  Volunteer to do things other people should do  Tired/unable to concentrate The Problem is Severe

 Being successful doesn’t make you manage your time well.  Managing your time well makes you successful. Hear me Now, Believe me Later

Steps to Managing Your Time  Set goals  Make a schedule  Revisit and revise your plan

Goal Setting  Academic Goals: goals related to your role as a student  Example: What grades do you want/need?  Social Goals: goals related to you as a social being  Example: How will you connect to the university community?  Career/Work Goals: goals related to your ambitions in the world of work  Example: Where do you want to be (job-wise) in 10 years?

Goal Setting  Make your goals specific and concrete. Don’t be vague.  Set long-term and short-term goals.  Set a deadline for your goals.  Integrate your goals: academic, social, and career.  Realize goals change and know which goals to stick to! Go for the goal!

From your goals, set priorities. Goal Setting  What’s important and what isn’t?  What order do things need to be done in?  Once you know what your priorities are, you need to plan out a schedule for the semester, the week and the day.  Planning may seem hard at first, but the more you do it, the easier and more natural it gets.

Make a Schedule  Schedules help us organize and plan our time.  Schedules also keep us on track by reminding us where we need to be or what we planned to do at a particular time.  Schedules help us plan our work and they help us work our plan!  Schedules help us reduce the amount of procrastination we engage in!

Make a Schedule Planning  Failing to plan is planning to fail  Plan Each Day, Each Week, Each Semester  You can always change your plan, but only once you have one!

Make a Schedule There will never be enough time to get everything done. But there will always be enough time to get the most important things done.

School is a Full Time Job!  Full time student spends 15 hours in class per week  Full time student spends a minimum of 30 hours per week studying  15 plus 30 equals 45 hours per week

Make a Schedule The Two to One Thumb Rule For every hour you are in class, you should study at least two hours =

Make a Schedule  Look at the syllabus for the class schedule.  Begin with blocking all class and lab times.  Block all other set time obligations:  Work, church, meetings, athlete’s schedule, etc.  Highlight all exams and project due dates.  Identify routine homework days.  Work backwards from exams and papers and map out study/writing time.  Don’t forget to take a break once in a while. Set Up Your Semester Calendar All Work and No Play Will Drive You Nuts!

Make a Schedule Remember to Expect the Unexpected  Spend 30 minutes or so mapping out the week.  Ask yourself these questions about the week:  What do I expect to accomplish?  What will I have to do to reach these goals?  What tasks are more important than others?  How much time will each activity take?  When will I do each activity?  How flexible do I have to be to allow for unexpected things? Set Up Your Weekly Plan Where does the time go?

Make a Schedule With everything that I’m juggling, I need to use some major time management skills!

Make a Schedule “Work smarter, not harder.”- Alan Lakein  Set realistic goals, there are only 24 hours in a day.  Use spare time to review.  Study at the same time each day: make it a habit  Divide study time into 50-minute blocks.  Don’t forget to reward yourself when you do something right! Take it One Day at a Time

Make a Schedule  Break things down into small steps  Like a child cleaning his/her room  Do the ugliest thing first To-Do List

Make a Schedule The Four-Quadrant To-Do List Important Not Important Due SoonNot Due Soon

Make a Schedule  Complete a term assignment preview.  Use a “week at a glance” organizer.  Enter in due dates and social events as soon as you can.  Review your calendar daily for the current week and upcoming week.  It just takes a moment to review your calendar and it relieves stress to know you are on top of things. Use a Daily Planner

Make a Schedule Be Tough With Your Time!  Now that you’ve been paying attention to your schedule, how are you actually using your time?  Which tasks were you able to do? What didn’t get done?  Was your energy level appropriate? Your stress level?  What changes need to be made to your weekly schedule?  What are persistent time wasters?  Could better communication have helped you stick to your plan?  Was procrastination an issue? Review and Revisit Your Plan

Procrastination Forms of Procrastination  Ignoring the task, hoping it will go away  Underestimating how long it will take  Overestimating your abilities and resources  Telling yourself that poor performance is okay  Doing something else that isn’t very important  Believing that repeated “minor” delays won’t hurt you  Talking about a hard job rather than doing it  Putting all your work on only one part of the task  Becoming paralyzed when having to make choices “Never do today what you can put off ‘till tomorrow!”

Procrastination  Doing things at the last minute is much more expensive than just before the last minute!  Deadlines are really important: establish them yourself! Avoiding Procrastination Use lots of Sticky Notes

Procrastination  Win the mental battle by committing to being on time.  Set and keep deadlines.  Organize, schedule & plan.  Divide a big job into smaller ones.  Find a way to make a game of your work or make it fun.  Reward yourself when you’re done.  Tell your friends and room mates to remind you of priorities and deadlines.  Learn to say “no” to time wasters. How to Overcome Procrastination?

Procrastination Are you working your “A’s” Off? Do You Have C-Fever? “A” LIST 1 Midterm test that counts for 50% of grade. 2 Write a eight page essay for English. “B” LIST 3 Prepare for a quiz in Biology. 4 Schedule an appointment with a Professor. 5 Complete a journal entry. “C” LIST 6 Buy laundry detergent. 7 Dust the videos on the bookcase. 8 a high school friend on another campus. 9 Shop for a new pair of athletic shoes. 10 “Armor-al” the dashboard of the car.

Procrastination Divide and Conquer Procrastination  A father gave his son a bundle of sticks and asked him to break it. After the boy struggled, the father took the bundle, untied it and broke one stick at a time.

Procrastination  We procrastinate because the “A” tasks seem too lengthy or too difficult  We procrastinate because we fear FAILURE. It is easier to accept that we failed because we didn’t even attempt a project than to fail at doing the project.  We procrastinate because we fear SUCCESS. If I get all “A’s” this semester, everyone will expect the same next semester. If I do an outstanding job on this project, my boss will just pile on more work. Fear of Success and Failure

Effective Study Habits  Find a place to study that is best for you.  Have everything you need to study, nearby while you study. Reward yourself for hard work.  Create a checklist of all the tasks you need to do before you begin to study..  Keep a “worry pad” while you study. Study Time

Effective Study Habits  Break Assignments such as essays and research papers into smaller tasks  Study least difficult subjects first  Take Breaks  Join Study Groups Use a Study System

Be Wary of Distractions!

Questions? Thank You