1. Managing your time and yourself
“Ordinary people merely think how they shall spend their time; a man of talent tries to use it”
Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher

2. Objectives Know the importance of time management
Assess energy level and time wasters
Set goals
Overcome procrastination
Prioritize first things first
Work smarter, not harder

3. Where does your time go?
Identify your level of energy and reflect upon your way of spending it.
What are the major activities and tasks that take much of your time?
What activities cause you to use time ineffectively?
What activities could you reduce or eliminate?

4. Time and energy When is your high-energy time?
Does your committed time reflect your values and goals?
Where should your time go?
Record a log of how much time you spend with different activities.
Try to identify patterns.

5. A Conversation between Alice and the Cheshire Cat (Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland)
“Would you tell me please which way I ought to go from here?” asked Alice.
“That depends a good deal on where you want to go to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where,” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

6. You can avoid Alice’s plight by determining what it is you really want to accomplish and your specific destination

7. Setting Goals
Take time, go inward and think about your deepest values and desires. As a consequence of knowing those goals, you will be able to:
List goals that you want to accomplish in the next five years
List goals for the next year
List goals for this term

8. Goal Conflict Are your goals realistic?
What hurdles must you overcome in order to reach your goal?
Does any other goal conflict with or undermine your main goal?
Reflect upon the importance of the conflicting goal.
Give up secondary goals that are not important or time-wasters.

9. Attitude about time Do you feel in control of your life?
Do you procrastinate?
Do you get sympathy when you are overloaded?
Does being rushed add drama to your life?
Do you use the excuse of not having enough time when your work lacks quality?

10. Negative emotions are time wasters!
Positive attitude is the single most important factor in success.
Set high standards of excellence!
Believe in yourself.
Have a sense of enthusiasm in your actions.
See the best in situations and people.
Have a healthy self-image.

11. Balance your life
For each area of your life write down your goals. Then indicate how you can commit a certain amount of time to meeting that goal.
Career/School
Growth - professional/personal skills, attitude
Spiritual - inner being, peace of mind
Relationships
Health
Recreation
Financial
Environment

12. Make a schedule
Make up your own schedule or mark on a calendar your commitments.
Include everything: social events, exercise time, etc.
Allow free time, too.
Follow this schedule for two weeks and see how accurate it is. Make changes accordingly.

13. Project schedule
In addition to a regular weekly or monthly schedule, you might find it helpful to make a schedule for each important project.
It works best to start with the due date and work backward, allotting plenty of time for each step.
Mark completed activities, then give yourself a “pat on the back”.

14. Revise and modify, don’t throw it out
Unexpected things do happen - the best plans have to be changed sometimes, but it is still important to plan.
Goals empower you to be in control of your life and to change direction, just as using a map and planning your route are integral parts of mountain climbing.

15. Time wasters
Identify and list the time spent on low-priority, often unplanned activities.
Invest time in high-priority items.
The 80/20 rule: people tend to spend 80% of their time on activities that produce only 20% of the results they want.
The rule of thumb is invest your time on items that produce the results you want.

16. Identify time wasters
Compare your answers with the following list of major time wasters:
socializing, interruptions, television
communication misunderstanding
over involvement with sports or clubs
unclear goals and directions
failure to plan or to set priorities
lack of information to make decisions

17. Time wasters may be symptomatic of other problems such as:
Procrastination
Lack of motivation
Lack of self-discipline
Lack of skills
Negative thoughts and worrying
Inability to say no
Perfectionism
Daydreaming
Spending time on trivia

18. Helpful things in managing time
Create a supportive study area (private, quiet, etc.)
Keep your study space organized
Know your rhythms
Discuss study needs with family or room mates
Don’t blame others if you can’t decline offers to socialize

19. Daily energy levels
Be aware of your particular energy fluctuation during the day (body rhythms)
Study at the times when your energy level is high
Commit low energy-times for mindless physical work, chores, easy reading

20. Other strategies
Tackle most difficult tasks first or during high-energy times
Study during “down-time” (between classes, etc.)
Study in short segments during the day
Break projects down
Delegate if possible
Be flexible

21. Be ‘in Sync’ with your Left- or Right-Brain Style
Left-brain dominant:
organized, consistent, self-directed
wants a quiet place to work alone
likes to work step-by-step
Right-brain dominant:
focus on the whole picture instead of parts
more visual cues
energized with people
likes to juggle several projects during the day
flexible schedule

22. Just do it!

23. How to contact us
Cindy Ewald and her team can help you with these skills!
Call Learning Resource Services at or at
We look forward to meeting you!