Managing Time

There are 168 hours in every week.

How are you spending yours?
Sleeping Taking a nap
Going to the Gym Exercising
Getting ready for class Catching up!
Working on campus Commuting
Shopping for groceries Getting around campus
Caring for family members Playing an instrument
Going out with friends Trying to unwind
Cultivating a relationship Attending events on campus
Meeting new people Helping a friend
Going to office hours Checking email
Volunteering Revising your essay
Going to class Getting coffee
Studying for tests Chatting with friends
Doing library research Keeping in touch with family
Myths about Time Management
Time management is nothing but common sense. I
do well in school, so I must be managing my time
effectively.

Time
No matter
management? I
what I do, I
work better
won’t have
under pressure.
enough time!

It takes all the

fun out of life!!!
 The Truth!
As college students, you are very busy people, and to make those
168 hours effective, you have to do some planning.

The Benefits of Time Management

You are more productive.
Yes! 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.

What is Time Management?

Simply, making the most of your time and energy!
 A Word about ENERGY
The most overlooked aspect of time management is
your energy level.
•Evaluate your energy level at different times of day.
•Schedule tasks when you have the energy level to match.
•If you are a “morning person,” seize the early hours
to study and do assignments that require focus.
•If you are an “evening person,” make sure that you
are being productive and not sacrificing sleep for extra
hours to socialize.
•Losing sleep is the easiest way to sabotage your energy level!

Don’t let this be you!

Steps to Managing Your Time

1. Set goals

2. Make a schedule

3. Revisit and revise your plan

 Go for
Where to start? the
goal!
1. Set Goals!
 Make your goals specific and
concrete. Don’t be vague.
 Set both long-term goals and short-
term ones to support them.
 Set a deadline for your goals.
 Integrate your goals: school,
personal and career.
 Realize that goals change, but
know which goals to stick to!
 Set Goals! continued

From your goals, set priorities.

 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.
 2. Make a Schedule
Set Up Your Semester Calendar
 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 and so on…
 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.
 Make a Schedule continued
Set Up Your Weekly Plan
Where
Spend 30 minutes or so mapping out the week. does the
Ask yourself these questions about the week: time go?
 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?
Derek’s Schedule
With everything that I’m
juggling, I need to use
some major time
management skills!
 A Week in Derek’s Semester

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Work til 5:00 Work til 5:00 Work til 5:00 Work til 5:00 Work til 5:00 Bike Ride World Civ
8:30 am Reading 9 am
Biology Finish World World Biology 5-7 pm Mom’s Choir 10 am Church 10:30
5-7pm Civilization Civilization Lab Due Next Birthday Party Work on Bio Barbecue at
Paper at the 6-9 pm Week 6:00 pm Lab Report Ronda’s 1pm
Library 6-10pm 12pm Catch up on
Paper Due
Pick up Keith homework
at the airport 7-10pm
3pm

How effective is Derek’s schedule?

Does he allow enough time to accomplish what he schedules?
Is he paying attention to his energy level?
Does it look like Derek will accomplish everything he plans?
How well will he be able to accomplish certain tasks?
Do you have a schedule?
Organizing Your Day:

“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!
 Do you use a Daily Planner?

 Complete a term assignment  Review your calendar daily for

preview. the current week and upcoming
 Use a “week at a glance” week.
organizer.  It just takes a moment to review
 Enter in due dates and social
your calendar and it relieves
events as soon as you can. stress to know you are on top of
things.
 Derek’s Scheduled Day

9am-12pm Work
12pm-1pm Lunch Read World Civ. Book
1pm-5pm Work
5pm-6pm Head Home Eat Dinner
6pm-10pm Library Work on World Civ.
Paper
Derek’s Scheduled Day ruined

Derek, I might be late getting

home from work. We might not
eat til later.

Derek, I need your report by 1 pm. It might cut into

your lunch hour, but it’s a top priority.
 SAVED
Derek’s Scheduled Day
Okay, I’ll plan to be home at 6:00.

If I have to work through lunch can I leave

early? I have an important class assignment
that I need to work on.

That should be alright.

If I feel tired at
the library, I’ll
just take a
walk.
 revisED
Derek’s Scheduled Day
^
9am-4pm Work
4-5:30pm Study Read World Civ. Book
5:30-6:30pm Head Home Eat Dinner
6:30-8pm Library World Civ. Paper
8-8:30pm Walk Call Jasmine
8:30-10pm Library Finish Paper
 3. Revisit and Revise Your Plan
Are you making progress?
 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?
Procrastination:
“Never do today what you can put off ‘till tomorrow!”

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
 How to Overcome 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 Use lots
of
priorities and deadlines. Stickies
 Learn to say “no” to time wasters.
 Tackle Time Wasters
 First, learn to recognize when you’re wasting time.
 Decide what you need to do and can realistically do.
 Learn how to say “NO” when you don’t have time.
 Use an answering machine and return calls at your convenience. The
telephone is a major time killer.
 Learn to say “I can’t talk right now. I’ll get back to you.”
 Wasting time is often linked to a lack of self-discipline.
 Ask yourself, “Do I really need to do this or not?”
 Learn to say “No!”
Don’t let distractions sap your time!
 Avoid the temptation to socialize when I have a study group
you’ve scheduled work. tonight. Are you free on
Thursday?
 If friends ask you to join them last
minute, decline outright, but ask if you
could get together later in the week.
 Socializing is important when you don’t
have other things to worry about!
 Study somewhere you won’t be
tempted to chat, watch movies or
YouTube, or use social utilities like
Facebook.
 Revisit Your Values

 Knowing what is most valuable to

you gives direction to your life.
 Your energy should be oriented first
toward things that reflect the values
that are most important.
 Examine your values to help you
make time management decisions.
 Time Management Techniques
The Set Time Method
Block out a specific time to accomplish a task.
Examples:
Monday 1:00—2:00 Work physics problems
Saturday 9:00—11:30 Go to the gym

The Swiss Cheese Approach

Whenever you find yourself with some free time, do a
small part of a larger task
Examples:
Arrive to class 10 minutes early and
brainstorm research ideas while waiting for your
friend to arrive for lunch, review notes from
today’s History lecture.
REVISE and PREVIEW:
Staying on top of things…
 Immediately note all changes.
Exam/Paper due date revisions
Meeting additions/cancellations
Work schedule changes
Upcoming visitors, etc., etc…
 Preview the upcoming week making any necessary
adjustments.
 Preview each day to see what might happen…
 If you commute to school, you can…

 Listen to audiotape lectures or podcasts.

 Go over what you learned in class on your way to or from
work.
 If you carpool with others from your class, use the time to
discuss class material.
 Exchange phone numbers with other students early in the
semester.
 Create a personal commuter telephone directory.
 Review
 Time and energy management can make you more
productive and reduce your stress level.
 The Three Steps
 Set goals

 Make a schedule

 Revisit and revise your plan

 Be tough with your time. Actively avoid procrastination

and time wasters. Learn to say “no” to distractions.
 Employ a variety of time management strategies to
maximize your time.
 Relax and enjoy the extra time that you’ve discovered!