Time Management

1. Time Management Concepts to Help You Manage Your Schedule

2. An Overview • Use a planner. Or use your cell or iPod calendar function. • Put aside time for studying. Really. Schedule time for studying. • Assume to have 2 to 3 hours of studying for hour you spend in class. • This may not be the case for every class, but is a good guideline. • Build a routine, find a time that works for you and try not to change it. • If you make studying a regular habit it will no longer seem as a chore. • Location is important, too. • Use small pieces of time. • Not all studying has to be done in hour long blocks. Even just fifteen or twenty minutes of focused studying can be very helpful. • Consider this…what do you ever do for four hours straight? • Shorter, focused, quality studying is better than lengthy, poor quality studying. • Do not procrastinate. • Deadlines can approach very quickly. Once you fall behind, it generally takes more work to catch up than originally studying would have required.

3. Simple Scheduling Exercise Try to keep a DAILY schedule. • Should be similar to a “to do” list. • Assign priorities to each activity and then make sure that you finish your most important items. • Make sure to continue to add to it as new items come up. MONTHLY Schedule • Spread large tasks over multiple study periods. • Read 10 pages a night for a week instead of 70 pages all at once! • You can visualize when your busiest times will be, and plan accordingly. SEMESTER Schedule • Mark down tests and quizzes. • All this information should be on COURSE syllabi. • Plot out what weeks will be the most demanding. • Semester or Holiday Breaks? • Refer to this schedule if you are having difficulty prioritizing tasks. Directions: Spend some time plotting your day, then your week, then your semester. The goal is to obtain a better understanding of how day-to-day activities relate to semester accomplishments, and vice versa. Use that understanding to PLAN MANAGE your time. With a little panning, you CAN find time to get everything done!

4. How to Get the Most Out of Your Time • Start projects as soon as they are assigned. • You should try to start large assignments as soon as possible so you do not have to rush through them as the due date approaches. • This approach will be less stressful because it will allow you the time to complete the work to the best of your ability. • Divide a large task into smaller, manageable “chunks”. • Working a half hour a day on a project for eight days is easier than trying to do it all in a four hour block.

5. Getting the Most Out of Your Time (cont.) • You should attend all your classes. • Listening to lectures from a real person is more helpful than simply reading information from the text. • Remember, you are paying for lecture time…get what you pay for! • Use your time wisely. • Try to use breaks in your schedule to accomplish tasks (errands, review notes, relax). • Make sure you set aside enough time to finish schoolwork and other tasks. • Consider your workload…is working 25 hours a week and taking 16 credits reasonable? • What is the best use of your time? • What is a poor use of your time?

6. How to Find Even More Time • Examine your preferences and priorities. • What you want to do versus what you need to do. • You want to achieve a manageable balance between the two. • Do not let social activities cut into your class work time. • While having a life outside of classes is important, remember that activities are the secondary reason you attend college. • If you have trouble finding time to study it might be because you have over-extended yourself. • Too many extra-curricular activities.? It might be best to limit the time spent in clubs and groups if you truly cannot find time to study. • If possible, take a week off from such activities and see if your newly opened schedule gives you time to study. • You can also decrease work hours during finals, midterms or other high stress times. • How about a Sunday evening “prep” session? • What does your week look like? • Can you prepare something now to save time later in the week? • Also consider shorter breaks. • Would coming back from Spring Break a couple days early help you?

7. Avoiding the Pitfalls of Procrastination • Start assignments NOW. • Go to class TODAY…and tomorrow. • Don’t wait until “later”. What if something else is happening “later”? • Organize projects into simple tasks. • Do the harder tasks first while your motivation is high. • Easier tasks take less time and energy! • Set a deadline for yourself…stick to it. • Be specific. “Next week” isn’t good enough. • Recruit your friends/family. They’ll ask you about progress.

8. Resources To Get You Started • Weekly Scheduling Grid • Take an honest look at how you spend your time. • Don’t forget to add Facebookand Xbox time. • “HOW TO” create your Microsoft Outlook calendar. • Use your laptop to keep you on task. • Sample week schedule • How does yours compare?

9. This PowerPoint presentation is the property of Northern Michigan University’s Academic & Career Advisement Center. It may not be reproduced without written consent. www.nmu.edu/acac