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Tick, tick, tick... No, it’s not the beginning of 60 Minutes. It’s time moving
on. College students often report that their inability to
manage their time is the biggest problem they face in college.
Time management is a skill few people master, but it is the
one most people need.
Do you agree? Probably, since you are reading this right now. You have so many competing demands on your time: school, work, friends, family, and on and on. How can you come to grips with all of it? Most time management experts say that one of the first things people need to do to better manage their time is to determine how they spend their time now. A tool for doing this is called a time audit.
A time audit is a record of how you spend your time -- all of your time. You need to record everything you do during each half hour period of a week that you choose. For example, you would record the time it takes you to get out of bed, shower and get dressed, your drive time, time spent to make and eat your food, do dishes, drive to school/work, etc. The best way to record your time is to use a day-at-a-glance calendar with a time chart. This should give you a start in observing your time usage more objectively. When you have completed the time audit, attempt to locate your time budgeting problems and see how you spend your time.
When you work on your time audit, you must consider the hours you plan for school. The general rule of thumb is: for every credit hour you take, you need to plan at least two hours for studying outside of class. For example:
Credits/Hours in Class | | Time for Studying | | Total Hours/Week |
3 | + | 6 | = | 9 |
6 | + | 12 | = | 18 |
12 | + | 24 | = | 36 |
15 | + | 30 | = | 45 |
Once again, when you are planning your time, it’s a good idea to figure in all commitments of time in your life. We can look briefly at a sample schedule. A full time student taking 12 credits would spend 12 hours per week in class. An additional 24 hours should be planned for studying which brings the total to 36 hours per week. There are 168 hours in a week, and after 36 hours are set aside for school, there are 132 hours left. If you plan to sleep 56 hours during a week (8 hours per night), then there are 76 hours left. A 25 hour a week job would leave 51 hours to fit in eating and hygiene. As you can see below, good time management and planning would be helpful when you are a student.
Time Factors When Taking 12 Credits in School | Where Does Your Time Go? |
168 hours in one week | 168 hours in one week |
-36 hours for taking 12 credits | -____ hours/week for school |
-56 hours for sleeping | -____ hours for sleeping |
-25 hours for working | -____ hours for working |
-21 hours for eating (3 hours per day) | -____ hours for eating |
-14 hours for hygiene (2 hours per day) | -____ hours for hygiene |
====== | ====== |
16 hours (2.2 per day) remaining for family,
friends, recreation, etc. | _____ hours remaining |
Initially you may be surprised by this schedule, but putting it into perspective you will see that there is plenty of time to get everything done in a given week. Use this time wisely and you will prosper. Use it poorly, and you will fail to do the job you came to school to do. Your schedule is in your hands. Make it work for you!
Time Management Tips
Personal time management is important for three reasons:
1. First, by actively managing your time usage you can
put yourself in control. You will cease being an aimless
wanderer and will begin to structure your time.
2. Time management will allow you to have a more relaxed
and less anxious approach to life. Time management saves
wear and tear on your nerves.
3. By using your time in a constructive manner, you
will achieve better results and become more effective,
not only in school but in life.
The following are some tips to help you manage yourself effectively:
1. Get a calendar (day-at-a-glance) or daily planner and mark off primary obligations. Carry it with you to school and work.
2. Identify "best time" for studying: everyone has high and low periods of attention and concentration. Are you a "morning person" or a "night person?" Use your power times to study; use the down times for routines such as laundry and errands. Once you identify your "best time" for studying, make it a fixed time in your planner.
3. Study difficult subjects first. When you are fresh, you can process information more quickly and save time as a result.
4. Study in shorter time blocks with short breaks between. This keeps you from getting fatigued and "wasting time." This type of studying is efficient because while you are taking a break, the brain is still processing the information.
5. Make sure you schedule time for work, entertainment and relaxation.
6. Make sure you have time to eat and sleep properly. Sleep is often an activity (or lack of activity) that students use as their time management "bank." When they need a few extra hours for studying, working, or socializing, they withdraw a few hours of sleep. Doing this makes the time they spend studying less effective because they will need a couple of hours clock time to get an hour of productive time. This is not a good way to manage yourself in relation to time.
7. Make a daily list of things to do and set priorities (must do, should do, can wait, etc.). Check off accomplishments.
8. Set goals at every level: daily, weekly and monthly. Be realistic.
9. Keep track of your progress toward meeting goals. Are you finding the time to meet your goals?
10. DO NOT PROCRASTINATE!!
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