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| Time Management Time management is an essential skill for maximizing performance and reducing stress. The following guidelines are designed to support your efforts. 1. Make a schedule grid for a typical week: 12a 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12p 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 2. Put your "fixed commitments" on your schedule in the hours/days you must devote to each one. This includes any obligation you cannot change the hours of, like a job or class. 3. Figure out your "variable commitments". These are things you must do but whose hours/days you can choose, like homework or meals. Estimate two hours of homework for every one hour of class. Put your variable commitments on your schedule, planning things that are hardest for you to do at times you have the most energy and those easiest for you to do when you have the least energy. 4. Put a block of time for "special projects" in your schedule. It should include one hour for each class you take. Use this time for working on research, papers, and studying separate from routine homework/preparation for class. 5. Stick to the schedule. Treat your variable commitments like fixed ones, i.e. keep to your plan for all items. Go to a library to do homework/study if that helps you avoid distractions. 6. Review the schedule after two weeks. Make any adjustments your experience with it suggests, i.e. some courses may need more time. 7. If you cannot get everything into the schedule, consider taking fewer credits or working fewer hours. For a college course, you should have two hours to prepare for each hour you spend in class. |
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