Realistic Tools for Real Students

Time Management for Students

START HERE!

As you go through this module, fill in your answers, reflections and favourite tips in the form provided on the page.

Let’s be realistic…

We all struggle with managing our time and NO system is fool proof. As university students we don’t have the time to implement the often complicated advice of “experts.”

So what are some tips and tricks we can use to make our lives easier?

Where to start? Let’s reflect:

What prevents you from managing your time well?

For me, I end up wasting entire evenings on my computer playing games or watching silly videos

ANSWER QUESTION #1!

So how do we get around this? Almost nobody can avoid procrastination entirely

but we can lessen how much we procrastinate. Here are some helpful tips to consider:

Turn off your cell phone. Everyone will still be there when you turn it back on.

If you can, disconnect your internet.

Don’t study for too long- one hour of focused studying/work is better than 5 hours of strained, unfocused effort

ANSWER QUESTION #2!

Writing Things Down/Organizing Find a calendar, any calendar or

organizer will do. This will be your master list.

Carry around a small notebook or even a scrap of paper. Throughout your day, write down little reminders.

An example would be: “History Paper”, “birthday gift”

But what do I do with all of these lists?

At the end of the day, take all the things you wrote down and transfer them to your calendar or organizer

Write down when you would like to accomplish the task but don’t go too crazy… don’t set yourself up for failure by trying to do too much in one time slot.

Spacing things out makes actually doing them much easier.

Work Hard,

Play Hard

You don’t have to give up your social life to be a good student. The following tips will tell you how. Think about which one(s) might work for you and enter them into your action plan.

*Carry a book or an article that you need to read around with you and make use of time between classes to read.

*Study alone! Often we feel the need to study with friends but ask yourself “how much studying to I actually get done with friends?”- there is no substitute for quiet, focused study time

Tips to Get More Done in Less Time!

ANSWER QUESTION #3!

*Find a few different quiet study areas around campus and your house so that you can get away from distractions while also not getting bored of going to the same place everyday.

Let’s Pause Here…Take a moment to think back on what we’ve talked about

so far…

What might work for you?

What might not?Do you have a good balance of relaxing (play) and work

(studying) in your life?

Fill in the Action Plan on the side and then we’ll continue…

ANSWER QUESTION #4!

How to Avoid Pulling an All-Nighter

*start early! Don’t make excuses, schedule time every week or every day if needed, to chip away at larger assignments. 20 minutes per day over 2 weeks translates into over 4.5 hours of solid work done on an assignment

20mins a day X 7 days X 2 Weeks= +/-4.5 Hours!

This strategy may not work for you, and that’s ok- experiment! Do you prefer longer work periods over a short period of time or short periods of work over a long period of time?

How to Create a Balanced Schedule:5pm-6pm- Eat, Relax,

Vegitate

6-6:30pm- find sources

for research paper

6:30-7pm- go for a walk,

get some blood pumping

7-7:30pm- read one

article

7:30-???- relax, go out

with friends,

Monday

Don’t try to do too much, and try

schedule schoolwork for times when you know you’ll have

energy.

How to Schedule:

5pm-6pm- Eat, Relax,

Vegitate

6-6:30pm- read another

article

6:30-7pm- play with

kittens

7-7:30pm- start writing

paper- 300 word goal

7:30-???- party!

Tuesday

And so on…

By setting realistic goals, you set yourself up for success! If you

schedule 3 hours of study time, what are the chances you will

actually study for that long?

Notice all of

that free

time?!

When you are realistic with your goals and efficiently using your time, you end up with MORE free time. Getting started is usually the hardest part but once you’re past that, you may find you work for one hour, instead of only half an hour… if so, that’s great!

So…

Take some time now to finish the form on the Bottom of this webpage.

By doing this you will develop an Action Plan that you can then take to a Peer Academic Coach. They will discuss with you what works and what doesn’t- you can meet with them throughout the semester too to stay on track!

Now go out there and be successful!

Developed By Nick Thornton,

Sam Wempe, and Gillian Corbo:

Chapman Learning Commons Assistants