Time Management Colin Neville

Time Management Issues for Students Three Big Time Management Issues for Students PERFECTIONISM Trying to get things perfect: causes tasks to stack up PROCRASTINATION Putting off starting until the last minute POOR PLANNING: Problems with planning ahead & balancing tasks

Procrastination A study by O’Brien (2002) suggested that over a third of students feel that procrastination is a problem for them. Burka and Yuen (1983), suggested that procrastination often emerges as a means of distancing oneself from stressful activities, and that the most difficult tasks are often put to one side mentally until the last possible minute.

Causal Dimensions of Time Management Problems for Students Intrinsic/EmotiveExtrinsic/External Feel overwhelmed & ‘frozen’ by all the tasks Anxiety about what is expected of them Anxiety about writing: worried about the quality of their work Wanting to live up to other people’s standards Wanting to live up to their own image of themselves Bored – motivation is low Workload is heavy & appears overwhelming Lack of clarity about what is expected Student not experienced in managing time independently Cultural dimensions: come from a society that is relaxed about time Course is not interesting

Challenge of Independent Work The challenge for students is managing the time away from scheduled lectures and tutorials, particularly managing the time for independent research and reading The first stage is to work out how much time you have got for independent work (now complete worksheet)

Use of Students’ Time (Payne & Whittaker 2000)

How Much Time Is Enough? One survey suggested that 2 extra hours for every hour spent in scheduled lectures per week was necessary to achieve the best results (Univ. York 2002) Norton (1990) and Mahalaski (1992) found that students who spent at least 7 hours in total writing an assignment of 2-3,000 words) did significantly better than those who spent less time.

Weekly & Daily Schedule Importance of allocating available time to priority & Important tasks; need for a weekly schedule or overview of study tasks Importance of having clear and reasonable study targets for each day

1. Prioritisation Worksheet PRIORITY Important Pending

2. Task Timelines (fee software can be downloaded from the internet)

Task MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturdaySunday 3. Weekly Task Scheduler (downloaded from Microsoft Office OnLine)

Four Tips for Managing Time 1.Start with the unpleasant tasks first – get them out of the way early. 2.Set yourself a short time limit for reading: 40 – 45 minutes tends to be the maximum time most people can read before their concentration slips. At the end of the set time, stop and take a break. 3.Don’t struggle with books you find hard to read. If you find a particular set book hard to follow, try another that offers you a simpler or clearer explanation of the same subject. 4.Keep your working area clear of clutter: the Wall Street Journal reported that typical US Executive wastes 5 hours a week looking for misfiled/mislaid items. (Lindley 2006).

References Burka, J. B. and L.M. Yuen (1983). Procrastination: Why You Do It and What to Do About It. Reading (USA), Massachussetts: Addison- Wesley. Lindley, D. (2006) Managing Household Paper Flow. From Online Organising.Com. Available at go&article=489 [Accessed 12 Oct. 2006]. Mahalaski, P.A. (1992). Essay writing: do study manuals give relevant relevant advice? Higher Education, 24: Norton, L.S. (1990). Essay writing: what really counts? Higher Education, 20: O'Brien, W.K. (2002). Applying the transtheoretical model to academic procrastination. Dissertation Abstracts International. Section B: The Sciences and Engineering. 62(11-B): Payne, E. and L. Whittaker (2000). Developing Essential Study Skills. Harlow: Prentice Hall. University of York (Counselling Service) (2002). Time Management. York: as author.