Chapter 3 Essential Study Skills by Wong Your life will have less stress and be more rewarding. You will have greater self-confidence and self-esteem. Yes, all that can really happen when you become your own time manager.

Goals of Time Management Strive for Balance Create strong patterns in your schedule Include time for your goals Establish good health habits

Goals of Time Management Strive for Balance Use the Pie of Life chart to see how well you are balancing the 3 areas of your life School Work Leisure Use the increase-decrease method

Goals of Time Management Create strong patterns in your schedule Wakeup and go to sleep at the same time on each day Plan for your peak-energy times

Goals of Time Management Establish good health habits Your brain is part of your body Take care of your body and your brain will take care of you Plan meals that will help you with your schedule

Goals of Time Management Set time aside on Sunday to create the weeks time management schedule

Creating a Weekly Time-Management Schedule Include your fixed activities Include fixed study times for each class Add several flexible study blocks Add time for specific goals and other responsibilities Include leisure, social time etc.

Creating a Weekly Time-Management Schedule Things to Consider Alert times of the day Study the hardest subject early in the day Study right before class if the class is a discussion group Study right after class if it is heavy in lecture i.e. Math class

Creating a Weekly Time-Management Schedule Things to Consider Plan to study 1 subject for about 50 minutes and take a 10 minute break Try to have at least 1 study block every day for each subject (this includes weekends) this is called Distributed Practice

Distributed Practice Allows you time for things to be considered. This helps you to build a basic background and gives you the opportunity to explore the subject in ways you would not have time for if you just quickly learned it. It gives you the means to strengthen your short- term memory which will help your long-term memory to retrieve it.

Creating a Weekly Time-Management Schedule Include your fixed activities Fixed activities are your responsibilities that do not change from week to week. Examples: Class time, work, meals and sleep, etc.

Creating a Weekly Time-Management Schedule Include fixed study times for each class Time on task means that you should spend the appropriate time on studying that it takes i.e. 2:1 ratio. For every hour you are in class you should spend 2 studying for it. If you do not use the 2:1 you should have a good, clearly justified reason why you are not!

Creating a Weekly Time-Management Schedule Add several flexible study blocks These are used as safety nets Use this time to cover the under estimated time of a subject

Creating a Weekly Time-Management Schedule Add time for specific goals and other responsibilities This is time in your schedule that is there for you The time set aside for other goals beyond classes that you want to complete.

Creating a Weekly Time-Management Schedule Include leisure, social time etc. It is important to have some time off from school It is the time to give your mind a rest Include time to call family and visit with friends

Creating a Weekly Time-Management Schedule

Other ways to Time Manage Inform others of your plans Trade times Use a daily planner Go back to Term-long Calendar Seek Solutions Map out your “Self-learning”

Other ways to Time Manage Inform other of your plans Tell your friends (roommate) and family what your schedule is Post your schedule so that people can know what you are doing at an given time Ask your friends and family to help you to keep to the schedule and save less important discussions to a time that fits your available time

Other ways to Time Manage Trade times Some days might not fit your schedule perfectly so adjust by trading times in your schedule to fit the change on that day Example: Your roommate really wants to talk to you about an event that happened to them. You have a time slot for later that evening for social time but it is now your study time.

Other ways to Time Manage Use a daily planner In your planner make a To-Do list for the next day. This will give you better ideas of how to use the flex time in your schedule

Other ways to Time Manage Go back to Term-long Calendar Go through your planner to see what is coming up soon Schedule projects into your up coming week schedule Remember to update your planner constantly Hint: Sunday is a good time to plan for the week

Other ways to Time Manage Seek Solutions Ask others how they manage their time. Ask for feedback on how your time management is effecting others. Remember time management is a goal you set, follow the goal setting skills you have learned Visualize your time management Look to the environment for help Monitor your progress (is this plan accomplishing what it needs to) Record your actions Revise your plan (update your planned weekly schedule) Take responsibility (avoid procrastinating on tasks) Tell yourself (task master & reward giver)

Other ways to Time Manage Map out your “Self-learning” Daily Schedule Weekly plan Long-term Goals