Effective Time Management Balancing Time & Commitments

Tips for Effective Time Management Spend time in Planning and Organizing: Think and Plan Organize in a way that makes sense to you Set Goals: Decide what you want to do Take a “SMART” approach Goals give you required direction Prioritize: Prioritize and identify what you value Flagging/Highlighting can be very helpful Once prioritize, concentrate on those that would add value Use a to do list: Find out what is urgent and important Put them in order of preferences One completed delete them from your list Be Flexible: Allow time of interruptions and distractions Save larger block of time for priorities Ask yourself questions and get back to your goal Consider your Biological Time: Find out which is the best time for you study Are you a morning person? A night owl? Late Afternoon? Do Right Things Right: Doing things right is Effectiveness Doing things right is Efficiency Focus first for Effectiveness Concentrate on Efficiency Eliminate the Urgent: Urgent tasks have short term Consequences Important tasks are long term and goal related Flagging and or highlighting items are important Attach deadline to each of the items Conquer Procrastination: Learn to say “NO” Reward Yourself

Time Management Steven R. Covey’s “Time Management Matrix” Urgent: An activity that you or others feel requires immediate attention. Important: An activity that you find valuable and that contributes to your mission, values, and high-priority goals. THE PROCRASTINATOR Study for tomorrow’s exam. Pay overdue cell-phone bill Work on project due today. Visit a roommate or family member who has been in an accident. THE PRIORITIZER Go on a date with a friend Work on an essay due in 30 days Call home Visit with academic advisor THE YES MAN Engage in idle conversations. Respond to all instant messages. Respond to all phone calls. Spend time on trivial questions. THE SLACKER Engage in too much TV, web surfing, or video games. Engage in time wasters. Become absorbed in escape activities. Procrastinate. UrgentNot Urgent Not Important Important

Personal Survey To begin managing your time you first need an idea on how you now use your time. The personal time survey will help you to estimate how much time you currently spend in typical activities. To get a more accurate estimate, you may keep track on how you spend your time during a week. This will help you get a better idea of how much time you need to prepare for each subject. It will also help you identify your time wasters. But for now complete the Personal Time Survey to get an estimate. The following time survey shows the amount of time you spend in various activities. When taking the survey, estimate the amount of time spent on each item. Once you have this amount, multiply it by seven. This will give you the total amount of time spent on each activity during the week. After each item’s weekly time has been calculated, add all this time for the grand total. Subtract this from 168, the total possible hours per week.

Survey 1.Number of hours if sleep each night ___x 7=____ 2. Number of grooming hours per day ___x 7=____ 3. Number or hours per meal/Snack ___x 7= ____ (Include preparation time) 4.A Total travel time week days ___x 5=____ 4.B Total travel time weekends ____ 5. Number of hours during the week for regularly scheduled functions (clubs, Church, get-togethers, etc) ____ 6. Number of hours of work per week ____ 7. Number of hours of class per week ____ 8. Number of hours per day for chores, errands, extra grooming, etc. ___x 7= ____ 9.Number of hours per week socializing, dates, etc. BE HONEST!! ____ Now ADD UP the Totals: ______ Subtract the above number from 168 -______= _____ The remaining hours( number inside the block) are the hours you allowed your self to study

Study Hour Formula To determine how many hours you need to study every week to get A’s, use the following rule. Study two hours per hour in class for an essay class, three hours per hour in class for an average class and four hours for an hour in class for a difficult class. For example basket weaving 101 is a relative easy 3 hours course. Usually, a person would not do more than 6 hours of work outside of class per week. Advance calculus is usually considered a difficult course, so it may be best to study the proposed 12 hours a week. If more hours are needed, take away hours from easier courses. Easy class credit hours ________x 2 = ______ Average class credit hours ________x 3 = ______ Difficult class credit hours ________x 4 = ______ Total _________ Compare this number to your time left from the survey. Now is the time when many student might find themselves a bit stressed. Just a note to ease your anxieties. It is not the quantity of study time but also the quality. This formula is a general guide line. Try it for a week, and make adjustments as needed.

Completing the Daily, Weekly, and Quarterly Time Management Grids Weekly Time Management Grid: 1. Current class schedule. Write the name of the class on the day it occurs, please include any lab times. 2. Current work schedule. Include any weekend hours, and also give a copy of your schedule to your employer, noting exam days so you can get off work and have adequate study time. 3. Write the times you eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. 4. Actual study times. Identify routing homework and study days. Make sure this is the best time for you to study. Be sure to include regular breaks. 5. Schedule social time. All work and no play can make college life pretty boring. While it is important that you schedule time to study and complete your assignments, it is equally important to have a balance of activities that are fun! (Church, Club, Organization meetings, leisure activities, etc.) Quarterly Time Management Grid: 1. Date each box. Write the actual date for the current quarter in the upper right hand corner of each box. 2. Holidays. Use a highlighter to mark the university wide recognized holidays. 3. Due dates of assignments. Using your syllabi for each class, write in the dates in which every assignment is due. This also includes any tests and quizzes, as well as final exams. 4. Lastly, color code each class with the corresponding assignment. 5. Work backwards from exams and papers to map out study/writing time.

Completing the Daily, Weekly, and Quarterly Time Management Grids Daily Time Management Grid & Things to Do List: 1. Current Day. There is a grid for each day of the week. Write the actual day. 2. Plan. What are you planning on doing today? Write it down. This is the same information from your weekly planning grid. 3. Monitor. What did you actually did in those hours? Record and track! 4. Prioritize. On the reverse side is a “things to do list.” You should record everything else you need to do on this day, (phone calls, checking mailbox, going to the bank, meeting with a friend or professor). Decide what items is high, medium, or low priority Other important tips: Remember that fall quarter usually has an additional week. This means you will have to write another line for the 11th week. Add special notes for each weekend’s tasks and study times. Consider enlarging this grid or using a large 3 month calendar to fully track your assignments. Remember your schedule will change during finals week. That’s why it is important to include this information with item #3 above.

Weekly Time Management Grid TimeMondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturdaySunday 6:00 7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 5:00 6:00 7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00

Quarterly Planning Grid DateWeekMondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturdaySunday 1 st 2 nd 3 rd 4 th 5 th 6 th 7 th 8 th 9 th 10 th Finals

Daily Time Management Things to do list Date: Monday __/__/__ 1.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 2.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 3.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 4.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 5.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 6.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low Date: Tuesday __/__/__ 1.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 2.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 3.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 4.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 5.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 6.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low

Daily Time Management Things to do list Date: Wednesday __/__/__ 1.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 2.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 3.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 4.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 5.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 6.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low Date: Thursday __/__/__ 1.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 2.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 3.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 4.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 5.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 6.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low

Daily Time Management Things to do list Date: Friday __/__/__ 1.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 2.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 3.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 4.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 5.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 6.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low Date: Saturday __/__/__ 1.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 2.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 3.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 4.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 5.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low 6.________________________________ Priority □High□Medium□Low

Time Management Grid Date: Day___/___/___ Plan Monitor 7:00 7:15 7:30 7:45 8:00 8:15 8:30 8:45 9:00 9:15 9:30 9:45 10:00 10:15 10:30 10:45 11:00 11:15 11:30 11:45 12:00 12:15 12:30 12:45 1:00 1:15 1:30 1:45 2:00 2:15 2:30 2:45 3:00 3:15 3:30 3:45 4:00 4:15 4:30 4:45 5:00 5:15 5:30 5:45 6:00 6:15 6:30 6:45 7:00