TIME MANAGEMENT

Megan Poore
Academic Skills and Learning Centre
Tel: 6125 2972
My God, do you realize the
years half over?
Coverage
1. Advantages of good time
management.
2. Current time management skills.
3. Goal-setting and to-do lists.
4. Time management scheduling.
5. Overcoming procrastination.
Focus questions
What are the reasons for poor time
management?
What are the advantages of good
time management?
Brainstorm.
Reasons for poor time management
Lack of clarity about tasks.
Feeling overwhelmed.
Fallacious beliefs (Im too smart).
Thinking, Its too hard.
Advantages of good time management
It saves time.
Increased effectiveness and efficiency.
Prevents stress and anxiety.
Reduces avoidance.
Leads to more balance.
Exercise
Analyse your time management skills.
List strategies for areas that need
work.
Discuss.
Two main principles
As a student:
1. Know your strengths and
weaknesses.
2. Know what is required of you.
Strengths and weaknesses
Know how you spend your time.
Know when, where and how you work
most effectively and efficiently.
Exercise
Identify your macro strengths and
weaknesses.
Analyse when you work best.
(Morning, day, night etc.)
Analyse where you work best.
(Room, home, library etc.)
Analyse how you work best.
(One hour on, ten minutes off, etc.)
Goal-setting
Setting goals is important for time
management.
Goals must be SMART:
Specific
Measurable
Action-oriented
Realistic
Time- and resource-constrained
To-do lists
To-do lists will help you clarify what
you need to accomplish each day.
They also help you to accomplish it!
To-do lists
List your activities for the day.
Prioritise those activities.
Check for activities that you can
accomplish at the same time.
Break larger tasks into smaller
ones.
Include your to-do list in your daily
schedule.
Know what is required of you
Know your assessment requirements.
Make a long-range (semester)
schedule by starting backwards
from each deadline.
Make a weekly schedule that
includes hour blocks for different
tasks, time for reading, research,
writing, leisure etc.
Exercise
Complete the Honours year
programme in your workshop notes.
Use this to develop your Honours
completion and weekly schedules.
Honours completion schedule
Account for:
coursework
library work, lit review, reading
fieldwork/internships/experiments
first, second, final drafts
editing, formatting, binding
Create a weekly schedule
Record time for
Study commitments (seminars,
supervision, coursework etc.).
Create a weekly schedule
Record time for
Other core commitments (lunch, tea,
church/mosque, fitness, paid work).
Create a weekly schedule
Record time for
Chores (shopping, cooking, cleaning).
Create a weekly schedule
Record time for
Own activities (TV, pub, music, time
out).
Create a weekly schedule
In the spaces that are left, factor in
time for
Library work Research work
Writing Reading
Topic design Notetaking
Coursework Thesis planning
Peer discussion Crisis time
Procrastination
Know your particular brand of
procrastination.
Focus questions
Why do you procrastinate?
What is your special brand of
procrastination? i.e., what do you do
when you procrastinate?
Procrastination
Procrastination comes through
Poor time management.
Difficulty concentrating.
Fear and anxiety; fear of failure.
Negative beliefs
Boredom.
Procrastination
Overcome procrastination by:
Recognising your problems.
Setting realistic goals & priorities.
Acting first; motivation will follow.
Modifying your environment.