WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO MANAGE YOUR TIME EFFECTIVELY?

Poor time management is probably the most common reason college students give to explain their academic problems.  “If I managed my time better I know I would get better grades, or write better papers or not procrastinate or be so stressed, etc.”  When college students visit campus resources like the Learning Center, they frequently ask for help in learning to manage their time better.

But what does it really take to manage time more effectively for any person?  

We all wish there was a course, new technology, a website or a perfect day planner that would allow us to live our lives so we would always feel on top of things…but no such tool exists.  Learning to use the time we have to its fullest is a lifelong process for all of us.  Besides finding the “perfect” time management tool there are a number of ingredients to the recipe for making the most of our time. 

Ingredients for making the most of our time

• A Focused Mind:  A key to good time management is the ability to put our minds on whatever we are doing. When a person’s mind is alert and focused he can be more fully present in time and make better choices about how to use the time in each day. To improve our ability to focus and concentrate we can:
• Take care of our bodies by getting adequate sleep, good nutrition, exercise
• Learn mindfulness meditation, yoga, tai chi or other such activities that can focus and center our minds
• Start the day with everything organized  by preparing the night before and getting up early enough to get out the door without feeling rushed
• Notice and know how to deal with strong emotions
• Have down time to just relax and chill

How well are you doing at the above activities?  Which do you already do and which need a plan for improvement?

            Each person has activities that calm and focus them:  what are yours?

Some students have disabilities that make it hard to focus their minds, getting treatment for these disabilities is important if you have one. While the above ideas are important for everyone, research suggests that they are critical for individuals whose disabilities affect their attention.

• Empowering Beliefs:  What we believe about time will impact what we do with it.  If we don’t think we can influence how we spend our time, we won’t be able to do so.  If we don’t think we have enough time to get everything done, then the anxiety created by this belief will interfere.  Believing that we have the time we need, that we have choices and that we can make good decisions about what to do with time goes a long way toward developing an effective plan.

What are your beliefs about time?  Which interfere and which help with

your ability to use time effectively?

• Having a Tool to Keep Track of Responsibilities and to Use for Planning:  When our lives are not complicated it is possible to make decisions about time by just using our memory and our thoughts.  Many college students were able to be successful in high school without writing anything down, or using tools to plan or to record due dates and appointments.  Parents and teachers may have played a big role in helping to manage time.  Once in college, with its irregular daily schedule, assignments posted on blackboard, social activities and freedom, few students can keep things straight without using some time of tool, like a calendar, a cell phone, a PDA, an online calendar or a computer program.  While these traditional tools work for some people others need more creative tools, like whiteboards in their rooms, writing on mirrors, using their hands or their own individually designed worksheets.

What tools have you tried for keeping track of time?  Which work for you and which don’t?  What would your perfect time management tool be like?

• Systems for Planning and Prioritizing:  Prior to college, many students did not need to develop systems for planning and prioritizing.   The structure of high and the support of teachers and parents led to an already created plan with clear priorities.  However, once at college,  students have to quickly figure out what their system of planning will be and scramble to learn how to prioritize what to do each day, each week and each month.  Given that college students are fully responsible for managing all aspects of their life it is critical that students create systems that work for them.  Having time set aside to plan and to prioritize, allows students to know what they need to do, to make sure they get to do what they want to do and to create a schedule to juggle everything.  Certainly, the tools a person uses are a part of this process, but a time management tool with out well developed systems for planning and prioritizing won’t get the job done.

How and when do you plan?  How do you decide what the priorities are for the day, the week?  

• The Ability to Follow a Plan, Self Monitor and Readjust When Needed:  Living a day and feeling like we accomplished what we needed and enjoyed time is a dream for most people.  Many people have time management tools and make a plan, but then things fall apart when they try to follow their plan.  Sometimes they actually forget to look at their plan until the day is already in gear and then feel frustrated that they “blew it.”  Following a plan requires a system for being reminded of responsibilities and appointments well before they happen.  We also need to self monitor, or evaluate periodically how things are going.  Sometimes we discover that the plan was not realistic or we realize that something else that’s a bigger priority needs our attention.  Sometimes in the process of following a plan we get off task, surfing the net, taking a break or scrapping the plan to go to lunch with friends.  Sometimes unexpected things pop up and the plan needs to be modified.  Being able to know what you wanted to do, to notice if you are doing it and to be forgiving and flexible if things don’t go as planned are new skills that many college students have never had to develop before.

How are you at following your plan?  Do you have systems that remind you of what your plan is?  Do you check in throughout the day and see how your plan is going?   When the unexpected occurs or you fall short of your plan how do you react: are you flexible or do you scrap the plan?