TIME MANAGEMENT Part VI
Time Shifting and Adjusting
Inevitably, you will need to make adjustments to your plans and your time management habits. As you encounter time troubles, keep in mind that some are predictable, some are not; some are controllable, some are not. For those that are not controllable, keep your cool and get back on track as soon as possible. For time troubles that you can control, and particularly those that occur predictably, deal with them directly and forcefully so that they don't prevent you from achieving your goals. Examine the following list of troubles: the tips and strategies associated with each one can help you shift your time back to your goals.
Procrastination
You're not alone. According to O'Brien (2002) up to 40% of university students experience procrastination as a problem. Also, Taraban et. al. (1999) reported that students tended to mass their practice (that is, do most of the work in marathon sessions) near academic deadlines and failed to make appropriate use of various study aids and supports at appropriate times (i.e., earlier in the term). But why do you procrastinate on tasks related to goals you want to achieve? Burka and Yuen (1983) argue that procrastination often emerges as a means of distancing oneself from stressful activities. For instance, Son and Metcalf (2000) report people allocate more time to the judged-easy task than to judged-difficult tasks. Burka and Yuen (1983) indicate that dealing with the underlying stressful aspects of the activities can assist in reducing the extent of procrastination. Here's one practical application. If you're overwhelmed by the volume of work on your to-do list, you might benefit from making a "one-item list": re-write the top item from your list at the top of a blank page and work the task to completion, then repeat.
Getting Started
It can be difficult to start working. Most of the time, however, not starting seems to be related to fear of poor results or negative evaluations than it is to the actual difficulty of the work. Aim to subdivide tasks into small steps and convince yourself that to get started all you need is 10 full minutes working on a task. Often, the 10 minutes will elapse and you'll be right into the swing of things, prepared to continue on productively.
Motivation
Sometimes you just don't feel motivated to do your school work. It might help to realize that for many people motivation isn't a prerequisite to action…it is a result of it! Try working for a short time and see if you can "get into it." If your motivation problem seems more substantial, it might help to realize that when you aren't motivated to do school work, you aren't actually out of motivation…you're just motivated to do something else.
Line-ups
You'll spend a lot of your time waiting in lines. At the library check-out, waiting for the bus, waiting for the light to turn green at an intersection, buying tickets, and even waiting for the professor to arrive at class… you find yourself just waiting. If you carried around a book or some photocopied readings you could be actively using time that would otherwise escape you. Tape cassettes of your lectures are ideal ways to fill times like these, and the review will profoundly aid your recall come exam time.
Commuting
North Americans spend between 1 and 2 hours commuting from home to work or school every day. If you commute, you will probably find 5 to 10 hours of your week taken up in a car, bus or subway. In one year, your commute works out to between 250 and 500 hours; over the course of 4 or 5 years, your commuting time equates to attending all of the required lectures in every course of a 4-year university degree. The challenge is to use that time for something productive. One common example is to read on the bus or subway. Even 5 minutes and a couple of pages work out to hours and books. If you happen to be driving, don't read - that's dangerous. But, study anyway. Tape your professor's lecture or yourself reading. You will be amazed at how much you can learn in these small blocks of time. The key to commuting time is, simply, use it or lose it.
Between Classes
Take a look at your lecture schedule. Do you have a couple 1-hour or 2-hour blocks of time between classes? What are you doing with that time? Don't excuse wasted time with the worn out justification that you had only one or two hours and couldn't really get into anything. Do something useful with the time. To make the most of the time between classes, find a spot on campus where you can work comfortably and without interruption. And remember, not every minute of time needs to go to schoolwork.
Alumni | Michelle
Thursday, October 25, 2007 11:49:19 AM (Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-04:00)  |
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