Time Management for Academic Success

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Time Management for Academic Success
The University of Southern Mississippi Army ROTC
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AGENDA

• Welcome/Introduction
• Purpose
• How Well Do You Plan? (Handout Activity)
• Tools and Strategies
• Manage Time
• Setting Goals
• Conclusion
• Links
• Questions

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Purpose

• To make more effective use of your time and get
  more out of your college experience.
• Manage your time
• Manage your goals

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Fact

• Academic success depends on time management.
• Each student has the same amount of time each day
  to learn.
• If you want to be a successful student, manage
  your time in two important ways
• Manage your time
• Manage your goals
• Must plan study time, just does not happen.

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Time Management

• To manage time, you can use three effective
  tools
• 1. Term calendar
• 2. Weekly schedule
• 3. Daily to-do list

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Term Calendar

• Use course syllabi to
• - Write in major academic events of the term
• - Quizzes, exams, term papers, projects
• - Important personal events
• Term calendar should primarily indicate academic
  events and deadlines.
• Prevents surprises/know what is coming.
• Intermediate checks to monitor progress on
  projects and papers.

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Term Calendar
 
 
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Weekly Schedule

• See your time.
• Find your available time.
• Fill in your fixed commitments Class times,
  labs, meals, meetings, exercise, sports, etc.
• Graphically reveals what time is available to
  you each day to study, do errands, and so on.
• May be surprised to see how much time is
  available during the day in the morning and
  afternoon.

 
 
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Weekly Schedule
MON
TUE
WED
THUR
FRI
SAT
SUN
6 am 7 am 8 am 9 am 10 am 11 am 12 pm 1
pm 2 pm 3 pm 4 pm 5 pm 6 pm 7 pm 8 pm 9
pm
 
 
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Weekly Schedule

• Shows time wasted. Minutes add up.
• Up to four hours wasted.
• The best weekly schedule is
• - Personal
• - Flexible (know where your time is.)
• Your calendar should reflect a balance between
  academics and personal/social life. With
  academics first!

 
 
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To-Do Lists

• Before going to bed, or at breakfast, list that
  days activities, tasks, or meetings on a small
  piece of paper/3x5 card.
• When you complete a task, cross it out.
• Review at the end of the day.
• Keeps students on track in terms of daily
  approach to their time management.

 
 
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Decide How to Use Your Time

• Use daylight hours.
• More learning occurs rather than later in the day
  after dinner.
• Students are more tired after dinner.
• Subject to emotions and other non-academic
  concerns.
• Schedule study tasks which require greater
  concentration and mental effort such as reading
  and problem sets during the day and early
  evening.

 
 
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Decide How to Use Your Time

• Use late evening hours to review.
• Schedule some time for every one of your classes
  during the week.
• Keep up with your classes on a regular basis you
  will learn all the time by reviewing and
  practicing what you hear in class and what you
  read in textbooks.

 
 
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Decide How to Use Your Time

• Build on active review and practice, will help
  you learn the information over time, rather than
  cram for quizzes and exams at the last minute.
• Decide what time you will begin and when you will
  end.
• Human beings are creatures of habit and the more
  we have a routine and a habit, the more likely we
  are going to follow through on it.

 
 
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Decide How to Use Your Time

• Schedule some time (five to ten minutes) to go
  over the class notes you just took, practice or
  memorize factual items.
• Schedule some kind of exercise at least three
  times a week. (Physical fitness with ROTC on
  MON, WED, FRI!)
• Time management, exercise and mental alertness
  all go together.

 
 
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Sleep Plan

• Sleep research shows waking up consistently every
  day at the same time results in sleep being more
  effective.
• Achieve deep sleep, the restful sleep.
• Get the sleep you need. Some students need eight
  hours of sleep, others only six.
• Regular sleep routine puts structure in your day.

 
 
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Breakfast

• Get up early early enough to eat breakfast
  everyday.
• Breakfast is a valuable meal to sustain your
  energy throughout the day.
• Breakfast time can be spent planning your day and
  the goals you want to accomplish.

 
 
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Time for Yourself

• Schedule some time each day or during the week
  that is just for yourself.
• Hobbies, play music, go fishing or hunting.
• Preserve your sanity.

 
 
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Learn to Say No!

• You can not do everything for yourself much less
  for your friends or even family.
• Sounds selfish, but your academic goals should
  come first.

 
 
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Managing Time

• Is not confining (psychological).
• Liberating (when managed well).
• - Allows students to think more clearly.
• - Think more creatively about how to use their
  time.

 
 
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Manage Your Goals

• No magic to goal setting.
• Goal setting is hard work.
• Successful students have a very clear idea of
  what it is they want to get accomplished.
• Write out long range goals on paper.
• Answer two important questions
• Why am I attending college?
• What do I hope to achieve by the time I graduate?

 
 
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Manage Your Goals

• Write out as many goals as you like initially.
• Then review them and choose your five most
  important goals.
• This can be easy or difficult depending on how
  much you have already thought about why you are
  in college and what you intend to get out of it.

 
 
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Setting Your Goals

• Pay attention to these strategies
• - concrete
• - specific
• - measurable
• Example Achieve a B average and attend every
  class.
• (You can clearly know whether or not you are
  achieving your goals.)

 
 
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Setting Your Goals

• Goals should be realistic.
• Forces you to think seriously about what you are
  capable of doing.
• Set goals that will challenge, not defeat you.
• Discuss academic goals with a mentor or academic
  advisor.
• Advisor/mentor can effectively guide you to
  achieving your goals.

 
 
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Setting Your Goals

• Reflect a balance in academic and personal life.
• I study all the time, Im constantly in the
  books, why am I not successful?
• Answer They do not have a whole life.

 
 
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Achieving Balance

• Need Leisure, exercise, activities of one kind or
  another.
• Information and satisfaction coming in is as
  important to time management as production that
  goes out.
• While in college academic goals should be at the
  top of your list. Other goals may include
  volunteering, exercise, or athletics. Also
  includes joining new organizations or making new
  friends.
• As with you other time management tools, post
  goals where you can easily see them.

 
 
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Goals

• Revisit your goals at least once a term.
• Academic goals may change as you move through
  your college experience.
• What is important to remember is that you will be
  able to manage your time well if your goals are
  clear, concrete, and important to you.

 
 
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5 Steps to Successful Time Management

• Set specific academic and personal goals.
• Create a term calendar, recording major events.
• Create a weekly schedule of your classes, labs,
  drill, meetings, etc.
• Decide on specific times to work on each course.
• Make a do-do list the night before or during
  breakfast.

 
 
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Conclusion

• You can successfully manage your time by
• - Planning your term.
• - Planning your week.
• Using the specific time management tools
• - Term calendar
• - Weekly schedule
• - Daily to-do list
• Manage goals by
• - Writing them out
• - Discussing them with a mentor
• - Revisit goals

 
 
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Resources

• http//www.dartmouth.edu/acskills/success/time.ht
  ml
• S. Bourland
• Director
• Student Support Services Program
• Vann TRLR 266-6910

 
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Time Management

• Questions?

 
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Success doesnt come to you, you go to it.