Managing Time
College can be a busy time. With classes, work, and other co-curricular involvement, it is easy to become overcommitted. To help you better manage your time, we have put together an easy-to-follow guide that will provide you with the necessary tools for effective time management.
1. Reflect on your time management techniques.
The following steps in this guide will help you improve your time management; we recommend you utilize the resources even if you scored a perfect ten on the time management quiz.
2. Gain an understanding of how you are spending your time.
There are 168 hours in a week. Take some time to think about how you are spending that time. This will help you discover what you actually have time to do.
You can use the 168 Hours Time Management Worksheet from Laura Vanderkam, a leading expert in time management, below, or you can create your own. Include the time you spend in class, at work, sleeping, and anything else you do in a given week.
- Download the 168 Hours Time Management Worksheet (PDF).
- Download the 168 Hours Time Management Worksheet (Excel).
3. Identify all major assignments and tests for the semester.
In order to stay on top of the work that needs to be done, you need to know when your assignments are due and your tests are scheduled. You can find this information by going to Moodle and accessing the syllabus for each of your courses.
- Tip: We suggest adding the due dates to the calendar on your phone, or your outlook calendar. Then you can set reminders for yourself so you know when the assignments and tests are coming up.
- Semester at a Glance worksheet
4. Plan out time to get the schoolwork done.
In order to stay on top of all the work that needs to be done this semester, you must plan specific time to dedicate to working on assignments and studying for tests. Go back to the Time Management Worksheet that you created in Step 2 and add in time that you will dedicate to working on assignments and studying. If you find that you don’t have enough time available to dedicate to working on the assignments and studying for tests, then you may need to cut out some of your other activities.
5. Stick to your plans
It isn’t enough to just plan to do something, you must work hard to stick to those plans. Like we mentioned previously, phone or outlook calendars can be a great way to make sure you stick to your study plans. There are also dozens of apps designed to help you manage your time. You can find a list of them here. Using a To Do List can be a great way to stick to your plan.
Have questions or need help?
Contact or visit us on the 2nd floor of the Learning Commons and ask to speak with an academic coach.