Time Management

Planning and Organizing

• Invest in a day planner. Use it daily!
• Record all scheduled events (including classes, meetings, academic and personal appointments, tutoring/consulting sessions, due dates, holidays, trips, recreational activities, etc.) in your planner.
• Every Sunday, plan that week’s schedule. Make a WTD (Week To Do) list. Convert it to a TTD (Things To Do) list for each day. TTD lists should reflect infrequent events. Check your TTD list throughout the day.

Deciding When, Where, and How

• Study for your most challenging classes during the hours when you are most alert. If possible, plan study time immediately following a class (while the material is still fresh in your mind). Sometimes you may want to review right before class so that you will be able to participate more effectively. A rule of thumb for academic success is that your most productive hours are the first eight hours from the time you are fully awake. Your 8-hour productivity will vary each day depending upon when you awaken.
• When engaging in strenuous reading and comprehension, study in 50-minute blocks with 10-minute breaks. Your attention span may depend upon your interest in the subject, so plan accordingly.
• Say NO and mean it when you don’t want distractions (such as friends, ringing phones, etc.) interrupting you. Find a quiet place to study.

Getting Support and Having Fun

• Talk to friends, professors, family, and others about your academic goals and ask for their help in reassuring you.
  Schedule time for recreational and social activities, apart from your class and study times.
• Remember that we all have the same amount of time each day. It’s what we chose to do with it that seems to make it more or less.