Better three hours too soon than a minute too late. —William Shakespeare, playwr
Better three hours too soon than a minute too late. —William Shakespeare, playwright
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Evaluate how you currently use your time
- Explore time management strategies to make time for college success activities (studying, going to class, extracurricular activities, etc.)
- Identify procrastination behaviors and strategies to avoid them
Uses of Time in Daily Life
As most students discover, college is not the same as high school. For many students, college is the first time they are “on their own” in an environment filled with opportunity. And while this can be exciting, you may find that social opportunities conflict with academic expectations. For example, a free day before an exam, if not wisely spent, can spell trouble for doing well on the exam. It is easy to fall behind when there are so many choices and freedoms.
One of the main goals of a college education is learning how to learn. In this chapter we zoom in on learning how to skillfully manage your time. To be successful in college, it’s imperative to be able to effectively manage your time.
In the following Alleyoop Advice video, Alleyoop (Angel Aquino) discusses what many students discover about college: there is a lot of free time—and just as many challenges to balance free time with study time.
Three Steps to Good Time Management
There are three important steps in learning to effectively manage your time:
- Identify your time management style
- Create a schedule
- Get better at prioritizing
In the following sections, we’ll examine these steps in detail.
Step 1: Identify Your Time Management Style
The following self-assessment survey can help you determine your time-management personality type. Read each question in the Questions column. Then read the possible responses. Select one response for each question. Each response should reflect what you probably would do in a given situation, not what you think is the “right” answer. Put a checkmark in the My Time Management Type column next to your likely response.
Which did you select the least? Do you feel like these selections match the student you have been in the past? Has your previous way of doing things worked for you, or do you think it’s time for a change? Remember, we can all always improve!
Learn more below about your tendencies. Review traits, strengths, challenges, and tips for success for each of the four time-management personality types.
The Early Bird
- Traits: You like to make checklists and feel great satisfaction when you can cross something off of your to-do list. When it comes to assignments, you want to get started as soon as possible (and maybe start brainstorming before that), because it lets you stay in control.
- Strengths: You know what you want and are driven to figure out how to achieve it. Motivation is never really a problem for you.
- Challenges: Sometimes you can get more caught up in getting things done as quickly as possible and don’t give