Let us provide you with some

realistic tips and tools to help you make the most

of your time! You’ll walk away with: •  a plan for change •  5 tips with strategies •  a better understanding of your time management habits and how they can be altered.

Think About It…

Let’s be realistic…

We all struggle with managing our time and NO system is fool proof. As university students we don’t have the time to implement the often complicated advice of “experts.”

So what are some tips we can use to change our habits and make our lives easier?

Imagine someone who is really great at time management. What are they doing? How do they use their time?

What personal qualities do you think are important to good time management?

Tip 1: Visualize success.

Tip 2: Deal With Procrastination

Some examples of how students procrastinate:  Wasted time online  Promises to work for an hour – but

no follow through  Being in an environment full of

distractions

So how do we get around this? Almost nobody can avoid procrastination entirely but we

can lessen how much we procrastinate. Here are some helpful tips to consider:

  Turn off your cell phone. Everyone will still be there when you turn it back on.

  If you can, disconnect your internet (unless you need it for study).

  Choose a quiet environment where distractions are limited and don’t study for too long- one hour of focused studying/work is better than 5 hours of strained, unfocused effort.

Tip 3: Get Organized!

Some examples of disorganization:  Don’t remember due dates- didn’t write them

down.  Leaving big assignments to the last minute.  No consistent way to keep track of

assignments details, ideas, resources.

Getting organized in a way that makes sense to you is the first step to relieving some stress!

Writing Things Down/Organizing   Find a calendar, any calendar or

organizer will do (digital or paper). This will be your master list.

  Carry around a small notebook, scrap of paper or a notes app for your phone. Throughout your day, note down little reminders, ideas, resources that you come across.

An example would be: “History Paper due Sept. 30th”, “birthday gift for Harry”, Dwight’s party on Saturday night.

But what do I do with all of these lists?

  At the end of the day, take all the things you wrote down and transfer them to your calendar or organizer

  Write down when you would like to accomplish the task but don’t go too crazy… don’t set yourself up for failure by trying to do too much in one time slot.

  Spacing things out makes actually doing them much easier. Chunk out the work for big assignments into smaller bits with deadlines for each. Our Assignment Calculator can help with this!

*Carry a book or an article that you need to read around with you and make use of time between classes to read.

*Study alone! Often we feel the need to study with friends but ask yourself “how much studying to I actually get done with friends?”- there is no substitute for quiet, focused study time

*Find a few different quiet study areas around campus and your house so that you can get away from distractions while also not getting bored of going to the same place everyday.

Tip 4: Study smarter – not harder!

Work Hard,

Play Hard!

You don’t have to give up your social life to be a good student. Consider the social events and habits that are important for you and add these into your calendar.

Tip 5: Be social!

Let’s Pause Here…

Take a moment to think back on what we’ve talked about so far…

Tip 1: Visualize success.

Tip 2: Deal with procrastination.

Tip 3: Get organized

Tip 4: Study smarter, not harder.

Tip 5: Be social.

How to Avoid Pulling an All-Nighter

*Start early! Don’t make excuses, schedule time every week or every day if needed, to chip away at larger assignments. 20 minutes per day over 2 weeks translates into over 4.5 hours of solid work done on an assignment

20mins a day X 7 days X 2 Weeks= ~4.5 Hours!

This strategy may not work for you, and that’s ok- experiment! Do you prefer longer work periods over a short period of time or short periods of work over a long period of time?

How to Create a Balanced Schedule: 5pm-6pm- Eat, Relax,

Vegitate

6-6:30pm- find sources for

research paper

6:30-7pm- go for a walk, get

some blood pumping

7-7:30pm- read one article

7:30-???- relax, go out with

friends,

Monday

Don’t try to do too much, and try to

schedule schoolwork for times when you know you’ll have

energy.

By setting realistic goals, you set yourself up for success! If you schedule 3 hours of study time, what are the chances you will actually study for that

long?

Notice all of

that free time?! When you are realistic with your goals and efficiently using your time, you end up with MORE free time. Getting started is usually the hardest part but once you’re past that, you may find you work for one hour, instead of only half an hour… if so, that’s great!

Still feeling unsure?

 Talk to your professor or TA  Talk to a Peer Academic Coach in the Chapman

Learning Commons  Talk to someone over in Counselling Services in

Brock Hall  Use the Assignment Calculator under the ‘What

We Offer’ tab

 There are many other great resources listed at the bottom of this page