Study Skills - Time Management


Calendars

Calendars are important in having good time management skills. Not only do calendars help us organize and plan for the tasks that we have, they help us see when our free time is and how much free time we have.


Quarterly calendars allow you to look at the whole quarter at once. At the beginning of the quarter you can use your syllabus for each class to determine when any tests, quizzes, and due dates for major assignments are, and transfer this information onto your quarterly calendar. This allows you to ascertain when your busy weeks are and plan for them in advance. It also helps prevent assignments and tests from sneaking up on you.

Weekly calendars allow you to plan out the hours of your day. It is often most effective to first write in the activities that you do at the same time each week, such as classes, or your work schedule for each week in advance. Then write in the activities that you need to do, such as meetings, or extracurricular activities. Make sure to include some activities that are fun, such as your favorite TV program, or lunch with a friend. Next fill in your study hours. A general guideline is that you should plan on studying two hours outside of class for every credit that you are taking. Of course, this isn’t a rule written in stone. There are some classes for which you will not need to study the full two hours and others that you will need to spend more time on. This varies based on the difficulty level of the class, your skill level in the topic area, and the grade that you are aiming for.

When scheduling study times try not to schedule more than three hours in a row. If you do have long stretches of study time, be sure to schedule in study breaks for yourself. If you have breaks between classes, try to schedule study time in those hours. These are blocks of time that are often overlooked and wasted! When filling in your calendar look for other little blocks of wasted time and try to make the most of them. Try to study at consistent times each day. If you can get yourself into the habit of studying at a certain time, it will not be as hard to motivate yourself to sit down and study. Also try to schedule in study time when you are most effective. (See When are you most efficient?).

You can use calendars to design checklists for yourself. By looking at what is due on your quarterly and weekly calendars, you can design checklists. Break down large tasks into smaller ones that could be accomplished in about an hour. Schedule these tasks into your weekly calendar. Then make a checklist for each day. If this sounds a little too organized for your tastes, keep in mind that you can use any combination of calendars and checklists to suit your needs.

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