Time Management and Students

How do you know when you managing your time effectively? Time management and students effectiveness go hand in hand.

Being a student is a busy life. Balancing your social life with study and other extra-curricular activities can be a challenge.

Often students are stressed because they don't have enough time. They ask me how they know that they are using their time effectively.

This is a good question - How do you know that you are using your time effectively?

To answer this question you need to download and conduct a time log. A time log is simply a record of how you use your time.

A time inventory will:

• identify areas in which you are wasting your time,
• triggers that lead to these time wasters,
• identifies the time that you spend on low priority tasks,
• shows areas of your life that you can use your time more effectively.

For example, a student that came to see me was convinced that she used her time effectively, but she was stressed that she had so many things to do and not enough time.

What I got her to do was to fill out a time log for three days. She was amazed at the results.

Download your free time log and get started today.

By keeping a time log she realized that she was spending up to 2 hours a day talking to friends on the phone and 3 hours a day watching TV.

All of this while she had assessments due!

She was able to identify all the distractions that interrupted her study. She was amazed that she spent this much time on things which were not related to her study.

The student set a goal to reduce her time on the phone and watching of TV. We also identified the distractions (namely the phone and the automatic notification on her email) and managed them so that she could study without being interrupted.

Instructions for keeping a time log

1. Download your time log.
2. Any time you take up an activity you write down the activity (as accurately as you can) and the time started.
3. Enter the priority. If it is important then the activity has an A priority. If it is somewhat important it has a B priority. If it is not important then it is a C.
4. For urgent tasks, put a star next to the priority. For example, phone calls, cramming for exams or interruptions would have a * next to them.
5. Comment on each action. The more detailed the better. How could the action be improved, what was your energy level. Treat this as a challenge, as the more detailed the better.
6. Keep the time log for a few days and try to keep it for you entire day.

Time management and students effectiveness start with planning and conducting a student time log of your activity.

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