Time Management From the Skills Team, University of Hull This leaflet contains information and activities that will help you to: Assess how well you organise your time Reflect on your personal working habits Organise your day more efficiently Plan your work on a long-term basis Where does your time go? Before you can improve your time management, you need to ask yourself the question: just where does my time go? The first thing to do is to try to keep a log of your time: If you have a mobile device such as a smart phone, tablet or even a laptop, use your calendar feature to log everything you do in a day; after every few hours, create one or two events to say how you spent the previous few hours. If you do not have an electronic mobile device, just use a standard diary or notepad to jot it down as you go along. This way you will build up a picture of where your time goes. At the end of the week, look at the whole picture, fill in a grid something like the one below (larger one on the back page) if you do not have a way to look at a whole week on your device or computer. 7 am 9 am 11 am 1 pm 3 pm 5 pm 7 pm 9 pm Sun. Mon. Tues. Wed. Thur. Fri. Sat. Web: www.hull.ac.uk/skills Email: skills@hull.ac.uk
Now you can answer the questions: Where was my time wasted? Where could I have saved time? What changes could I make to make better use of it? You may have a rough idea of where your time goes but keeping a careful log over a week or even over a day can be quite revealing! Include sufficient detail to be meaningful and be honest! The log is for your consumption only and for your benefit. What does the log tell me? You may think you spent all day on the campus working but when you analyse just what you did, it may be that time could have been spent more productively: How about that half-hour when it didn't seem worth starting anything? Could that time have been used to look for resources in the library or to look through notes from last week's lecture in preparation for this week's so that the subject matter is fresh in your memory? In hindsight, would it have been better to refuse that invitation to go for a drink? Would that have allowed you to finish your essay with more time to check over it before handing it in? Are you getting enough sleep? Do you feel it takes you ages to get started in the morning? Do you feel you can't focus on your reading or your lecture because you feel drowsy? What about the "quick coffee" that extended to a long lunch break? Did you feel like writing an essay after chatting about last weekend's party? Did it mean you didn't have enough time to get down to some work before the next lecture. Was that reading session in the evening really productive when you felt tired from a day's work? Was switching off in front of the TV before going to bed what you really meant to do? How do I learn best? Looking back at your log, would you say you are a "sprinter" or a "marathon-runner" in your approach? Sprinters work well under pressure, managing to complete work in a spurt, but this will not suit everyone. Similarly, if you are more of a steady worker, you need to be aware that a final sprint will not be in your interest. You will need to bear this in mind in your planning. Knowing how you work best will help you to plan your time effectively. Taking into account your personal preferences can help you to make effective use of your time. Decide when you work most effectively. Do you focus on your reading better in the morning? If yes, make sure you set some time aside for reading every morning. How long can you reasonably read for without losing concentration? Plan short breaks in between sessions. Do you tend to feel restless in the evening? Use that time for jobs which involve physical activities such as going to the library to search for books or word-processing an essay. 2
When you are feeling tired, it may be the ideal time for routine "tidying" of your work or sorting out notes but not for embarking on something entirely new. Sleep If you realise you're not getting enough sleep, is this just a temporary phenomenon or do you need to really address the problem? Most people need 7-8 hours per night to be able to function well the next day though we've all heard of those exceptions who perform brilliantly on only 4 hours of sleep. Be aware of your body needs especially during exam times. For your brain to function adequately you need to look after your body! Routine Find your personal routine. Some people do work best late at night but many find that working late means they can't then relax as their minds are buzzing with ideas. If this seems a familiar situation, why not make a point of carrying out work of a very routine nature before settling down for the night. For example, you could organise notes into folders or pack your bag for the following morning so you don't have to rush to do that at the same time as eating breakfast and trying to get out on time to catch the bus! How can I plan for various activities? Using time effectively is another skill well worth mastering. It is all too easy to flit from one task to another or to stall by making another cup of coffee and then find a couple of hours have passed but little has been achieved. To avoid this type of situation, you should think about the length of time needed for particular tasks and set a limit when you run over your self-imposed deadline. For some activities you need to be fresh and alert - this could be first thing in the morning but individuals vary as to the time they work best and you may not be a "morning person"! Try to work out when you tend to be at your best and plan accordingly. Some tasks demand a fairly long stretch of time while others need only small chunks, so that is something else to consider. Dividing a longer task into chunks can be a good way of making a major task seem less daunting and more manageable. Managing tasks (setting yourself defined tasks or goals e.g. I'm going to read the next 2 chapters / plan my next essay / browse in the library for useful articles) can help you to stay on target and reduce the chance of being distracted. Assignment Survival Kit Try the Assignment Survival Kit from Kent University (www.kent.ac.uk/ai/ask). You type in your start date and due date and it works out what you should have done by when (with lots of tips on how to do it). When you make your plans, don't forget to include some leeway for unexpected events that might disrupt your schedule. A large wall-planner can be very useful for longer term planning, including deadlines. Finally, let your friends know of your study plans 3
and encourage one another to stick to them as far as you can. You can even make plans together and include "rewards"- a night out for example - for major tasks completed! To Do Lists As well as having an overall plan of your time, you may find that a daily "to do" list is helpful, prioritising the tasks. Either do it on your mobile device in Reminders or just write in a notebook. Ticking off completed clearly defined tasks or minor goals can be very satisfying! Decide whether a daily list does help you to plan and to feel in control of your time and your activities, some people find it demotivating if they do not achieve what is on their list so make sure it is realistic! Planning time more efficiently It may be that you've made study plans in the past and they've "just not worked". If you've reflected on where your time does go, you are now in a better position to make realistic plans. You will realise that you both need to find time and to use time effectively. You basically need to become adept at creating time. Fill in a grid like the one below (larger one on last page if you want to print it separately - or draw your own/use an electronic calendar) planning for the week ahead, keeping in mind that you want to make use of your time as efficiently as possible. Don't forget that often effective studying demands reasonable chunks of time. Include time for: social and leisure commitments sleeping, eating, shopping and preparing food family commitments lectures, seminars, tutorials, lab. sessions work on essays, projects, reading for tutorials etc 7 am 9 am 11 am 1 pm 3 pm 5 pm 7 pm 9 pm Sun. Mon. Tues. Wed. Thur. Fri. Sat. Once you have filled in your timetable keep to it! 4
Don't be surprised if you found this task harder than you expected. Life is not cut and dried but messy! Sticking to a plan can be even harder but it is worth writing plans. Even if you don't stick to your plans, the plans themselves make you reflect on what you are doing and why. Planning forces you to think strategically rather than just drifting. Having made a plan for the week, at the end of each day check how closely matched the plan and the reality were! You may find you need to adjust your plans for the following weeks so that they are more realistic. To really make the most of your time it is a good idea to occasionally stop and reflect on whether you need to make changes to the way you manage your time: don't just carry on regardless. You need to be active in your time management. Long-term planning Many people find it helps them to plan on a long-term basis the whole of a semester, for instance. This allows for deadlines to be very clearly established and for you to be aware of cases where deadlines all bunch up together. Careful planning is vital here to avoid a horrendous last-minute rush (though a few people do claim to thrive on this approach). By staggering the deadlines yourself, the situation of everything being due at once will be avoided. If you have a major task to complete, such as a long essay or project, it will help to break it down into chunks and think in terms of the study hours needed to complete it. You can then fit these into your longer-term plans, working backwards from the deadline. If these plans are displayed somewhere prominent, and if they are colourcoded, it will be easier to see what you need to do week by week. Clear, realistic targets help you to feel you are making progress and don't forget that motivation is increased by giving yourself the occasional reward! You could create or print out large format month by month calendar sheets and make use of these for your longer term planning. At the end of the first month, review how useful the exercise has been. Where to work You need not only to think about when to work but also where. Whatever your particular way of working, you need to be in surroundings which for you are conducive to work. It's far easier to make good use of time if you know you are not likely to be disturbed or distracted and you feel comfortable. That might mean you are better off working in the library or somewhere else on campus (especially if there are many distractions at home). Alternatively you may feel you work more effectively, and therefore make better use of your time, in your own room. 5
Time-saving suggestions Time will be saved in the long run if you take time to organise items such as old essays, current notes and handouts systematically so that you can easily lay hands on them when you need to do so. When writing notes, leave plenty of space between major points or even use a fresh sheet of paper. This will allow you to add extra information at the relevant point or to shuffle pages around when writing an essay. Use key words and headings in your notes, rather than full sentences. Cross-reference to earlier notes if two writers make the same point, avoiding repetition. File as you go to save time and possible confusion later. Number and /or colour-code your notes for ease of reference. Take down full references to sources as you go. Alternatively, use bibliographic software like EndNote or RefWorks to store these. It will save time in the long run even if it seems a nuisance at the time! Ensure your reading is effective. Only read what is relevant for a particular essay or assignment. Be guided by the length of an essay. If you have a 2000 word essay, research less than you would for a 4000 word one. Too much information will only have to be later reduced and this will take up more time. Save thinking time by jotting down ideas in a notebook or notes app when they occur to you. You won't waste time and effort trying to recall them later. If you want to do this on a mobile device, consider using something like Evernote which allows you to add and see all your notes on your phone/tablet or computer (http://evernote.com/). To organise information on different pages, use a system of numbering or colourcoding. Don't bother to write out information twice. A "study buddy" can share research and you can brainstorm ideas together. Two heads are often better than one. Just make sure your final work is all your own. It can be encouraging to talk to friends about how you organise yourself and your time. You may be able to pass on advice and /or learn from them! Finally, thinking of your ultimate goal may help to keep you focused. Originally written by Cathy Dantec/Judy Jowers, updated by Jacqui Bartram All web addresses in this leaflet were correct at the time of publication. The information in this leaflet can be made available in an alternative format on request. Email skills@hull.ac.uk 6
Weekly planner sheet 7 am 9 am 11 am 1 pm 3 pm 5 pm 7 pm 9 pm Sun. Mon. Tues. Wed. Thur. Fri. Sat. www.libguides.hull.ac.uk/skills