How To: Time Management
While some students will know how to prioritize, plan and manage their time, many will not, or they will have an inaccurate sense of what to do and even how long things will take. Some students also will not understand why deadlines exist and why it’s important to meet them.
- Have a conversation with students about why you set the deadlines you did to help them see their value and the importance of planning in order to meet them.
- Coming to class on time is part of effective time management. A discussion about the importance of being on time and how disruptive to the entire class a late arrival is can help them understand why lateness is discouraged. They are harming their fellow students when they come in late. (If a student is late more than once, consider a conversation about whether there’s a way the class can help them be on time.)
- Share your own time management practices to help students see the ways they need to ensure they:
- Get to class on time
- Allocate the necessary time for different types of assignments (making, reading, researching, watching, writing, drawing, planning) for your and their other classes
- Evaluate the accuracy of their time allocations (e.g., do the reading assignments in one class require much more time than the readings in another, even though the length is the same?)
- Plan for travel time
- Plan for elevator waits (!)
- Know about upcoming deadlines
- Plan for deadlines
- Meet deadlines
- Get enough sleep (this is actually very important)
- Make time to eat (this is also very important)
- And are on time for snacks with a friend on the Lower East Side
- Faculty can also help students by sharing this document on how to not procrastinate.
For Students
You don’t need to do all of these things, but if you have trouble getting organized, these are some good places to start. It takes a little effort and planning, but if you put in the effort, it will pay off. You need a system:
- Keep a calendar: whether a physical planner (there are some really cute ones!), Apple, Google or other calendar app, physical sticky notes, a reminder app, a task management app, or a combination of tools.
- Use the calendar: put your class schedule and due dates into whatever you’re using.
- Plan for travel time: you’ll need time to get from one place or class to another. Put that travel time in your calendar, too, and don’t forget to allow time for the elevators!
- Read each syllabus for assignment deadlines: put all due dates like reading assignments, making activities and group work into your calendar at the beginning of the semester – and put reminder dates earlier in your calendar so they don’t sneak up on you. Include regularly occurring deadlines, such as a class where “homework is always due on Wednesdays.” Plot reminder alerts in advance so you remember to start your assignments and complete them on time. Task management apps are great for this.
- Plan to study for the same courses in the same location and at the same time: Research suggests that visual, aural and olfactory surroundings actually aid memory and recall. Plot study time for doing readings, watching assigned videos, writing and making assignments in your calendar.
- Build routines around your natural rhythms: for example, some people are better at writing first thing in the morning, some people have their best ideas in the middle of the night. More tips for creating a study schedule here.
- Make checklists: break longer assignments into smaller steps and put your self-imposed “due dates” in your calendar. Include how long you think it will take you to complete each step, and when the assignments are due. Assume the steps will take more time than you think the first time you take care of a particular task.
- Plan for sleep: It may sound trivial, but getting enough sleep is vital for memory and learning. “When you’re asleep, your brain shifts memories to more efficient storage regions within the brain. When you awaken, you find memory tasks can be performed both more quickly and accurately and with less stress and anxiety” (Walker & Robertson, 2016) quoted in New Science of Learning, Doyle and Zakrajsek, p25. Put it in your calendar!
- Take a cue from peers: Notice someone who seems always on top of things and super chill? Ask how they do it.
If you’re struggling
- Talk to your professor; they want you to succeed.
- Use the University Learning Center