Time Management MCC Library Central
Study Skills Series
If you are to maintain a full and varied life which includes being successful at college, university or employment you will need to organise your time effectively. This can be difficult and is more complex than just writing out a timetable. In order to use your time efficiently and effectively you need to plan ahead and have routines. Your schedule must be practical, flexible and realistic.
An effective routine can be organised by bearing in mind the following ideas: Have a long-term perspective for work and use a calendar which covers a few months ahead when planning for projects and/or deadlines. Support the long-term plan with a weekly work plan. Leave time for yourself and for relaxation. You need time to enjoy your hobbies and for socialising. Build in breaks. Don’t work solidly for more than an hour at a time and give yourself a movement break to make a drink or go for a short walk after each hour. Give yourself a treat when you reach your targets. Don’t use stimulants such as coffee or caffeine tablets to help you prolong your working hours as there is an abundance of research which demonstrates that too much time working is as detrimental as too little.
Setting up a work plan may seem daunting at first, but it is important as it helps you have a clear picture of: How much work you need to do. How much time you have to do it.
The following are some practical ideas to help you write your schedule/time management plan: 1. Take a piece of paper and write down a detailed weekly plan of your time. Consider your work requirements and other commitments such as: Work time: Block out your fixed commitments such as: lectures, tutorials, work hours.
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Time Management MCC Library Central
Study Skills Series
Maintenance time: Make sure you allow time for looking after yourself (and your family). Allow time for meals, domestic chores, shopping, travel, and time to relax. Check that you have a balance between work and your other needs, including sleep, exercising and socialising. Family time: Identify times for your family commitments. Identify when work will be the priority for you and let others (partner and/or friends) know that you are not available at these times. Free time: You may choose to allocate particular time-slots to particular activities, or vary this according to demands. Mark in those things that are important or necessary for you: sport, recreation, favourite television shows etc. Other: Allow some unscheduled time for emergencies that may occur as deadlines come close. Be realistic with time and add a bit more on to always give you an extra bit of leeway. 2. Work out what your targets (aims and objectives) are. Identify what you need to do in order of importance for the next day, week, and month. 3. Put them into your timetable, diary or personal organiser or mobile phone. 4. Prioritise and allocate appropriate time for all targets. Divide your targets into: Do it! What you must do immediately. Delay it! What you can do later, but this may/will become a ‘Do it’ tomorrow. Bin it! What you have finished doing or do not need to do. 5. Now you know what is most urgent and when you are going to do it, you should estimate how long you think you will need on each task. 6. If you use a diary or personal organiser over a few weeks you will soon be able to predict the tough times and plan rewards – be nice to yourself when you have kept to the plan – think about the reward and write it down. 7. Make sure you stick to your plan and don’t just end up writing plans. Lots of people spend hours drawing ‘state of the art’ plans and timetables….. and then neglect them. 8. Use your time wisely by: Using the time of day when you concentrate best for the most demanding work.
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Time Management MCC Library Central
Study Skills Series
Utilising small blocks of time for ‘busy’ but not deeply intellectual tasks such as photocopying or sorting out notes. Developing a filing system that organises notes and documents, so that you do not waste vast amounts of time searching through the clutter. For instance: label papers clearly with the date and topic, use module folders or plastic envelopes, colour-code your files. Re-assess your schedule from time to time. Check that you are keeping up-todate in all areas. Ask yourself if you need to allocate more time to work generally, or for certain areas, or if you would be more effective working at different times of day/evening. Having a weekly routine for tasks such as shopping, washing and cleaning can be helpful. This routine can help keep the tasks manageable and up-todate. You could write these tasks onto a calendar or on a list to keep in a prominent place. For example: Monday: Check balance of bank account Tuesday: Gym Wednesday: Cleaning bedroom & Bathroom Thursday: Gym Friday: File post Pay bills Saturday: Washing Shopping Plan meals for the week Sunday: Tidy lounge
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Any queries please contact: library@midchesh.ac.uk 01606 720646 winsfordlibrary@midchesh.ac.uk 01606 720652
Time Management MCC Library Central
Study Skills Series
Have a ‘weekly cleanup’ of papers, bills etc. to keep up to date with organisation. Try and make sure that this is at the same time each week to increase the chances of it becoming automatic. Make sure that all papers are ‘filed’ where they need to be, files or dividers of different colours can be useful for this. An easy shortcut approach to filing could be to ‘throw’ papers into separate coloured box files for each topic area (e.g. one box for bills, one for work information) so they are approximately in the right place.
From the Website Box of Ideas: http://www.boxofideas.org/ideas/?page_id=2827
© The Dyscovery Centre 2010
http://library.midchesh.ac.uk http://pcbooker.midchesh.ac.uk http://librarycentralmcc.blogspot.co.uk/
Any queries please contact: library@midchesh.ac.uk 01606 720646 winsfordlibrary@midchesh.ac.uk 01606 720652