Time Management
 
MANAGING TIME AND SETTING PRIORITIES

TIME IS A VALUABLE RESOURCE, A MOST PRECIOUS COMMODITY.

Every human on earth—Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, and you—all have the same amount of time ~

  • 60 seconds in a minute,
  • 60 minutes in an hour,
  • 24 hours in a day,
  • and 168 hours in a week.
  • Time cannot be saved or stored.
  • It is not how much we have, but rather the way we use it. The bottom line is how well we use it
TIME MANAGEMENT IS THE ACT OF CONTROLLING EVENTS

THE HEART OF TIME MANAGEMENT IS MANAGEMENT OF YOURSELF.

Time Management is more than just managing our time; it is managing ourselves in relation to time. It is setting priorities and taking charge of your situation and time utilization. It means changing those habits or activities that cause us to waste time. It is being willing to experiment with different methods and ideas to enable you to find the best way to make maximum use of time.

  • ESSENTIALLY EVERYTHING WE DO REQUIRES TIME.

  • SOME EVENTS/ACTIVITIES ARE EXTERNALLY CONTROLLED:meetings family obligations work duties

  • OTHER ACTIVITIES ARE INTERNALLY CONTROLLED: chatting on the phone, commitment to a club or project, or just "messing around."
GOOD TIME MANAGEMENT IS:
  • SETTING SMART GOALS THAT CAN BE REALISTICALLY ACCOMPLISHED
  • ESTABLISHING PRIORITIES
  • ASSUMING FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR USE OR ABUSE OF A VALUABLE RESOURCE CALLED TIME.

Reflect on each of these essentials to insure that you understand the challenges of managing time.

  • Do not create impossible situations.
    • Attempting to work a full 40-hour week and taking a full academic load (12 hours) is an impossible situation.
    • Review your outside obligations.
    • Examine each of these realistically as you prepare your new semester schedule.
  • Define your priorities.
    • All successful time management begins with planning.
    • Use a weekly calendar and a daily "To Do" list.
    • Write down all of the things you want to accomplish today, including personal activities such as phone calls and shopping.
    • This list is a reminder.
    • Use it to set daily priorities--what must be done today? What can wait? Write a new list each morning.
    • Use it to visualize what you must do in that new day, providing focus to your day's activities.
  • Avoid distractions and lack of focus.
    • Identify areas of wasteful use of time.
    • Do you put off doing important tasks?
    • That is called procrastination.
    • There is a complete procrastination segment available on this web site on suggestions to rein that wasteful habit in.
  • Are you overwhelmed by the current crisis or imminent deadline?
    • Crises management, or lack of, leaves no time for routine matters or for enjoyment of the simpler things in life.
    • Are you plagued by lack of concentration and focus?
  • Floundering could be offset by creating daily "To Do" lists and lists of weekly, monthly and long-term goals.
    • What about emotional blocks that interfere with academic success?
    • These include boredom, daydreaming, stress, guilt, anger and frustration--all reduce concentration in the classroom.
  • Stress can lead to sickness that will definitely blow your schedule apart.
    • Stay physically fit. Yes, you can schedule good quality time for exercising and not feel guilty, knowing that it will keep you healthy in the long run.
    • Exercise is the best known way of reducing anxiety-producing stress. Other major distractions include: the telephone, television and friends.

  • ARE YOU ASSUMING RESPONSIBILITY FOR MANAGING YOUR MOST VALUABLE COMMODITY, TIME?
    • Do you avoid a noisy disruptive atmosphere when you study?
    • Do you discipline yourself to turn off the ringer on your phone or limit your television watching ?
    • Do friends drop in and unintentionally pull you from your established priorities?
    • Avoid distractions and temptations to put aside your carefully planned schedule of "To Do" prioritized lists.
 

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Please send any questions, or comments to Nora E. McMillan, email, nmcmilla@alamo.edu, 
or Carol A. Keller, email, ckeller@alamo.edu

Last Update, October 2009