SPSU 1001
Hitchhiker’s Guide to SPSU
Time Management
Copyright © 2010 by Bob Brown
A Week Has 168 Hours
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Time is scarce…
… and perishable!
Know what’s important.
Do what’s important.
Budget time like
you would
budget money,
but moreso!
Not Important
Important
Setting Priorities
Urgent
Demand Zone
Not Urgent
Effective Zone
Crises
Looming deadlines
Learning
Studying
Preparation
Illusion Zone
Interruptions
Some calls, texts, emails
Escape Zone
Busy work
Aimless Web surfing
Adapted from Stephen Covey’s time matrix.
Another Way to Look At It
Things We Do Well
Learn to
say No
Apply selfdiscipline
Hurrah!
Things We
Want to Do
Learn to
do these
better
Things that
Achieve
Our Goals
Adapted from Bud Caddell’ s How to be Happy in Business.
Working in the Effective Zone
• Know what’s important.
• Do what’s important. (Before it becomes
urgent.)
• Start with your long-range goals:
• Why are you in college?
• What do you want to achieve by graduation?
• Then, mid-range goals:
• Attend every class
• Maintain 3.5+ GPA
Being a Full-Time Student
• Plan on two or three hours’ work outside
class for every class hour.
• Twelve semester hours: 7.5 class hours…
• … and fifteen to 22+ hours outside class.
• That’s 22.5 to 30 hours per week for
coursework.
• It’s a rule of thumb:
• Some classes will be easier and take less time.
• Some may be harder and take much more time.
The Term Calendar
• The term calendar is is your mid-range
plan. (We will make a long-range plan
later)
• On a 16-week calendar, write the key dates
from each class syllabus.
• Post it in your study area.
• Add new dates (e.g. final exams) as they
are announced.
• Use it to plan each week.
Semester Calendar
Week Of:
9/6
9/13
9/20
9/27
10/4
10/11
10/18
10/25
11/1
11/8
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Your Weekly Schedule
• Fill in your fixed commitments, like class
times, sports practices, etc.
• Fill in material from your Term Calendar
• Schedule time for:
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Study
Meals
Exercise
Fun.
• Leave some time for yourself.
Weekly Planner
Monday
6:00
7:00
8:00
9:00
10:00
11:00
12:00
1:00
2:00
3:00
4:00
5:00
6:00
7:00
8:00
9:00
10:00
11:00
12:00
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Your Daily To-Do List
• This is how you manage daily tasks (and
keep yourself on task.)
• A 35 card of something of similar size.
• It travels with you.
• Last thing at night, or at breakfast, check
your weekly schedule. List those things
you want accomplish for the day.
• Do them!
• Cross them off your list.
Scheduling Wisely
• Break large tasks (like a major paper) into
smaller subtasks and schedule those.
• Use the daylight hours – you are at your most
effective then.
• Schedule less demanding tasks for evening.
• Make use of the small chunks of time. (have
45 minutes between classes? Schedule 30
minutes for reading.)
• Learn to say, “No.” (Preferably politely.)
You must control your schedule, not others.
About Your Biological Clock
Taking Care of Yourself
• Keep a consistent wake-up time. (It
improves the quality of your sleep.)
• Get the sleep you need. (7–8 hours for
most people.)
• Eat breakfast every day.
• Learn to say No.
• Leave some time for yourself.
The Myth of Multitasking
• You can listen to music while you
exercise. This is “background tasking.”
• You cannot do two cognitive tasks at the
same time. This is “switch-tasking.”
• Talking on the phone while driving is as
dangerous as driving while drunk. Why?
Crenshaw, Dave. The Myth of Multitasking: How “Doing It All” Gets Nothing Done
The Cornell Experiment
• Two groups of students.
• One was group allowed to surf the web
during a lecture.
• The other group was not allowed.
• Both groups took an exam immediately
after the lecture.
• The web-surfing group performed
significantly worse.
Step Away from the Computer!
• And turn off the phone.
• Each interruption, no matter how short,
requires that you “find your place again”
in the task that was interrupted.
• Studying with interruptions takes longer
and yields significantly poorer results.
Questions