POSTGRADUATE ORIENTATION 2012
Time Management
Sara Steinke
Aims of the session
This session helps you to consider how to
prioritise tasks and to make the most of
your limited time. We will identify key
organisational and time management skills.
Prioritisation
Procrastination
Planning
Perfectionism
Importance of time management
Poor organisational skills prevents students from
achieving their best
"Time management is the skill which
above all others can make the difference
between graduating and drop out.”
Ruth Pickford and Sally Brown, Assessing Skills and
Practice (London: Routledge, 2006), page 47
What is time management?
• Time management is about organising your
competing priorities in the limited time
available
• Time management often has very little to do
with time
• It is about organising your life around what’s
important to you, dealing with and confronting
more emotional issues like fear, inadequacy and
other people’s demands on you
Consider the following
1.
What current pressures are there on your
time?
2.
Have you thought about how you are
going to fit studying into your wider
schedule?
3.
Can you foresee any problems which may
arise?
Prioritisation
1. The Quadrant of Necessities
2. The Quadrant of Quality
3. The Quadrant of Deception
4. The Quadrant of Waste
List of
things to
do
1.
Essay –
deadline
today
2.
Presentation –
next week
A
Importance
B
Urgency
C
D
Subtract the
Order of
score in
priority/
Need to do
Do now
column B
When to do
from column
scale 6
scale 1 (must be
A.
Number the
(unimportant) done at once)
order of
to
to
The higher
priorities
10 (essential) 5 (it can wait)
scores in
column C are
priorities.
10
1
9
8
4
4
How well do I use my time?
1. I use small pockets of time
effectively.
2. I do enough rather than aiming at
perfection.
3. I say ‘NO’ when I lack time.
4. I use a diary to prioritise my
activities.
5. I am able to work on my own, and
set my own goals.
Yes No
1. Small pockets of time – around 45 minutes – are more
productive; short portions of time soon add up; take
frequent breaks
1. Recognise and deal with procrastination; set goals; identify
your time wasters (self-inflicted and given)
2. Pareto Principle – roughly 80% of results/effects come from
20% of effort/causes; 20% effort delivers an acceptable
result, not perfect, but good enough
3. L’Oreal principal – ‘because you’re worth it’; educate your
family, friends and colleagues to respect your study
space/time
4. Use one diary to create a ‘to-do list’; prioritise tasks; note
deadlines; write down dates you must begin working
towards the deadlines, establish study timetable
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Procrastination
Perfectionism
Lack of self discipline
Worrying
Personal disorganisation
Lack of priorities
1. Which of these
Inability to say ‘no’
time wasters apply
Indecisiveness
to you?
Socialising (too much)
Intrusions (visitors, calls)
2. How are you going
Not finding resources
to deal with these
Excessive family demands
time wasters?
Not able to contact people
Time saving suggestions: study skills
• Effective note-taking – mind maps, linear notes
• Reading for academic purposes – SQ3R (survey,
question, read, recite, review)
• Dedicated study space and equipment
• Goal setting – s.m.a.r.t. (specific, measurable,
achievable, relevant, time-bound)
• Follow 7 point procedure for writing essays –
1. clarify the task 2. collect/record information
3. organise/plan 4. engage/reflect/evaluation
5. write plan/first draft 6. work on first draft
7. final draft
New (academic) year resolutions
Psychologists (at the University of Hertfordshire)
have identified 5 success factors for individuals
who managed to achieve their New Years’
Resolutions.
1. Breaking down goals into small steps
2. Rewarding achievement
3. Telling other people what you’re trying to
achieve
4. Focussing on the benefits of success
5. Keeping a progress diary
Recap of the session
• Study skills audit of how well you use your time
–
–
–
What are you doing well
What action do you need to take to organise your
time
Difference between under and post graduate
study
• Identified techniques to maximise prioritisation
and planning
• Recognised how to void procrastination and
perfectionism
Cottrell, S. (2008) The
Study Skills Handbook,
3rd Edition (London,
Palgrave) chapter 4
‘The C.R.E.A.M.
Strategy for learning’
pp.70-79
http://www.palgrave.com/
skills4study/studyskills/
learning/time.asp
(relevant tips and
activity related to the
above book)
http://www.bbk.ac.uk/
mybirkbeck/services/facilities
/support/time-management
(online resources
available on the Birkbeck
Library website)
http://www.bbk.ac.uk/
mybirkbeck/get-ahead-stayahead/skills/organisationalskills
(a 20 minute interactive
tutorial supporting this
Get Ahead programme)