Time Management: Where do your hours go?
For every hour that you spend in class, two hours should be spent outside of class
studying that material.
For example, a 4-unit class requires 4 hours of class time each week. Therefore, each
week you should spend 8 hours studying outside of class. That’s a total of 12 hours
weekly devoted to one class if you want to be successful! It may possibly take more
than this many hours to complete assignments or study for exams; this is the
minimum number of hours that you should plan on. Many students do not take this
into account when planning their semester schedules and wonder later in the
semester why they are frustrated and overwhelmed with their studies.
There are 168 hours in a week, and it’s time to find out where those hours go, so
that you can develop a practical schedule that maximizes your potential to be
successful in your courses.
Academic Hours
List the courses you are taking, weekly in-class hours and the number of hours you
need to study outside of class weekly in the table below.
Course
# of in-class hours
weekly
# of outside-class hours weekly
(Multiply weekly in-class hours
by 2)
Total Academic Hours = (In-Class Hours) + (Outside-Class Hours)
=
=
+
Time Management: Where do your hours go?
Personal Hours
Activity
Full- time Job
# of hours weekly
Average # of hours
40 – 50
Part-Time Job
16 - 20
Sleep
50 - 60
Health/Hygiene
7 - 10
Meal Prep/Eating
10 - 12
Errands & Commuting
5 - 10
Caring for a dependent
-------------------
Other:
-------------------
Total Personal Hours =
Recreation/Leisure Hours
Recreation/Leisure Hours = 168 – (Academic Hours) – (Personal Hours)
= 168 -
-
=
Note: If your recreation/leisure hours are less than or equal to zero, then you are
probably over-extending yourself and need to cut down on outside activities, work
or possibly academic units.
Creating a Timetable
Use the timetable on the next page to create your semester weekly schedule. Make
sure you include all the activities/hours you listed above and be as specific as
possible. It is helpful to create a visual aid by using different colors for Academic
Hours, Personal Hours, and Leisure Hours.
Time Management: Where do your hours go?
Monday
12:00 AM
1:00 AM
2:00 AM
3:00 AM
4:00 AM
5:00 AM
6:00 AM
7:00 AM
8:00 AM
9:00 AM
10:00 AM
11:00 AM
12:00 PM
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
3:00 PM
4:00 PM
5:00 PM
6:00 PM
7:00 PM
8:00 PM
9:00 PM
10:00 PM
11:00 PM
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday