Time Management
Asnath Mayayise & Michelle Schreuder
Directorate for Counselling, Career & Academic Development
Es’kia Mphahlele Registration Hall, 1st Floor
Unisa Sunnyside Campus
012 441 5373/2
http://www.unisa.ac.za/
counselling@unisa.ac.za
Focus of this session
Time Management
 The 60/30/10 principle of time management
and study
 The advantages of group work
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What is Time Management?
What is Time Management?
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Time management is a
set of principles,
practices, skills, tools,
and systems that work
together to help you
get more value out of
your time
Why is it important?
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It is one of the top reasons why students drop out
of university
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They don’t know how to manage their time effectively – social life,
studies, family life etc.
Improve quality of life
Reduce frustration, irritability, anger
Reduce negative stress
Gain a sense of accomplishment
Have more time to do things you want to do
Improve organization in your life
Peace of Mind
The FACTS:
• Research shows that:
• “Procrastinators produce inferior work, contrary to beliefs that the
best work is done under pressure.”
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A study by Tuckman (2002), found that students who
complete their work late or at the last minute are prone to
say to themselves things like,
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(Tice and Baumeister, 1997)
"I'm just waiting for the best time to do it"
"I know I can pull it out at the last minute"
Students who indicated that they frequently tell
themselves such things did relatively poorly.
The EFT Principle of Time Management
E
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T
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Exploration
Fixation
Testing
60%
30%
10%
An effective method of managing your time
with regard to any activity
(assignments, exams, work, etc.)
Short-term planning: Exploration Phase
• Explore & gain information & knowledge about a
topic
Explore 60%
Fix 30%
Test 10%
• Includes activities that familiarise yourself with the material
you have to study
• Primary objective: be prepared for the intensive
study that follows
Short-term planning: Exploration Phase
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During the Exploration phase:
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Work through your curriculum
Complete your assignments
Do additional reading in the library
Discuss your field of study with others in the field
Contact fellow students to sort out problems
Make summaries for intensive study later
Identify questions you have to answer
Identify & clarify difficult concepts
Assignment Writing:
60%
30%
10%
Research
Write
Review
Short-term planning: Fixation Phase
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Intensive study phase
Bringing together logically all the facts gathered during
exploration phase
Explore 60%
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Fix 30 %
Test 10 %
Divided into 3 steps: 1. Consolidation Phase
2. Summary Phase
3. Memorisation Phase
Short-term planning: Fixation Phase
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Consolidation Phase
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Summary Phase
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Thorough preview of study matter & additional notes
Identify main topics & ideas of study material
Making sure you understand all concepts & words
Make adequate summaries of the work to be studied
Helps you separate more important facts from less important ones
Memorisation Phase
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Using a core summary to reduce material to essential key words to
use as reference points during the exam
Committing the work to memory through understanding of the key
concepts
Short-term planning: Fixation Phase
Example: Exam Preparation
Explore 60%
60%
Fix 30%
Test 10%
30%
10%
Consolidation Phase:
Summary Phase:
Memorisation
First repetition of all work
Summaries &
Phase:
main points
main points
Short-term planning: Testing Phase
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Test yourself by asking & answering questions which cover
the study material
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Use the study material to formulate questions
Use old exam questions to practice
Have group study sessions
Explore 60%
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Fix 30 %
Test 10 %
The more questions you answer, the more familiarised
you will become with the work
How do the different planning cycles fit
together?
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Long-term over a semester
4 February
Explore 60%
31 March
28 April
Fix 30%
• Read
• Refine summaries
• Do assignments
• Study - memorize
• Group discussions
• Summaries
7 May
Test 10%
• Answer exam
questions
• Have group sessions
• Check old papers
Time Management Process
Work back from last date – e.g. 3 June
 Count number of days from today (e.g. today is
1 March) to 3 June = 95 days
 Divide number of days into three parts
according to the 60/30/10 principle
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60% = 57 days : 1 March to 26 April
 30% = 29 days : 27 April to 25 May
 10% = 9 days : 26 May to 3 June
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Exploration
Fixation
Testing
Group Discussions: Study Groups
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Advantages of a study
group:
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Interact with other
students
Help each other with
problems
Group support
Opens discussion of
different topics –
different views &
opinions
Study Groups: Key Principles
Choose members that you get along with
 3-4 participants
 Select group leader
 Agree on meeting place & time
 Make personal commitment
 Don’t use group to replace independent
study
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Study Groups: Procedures
Try to reach agreement on important and less important
work
 Clear up any differences between notes of the different
group members
 Use surface and deep learning techniques
 Identify possible exam questions
 Meet regularly
 Ask each other questions about past study methods
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“How do you usually study for subject X ?”
“Based on your experience, what is the best way to study for
subject X?”
Forming a Study Group
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To form a study group:
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Phone Unisa Contact
Centre at
0861670411
Request a list of
fellow students for
modules that you are
registered for
You can also access a
class list on myUnisa