Time management
Adam Sandelson
LSE Student Counselling Service
18 January 2012
1
Aims
• Identify useful strategies for better
time management
• Examine psychological issues
• Explore common difficulties with
perfectionism and procrastination
2
Message from a friend:
Failing to plan …
is planning to fail
3
Introduction
How do you
go about
managing
your time?
4
Five basic principles
• Be realistic about the task….how long will it
take?
• Be determined…..limit distractions/displacement
• Be organised………books, pens, coffee
• Balance the other parts of your life
• Be flexible…things may change
5
Taking control of time
Ask yourself from time to time:
• How am I using my mental and
physical energy now?
• Is this good use of my time?
•
Identify priorities/commitments for
the week ahead and write on blank
sheet all sessions/ meetings; leisure
activities; paid work; time for self;
adequate rest/sleep.
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Personal Timetable
Sun
Mon
Tues
Weds
Thurs
Fri
Sat
08:00
09:00
10:00
11:00
12:00
1:00pm
2:00
3:00
4:00
5:00
6:00
7:00
8:00
9:00
10:00
11:00
12:00
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Use personal timetabling to:
•
•
•
•
•
•
acknowledge what you have achieved
save mental energy
be purposeful and realistic
meet deadlines and keep up with work
have effective study time and effective
relaxation
Enjoy yourself without guilt and worry
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Causal Dimensions of Time
Management Problems for Students
Intrinsic/Emotive
• Feel overwhelmed &
‘frozen’ by all the tasks
• Anxiety about what is expected
of them
• Anxiety about writing: worried about
the quality of their work
• Wanting to live up to other people’s
standards
• Wanting to live up to their own
image of themselves
• Bored – motivation is low
Extrinsic/External
• Workload is
heavy & appears
overwhelming
• Lack of clarity about what is
expected
• Student not experienced in managing
time independently
• Cultural dimensions: come
from a society that is relaxed
about time
• Course is not interesting
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Tips for avoiding distraction
•
•
•
•
Start with the unpleasant tasks first
Set yourself a time limit for reading.
Use active reading techniques.
Distraction problems can occur when the
subject being studied appears totally
removed from the real world.
• If you find a particular recommended or
set book hard to follow, try another that
offers you a simpler or clearer
explanation.
• If other students are distracting you, go
somewhere else. Where others are
working quietly, you are likely to do the
same.
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Four Tips for Managing Time
1. Start with the unpleasant tasks first – get
them out of the way early.
2. Set yourself a short time limit for reading: 40
– 45 minutes tends to be the maximum time most
people can read before their concentration slips. At
the end of the set time, stop and take a break.
3. Don’t struggle with books you find hard to
read. If you find a particular set book hard to
follow, try another that offers you a simpler or
clearer explanation of the same subject.
4. Keep your working area clear of clutter: the
Wall Street Journal reported that typical US
Executive wastes 5 hours a week looking for
misfiled/mislaid items. (Lindley 2006).
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Writing Strategies
•
•
•
•
•
Free yourself up
Go for a walk; talk it out loud
Wait for a structure to arrive
Bullet points, mind maps, scribble ideas
Give yourself time to work it out –
learning and writing involve unconscious
processes
• Imagine looking back at this task in 6
months
• Work with others, use study groups, etc.
12
Common difficulties
•
Perfectionism
•
Procrastination
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Are you a perfectionist?
•
•
•
You are never good
enough, whatever
you accomplish
You can’t complete
work or projects,
waiting to get them
just right
You must always
give 100% or else
be mediocre or a
failure
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What is perfectionism?
• Self-defeating thoughts and behaviours associated with
high ideals, not realistic goals.
• Often mistakenly seen as desirable or even necessary for
success.
• Recent studies show that perfectionist attitudes actually
interfere with success.
– The desire to be perfect can deny you a sense of
satisfaction and cause you to achieve far less than
people with more realistic goals.
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Causes of perfectionism
• You may have learned early in
life that you were mainly valued
for your achievements.
• You value yourself on the basis
of other people's approval.
• Your self-esteem is based
primarily on external standards.
• You are vulnerable and sensitive
to the opinions and criticism of
others.
• To protect yourself you decide
that being perfect is the only
defence.
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Negative thoughts and
feelings
• Fear of failure.
• Fear of making
mistakes.
• Fear of disapproval.
• All-or-nothing
thinking.
• Over-emphasis on
‘should’, ‘must’ and
‘ought’.
• Never being good
enough.
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How is it maintained?
• Current triggers – eg research pressure
• Negative predictions – ‘I won’t do it well’
• Unhelpful behaviours,
– eg avoidance of writing, constant checking
• Confirming negative beliefs
• Self Critical thoughts – ‘I’ve failed again’
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Vicious circle
• Set an unreachable goal.
• Fail, as the goal was impossible.
• Constant pressure leads to
chronic failure and reduces
effectiveness.
• Self criticism and self-blaming
leads to low self - esteem,
anxiety and depression.
• At this point you may give up
completely on your original goal
and set yourself another
unrealistic goal, thinking "This
time if only I try harder I will
succeed".
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4 common myths with
perfectionism
• You can’t succeed
without it
• It gets you the best
results
• It enables you to
overcome obstacles
• It helps you achieve
and please others
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What can I do about it?
• Realize that perfectionism is
undesirable
– perfection is an illusion that is
unattainable.
• Challenge self-defeating thoughts
and behaviours that fuel
perfectionism.
• Cost benefit analysis of keeping
high standards
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Strategies to move forward
• Set goals
– realistic, reachable,
sequential
• Experiment with standards for
success
– Try for 80% or even 60%
• Focus on the process not the
end result
• Evaluate success in terms of
what you accomplished and what
you enjoyed
• Celebrate and learn from
mistakes
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Common difficulties
•
Perfectionism
•
Procrastination
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•
•
•
•
•
What is
procrastination?
Putting off a task which needs to be
done
It can affect our study and writing
We may disguise avoidance by being
very busy
We may find things to do that are
interesting or even useful, but don't
contribute towards the main goal
It may involve feelings of anxiety, stress,
guilt, shame and depression
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Overcoming Procrastination
• Use a diary
• Prioritise and set
achievable targets
• Revise targets
• Acknowledge progress
• Stay focussed
• Avoid avoidant
activities!
• Reward yourself
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Procrastination –
so what can you do about it ?
Aversion to the task
- Develop motivation
•
•
•
•
Find a personal engagement with subject …
… how can I use this idea ?
… what’s significant in this for me ?
Why have I found this difficult in the past ?
…
• … how is this different now ?
• If I had to explain this to others simply,
how would I best summarise it for them ?
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Procrastination –
so what can you do about it ?
Impulsiveness / distractions
- Long term vision
- ‘Unpleasant’ tasks first
- Short tasks / short term rewards
- Involve others in pay-offs
- Mix active / passive work e.g. reading
- Study groups
• sharing research
• teaching learning
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Procrastination –
so what can you do about it ?
Time management issues:
-
Allow more time for assignments …
… draft, leave, edit, redraft
Simple, realistic, daily goal-setting
Link short-term priorities to long-term
goals
- Lower your expectations ?
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Procrastination –
so what can you do about it ?
Environmental Factors
-
Ask library staff for guidance
Find your favourite space
Keep it clear, focussed on one activity
Symbolise it ?
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Dynamics of study
Past
relationships
Current
relationships
My
relationship
with my
studies
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What can I do?
• Look at your internal
dynamics
• Write down any historic
messages you carry about
yourself
• Develop a more realistic
assessment of your ability
and worth as a person
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Conclusions
• Look after yourself (diet,
sleep)
• Keep a supportive structure
for your daily life; have
relaxation time
• See this as a time of
discovery
• Recall past achievements
• Challenge negative thoughts
• Imagine looking back at the
task from a future vantage
point
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LSE Student Counselling
Service
• Free and confidential
• Groups and Workshops programme
– Self Esteem Group
– Stress Management Group
• Website has information about the Service
– Stress management handout
– Relaxation tape MP3’s
– Links to self help resources
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