Time Management

Tools and tips to help you manage your time more effectively

Robert FordFacilitator

Time Management

“No one has enough time, but everyone has all there is”~ Anonymous

What keeps students awake at night?

1. Handling Stress and Anxiety

2. Procrastination

3. Trouble handling money wisely

4. Feeling better about my body and how I look

5. Confusion about my academic major and / or career

6. Feeling more self-confident

7. Feeling depressed

8. Fearing that I will be a failure

9. Learning to express my opinions and feelings honestly and directly

10. Knowing what to do to help a friend with a serious problem

Developing time management skills will help you manage many of this challenges

Learning and using time management skills will help you make better use of your time

If we can’t make more time, we need to take the time to learn how to use our time more effectively and efficiently

Time Management

Effectiveness vs. Efficiency

“Efficiency is doing the thing right. Effectiveness is doing the right thing”~ Peter Drucker

Time Management

Setting up and

maintaining a time

management system is

an investmentBut unlike most investments, it pays off immediately, and will continue to benefit you

for the rest of your life

How do you manage your time?

• Do you make to-do lists?• Do you plan for things that are

personally important to you?• Do you make plans in order to

keep things in your life under control?

• How often do you accomplish what you plan?

• How often do your plans get interrupted?

Time Management Basics

1. Set specific and definable goals for yourself.

2. Create a calendar that reflects your academic schedule.

3. Create a weekly schedule that shows all activities that you are responsible for.

4. Create a daily ‘To Do’ list.

Why set goals?

Setting goals and targets allows you to:• Stay focused on your objective(s)

• Decide what is important for you to achieve in your life and to start, step-by-step, achieving these goals.

• Be in control of where you go in life. By reflecting on and then recording exactly what you want to achieve, you know what you have to concentrate on to do it.

• Separate what is important from what is irrelevant. Goal setting helps you work out what not to concentrate on, what decisions to choose in relation to your goals and it keeps you focused away from distractions.

Why set goals?

• Motivate yourself to achievement. It gives you long-term vision and short-term motivation. It focuses your acquisition of knowledge and helps you to organize your resources.

• Track and record your progress and achievements.

• Increase your self-confidence as you develop your level of competence in achieving your goals. This is very important, as self-confidence is critically important during the job searching process and many organizations place a high value on this quality.

Setting goals and priorities

• Remember that goals should be SMART!

Long-term Career Goal: Career as a Physician (10-12 years)

Enter and complete residency program (3 to 5 years)

Medical School (3 years) Bachelor’s degree (4 years)

Intermediate Career Goals:

Are your goals SMART?

Setting goals and priorities

Short-Term Personal Goals: (Present): Major in Biology Courses in biology, chemistry and anatomy and physiology At least a 3.5 average for medical school Volunteer work at local hospital Volunteer or paid work as a

research assistant Study skills course to improve

grades and study habits Find a part time job to begin saving for medical school

Are your goals SMART?

Setting goals and priorities

Goal Setting Tools

Goal Setting Worksheets

SMART Goal Worksheets

Personal Goal Setting Worksheet

Vision and Goals Worksheet

WAFW

You can also find links to all tools at:http://bit.ly/WAFW-Time-Management

Semester Calendar

This provides an overview of the semester.

Add all significant events /due dates:

• Papers• Exams• Presentations• Organizational Meetings• Job / Internship Interviews

This allows you to see all deadlines in one place. It also identifies ‘crunch

times’, allowing you to plan ahead.

Weekly Schedule

Drill the schedule down some by creating a schedule that reflects all weekly activities :

• class times, meetings, standing appointments

• eating, sleeping, exercising• work, organizations,

volunteer activities• family time, social time

Weekly Schedule

Determine how many hours each class takes in study / preparation time. List each class and estimate how many hours you need to devote each week (a good rule of thumb is to allow for 2-3 hours outside of class for every 1 hour spent in class).

Class _______________________ Hours/week _________________________

Class _______________________ Hours/week _________________________

Class _______________________ Hours/week _________________________

Class _______________________ Hours/week _________________________

Now begin filling in the available study time until you have accounted for all of thehours you estimated for each class. Create a weekly schedule for yourself, paying attention to following time management principles.

Time Management Principles• Plan a schedule of balanced activities. College life has

many aspects that are very important to success. Some have fixed time requirements and some are flexible. Some of the most common that you must consider are:– Fixed: eating, organization, classes, work– Flexible: sleeping, recreation, study, relaxation, socializing

• Study at a regular time and in a regular place. Establishing habits of study is extremely important. Knowing what you are going to study and when saves a lot of time in making decisions and retracing your steps to get necessary materials, etc.. Avoid generalizations in as “study”. Commit yourself more definitely to “study international business” or “study English comprehension” at certain regular hours.

• Study as soon after lecture class as possible. One hour spent soon after class will do as much as several hours a few days later. Review lecture notes while they are still fresh in your mind. Start assignments while your memory of the assignment is still accurate.

• Use odd hours during the day for studying. Scattered 1-2 hour free periods between classes are easily wasted. Planning and establishing habits of using them for studying for the class just finished will result in free time for recreation at other times in the week.

Time Management Principles

• Limit your blocks of study time to no more than 2 hours on any one course at a time. After 1 1/2 to 2 hours of study you begin to tire rapidly and your ability to concentrate decreases rapidly. Taking a break and then studying another course will provide the change necessary to keep up your efficiency.

• Provide for spaced review. That is, a regular weekly period when you will review the work in each of your courses and be sure you are up to date. This review should be cumulative, covering briefly all the work done thus far in the semester.

Time Management Principles

• List according to priorities. By putting first things first, you are sure to get the most important things done on time.

• Eat well-balanced meals and get regular exercise. Take time for good meals and exercise. Healthy eating and exercise can dramatically improve your concentration, mood, and increase your energy level.

• Double your time estimates. Most people tend to underestimate how much time a particular activity / assignment will take. A good rule of thumb is to estimate how much time you realistically think something will take and then double it. More often than not, this doubled estimate is accurate.

Time Management Principles

Daily ‘To Do’ list

Create a to-do list for each day. This list should ideally be created the night before so that there is no doubt about how the following day should take shape.

• List all of the tasks that you’d like to complete

• Prioritize those that are important, not just urgent • (e.g., A = things that must be done today, B =

things that must be done, but not necessarily today, C = things that need to be done soon)

• Estimate how long each task will take

• Based on free time available, identify which tasks you plan to accomplish

• Work toward that plan

• Reward yourself when you meet or beat your goal

Do

Review

Plan

Daily ‘To Do’ list

At the end of each day, review your to-do list, creating the next day’s to-do list.

• Delete tasks that have been completed, delegated or downgraded

• Add new tasks to be completed

• Re-evaluate / revise priorities (as necessary)

• Re-evaluate / revise task durations (as necessary)

• Based on free time available, identify which tasks you plan to accomplish

Do

Review

Plan

4 Quadrant ‘To Do’ List

You want to focus your efforts on important tasks

4 Quadrant ‘To Do’ List

Critical and due soon• When you start your day, these are the

tasks that you focus on first.

IMPORTANT + NOT URGENT • Once you’ve completed the first category,

start working on these tasks

Not critical• These are things you should explicitly avoid

to do whenever possible (i.e. delegate, defer, delete)

Uncategorized• This is your traditional to do list. The

difference is, they move to “do-now” status only when the items are actually important.

“It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time. ~ Winston Churchill

It’s always best to plan for only what already exists and then to add to your schedule only as events and activities pop up and become known.

Avoiding time management traps

A schedule will only work if you USE it

Simply committing a list of activities to paper will not suddenly create a situation in which you can manage your time better.

Keep your schedule in a prominent location where you can see it daily and refer to several times throughout the day.

Avoiding time management traps

Get into the habit of thinking of your time as a precious commodity.

Even mundane, routine tasks can be easier to handle when you find at least one thing enjoyable about it.

Don’t forget to plan ahead. Reward yourself for important tasks

accomplished.

Avoiding time management traps

Don’t make exceptions and don’t skip around. If you find yourself avoiding a task or activity,

face it head on and get it over with. Whenever possible, set deadlines. If you need help or advice, ask for it. Work on having an optimistic attitude.

Avoiding time management traps

Always be on the look out for ways to expand upon your successes.

Don’t cry over spilled milk! It’s important to you; it’s important to find the time

to do it. Always be on the lookout for ways to free up your

time.

Avoiding time management traps

Make a habit of periodically reviewing your habits. Always carry a small notepad or calendar with you. Take the time to review your lifetime goals. Make a

note of your progress and congratulate yourself. At the end of each day, review the tasks you

needed to accomplish and evaluate your progress.

Avoiding time management traps

Work-life balance只有工作没有娱乐，因此将杰克逼成了疯子。只有工作没有娱乐，因此将杰克逼成了疯子。只有工作没有娱乐，因此将杰克逼成了疯子。只有工作没有娱乐，因此将杰克逼成了疯子。只有工作没有娱乐，因此将杰克逼成了疯子。只有工作没有娱乐，因此将杰克逼成了疯子。只有工作没有娱乐，因此将杰克逼成了疯子。只有工作没有娱乐，因此将杰克逼成了疯子。

Work-life balance

PhysicalIntellectual

SocialCareer

EmotionalSpiritual

exercise, nutrition, sleep

cultural, aesthetic

intimate and social relationships

school and career directed work

expression of feelings, desires

quest for meaning

Every schedule, regardless of style or design, must have balance. Every student, no matter what their personal desires and goals may happen to

be, need a balanced life-style in order to be efficient, successful and happy.

Summary• Becoming proficient in managing your

time is an investment that pays dividends for ever.

• Goals and targets helps you identify what you want to do with your life.

• The more you practice your time managemnt skills, the better you will manage your time.

mail@robertford.us

www/linkedin.com/in/fordrm

www.facebook.com/RobertMFord

Robert Ford

Fordrm

2653462978