How to manage your time

To: MIB students

From: John Small, Learning Skills Adviser
Date: Friday, 2 September 2016

This week I would like to talk about some time management issues.

A few centuries ago, an American statesman was quoted as saying: Do you love life? Then do not squander
time, for thats the stuff that life is made of.

So, managing your time is equivalent to managing your life managing yourself.

What are some of the stumbling blocks to managing your time? There are activities that can simply be
regarded as time wasters. It can happen very easily you have a favourite thing (a pastime, hobby or other
activity), something you really enjoy doing. You may enjoy doing it so much that, before you know it, it is out of
control. It may begin to consume a large amount of your time, far more than you can afford. Sometimes people
become so absorbed in such activities that they do not realise how quickly their valuable time is being lost.

Instead of providing a refreshing break, it may happen that a whole afternoon, and sometimes even a whole
day, has been stolen from you! For example, I have heard about people who spend so much time on social
media non-essential activity on Facebook, MixIt, Twitter (and so on) that they dont sleep properly, or they
get to bed at ridiculously early hours of the morning. (This is a triple loss time today, sleep tonight, and
tomorrows performance have all been compromised!)

So how can you effectively manage your time. Planning, scheduling and control are important keys to success.
Even more important than any of these things is the will to succeed, the motivation to get on with your work
and to see it through to success, the determination to let nothing hold you back.

I have found using a grid like the one on the following page to be a useful tool. What is important here is that
you need to think through a comprehensive and complete picture of everything in your life: personal,
professional, academic (lectures, tutorials, consultation with your lecturer or librarian), family-related,
transport, social, cultural, sporting, religious, charitable as well as business or part-time job-related activities
should all be allotted their time. Even time you wish to set aside for taking a break (or other recreation) should
be recorded and planned for. It is effort and time well spent!

What is the deal-breaker? Of course, none of this effort in organising and planning your life will mean a thing
unless you actually implement the schedule you have made. It will be necessary for you to monitor what works
and what doesnt. A schedule like this is a living, breathing thing. It is subject to continuous change. It is an
instrument designed to guide you to success in your life, work and (in particular) your studies.

Conclusion. Time is a remarkable resource that all of us have. It is extremely valuable and uniquely one-
directional. Time that is lost through procrastination is gone forever, and can never be recovered. The big
difference between success and failure is the degree to which we succeed in managing our time, the one
commodity that every human being possesses in equal quantity.
 Weekly Schedule

Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun

7:00 to 7:30
7:30 to 8:00
8:00 to 8:30
8:30 to 9:00
9:00 to 9:30
9:30 to 10:00
10:00 to 10:30
10:30 to 11:00
11:00 to 11:30
11:30 to 12:00
12:00 to 12:30
12:30 to 13:00
13:00 to 13:30
13:30 to 14:00
14:00 to 14:30
14:30 to 15:00
15:00 to 15:30
15:30 to 16:00
16:00 to 16:30
16:30 to 17:00
17:00 to 17:30
17:30 to 18:00
18:00 to 18:30
18:30 to 19:00
19:00 to 19:30
19:30 to 20:00
20:00 to 20:30
20:30 to 21:00
21:00 to 21:30
21:30 to 22:00

Suggestion:

Use a variety of colours to shade in every activity that occupies your day.
Doing this will enable you to see exactly how much time is to be devoted to each activity, and how
much free time you actually have.
This, or any similar, tool is ideally suited to setting up a workable study schedule.