Study Skills II: Effective time

management
Hannah Morris
Session schedule

 Why is time management important?

 Analyse your use of time
 Foundations: Schedule, plan, organise and prioritise strategically
 Protect your time and workspace
 Eliminate distractions
 Specific techniques: Pomodoro, 80/20, Eisenhower, 18 minutes
 Avoid procrastination
 Maintenance
 Evaluate
 Self care
 Reward yourself!
Why is it important to learn time
management skills?
 Online study
 Self discipline
 Increase productivity in all areas of your life
 Not about cramming more in
 Understand what you need to do, what you want to do, and how long each
thing takes.
 Balance conflicting demands on your time
 Learning to better manage your time can:
 Relieve stress
 Maximize accomplishments
 Track the tasks that lead to your goals
 Be more organized
Analyse your use of time

 Do you know how much time you spend on each task?

 Keep a time log for a few days. Hour by hour.

 Estimate and map:

 Estimating: adding a ’how long’ column to your to-do list.
 Mapping: using the same sheet you used to evaluate your
time use it to map your time.
Scheduling: calendar and to do lists?

 Calendar/diary: reminders
 Checklist/todo list: ensure you stay on task and focussed.
 The more you plan - the less time there is for other things to take over
 Don’t schedule too much!
 Leave enough space for unforeseeable circumstances
 Reschedule as needed
 Colour-code
 Boosts organisation and saves time
Schedule: studies

 15 modules per half semester (8 weeks)

 2 modules per week for each course.
 Each module is 1 hour, plus say 1 hour extra reading.
 = 4 hours per week per course.
 E.g. 5 courses - 4 hours a day - 5 days a week and have a weekend off. (1 course per
day for 5 days?)
 Allow more time than you need
 Schedule time for your other daily tasks too
 Schedule your day around prayer
 Put it somewhere you can see
 Semester/weekly/daily
Schedule: daily/weekly/semesterly

 Start with the big picture and then work down to the detail.
 Semester calendar/schedule.
 Weekly schedule.
 Daily schedule.
 Study session plan
 Create a study plan for every module/course
 Be realistic
 Write it down – don’t rely on your memory
Schedule: buffers or constraints?

 Set time constraints

 Can increase productivity
 Set deadlines even when you don’t need to.
 The timer creates a sense of urgency and pushes you to focus and be more
efficient

 But…

 Be flexible
 You can't plan for everything
 Finish ahead of time
Planning

 Plan your day the night before

 Once you wake up, you’ll be able to just get to work – organised and relaxed
 Avoids procrastination
 Don’t plan too much
 Take a few minutes to skim through the notes from the previous class, as
well as the notes for the upcoming class
 Review new information you’ve learned within 24 hours
 Write down all your test dates and assignment due dates in your calendar
 Set reminders
Organising

 Organize work around energy levels.

 Find your most productive hours - schedule deep work (high value ad high
energy tasks) for those periods.

 Do low-value and low-energy tasks (shallow work), at other, less productive

times.
Prioritise strategically

 Start the day with critical work

 “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And If
it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”

 Gives momentum and sense of accomplishment early in the day.

 “Focus on signal over noise. Don’t waste time on stuff that doesn’t actually
make things better.”

 If a task takes less than three minutes to complete, do it right away

Prioritise strategically

 Prioritize your assignments

 Tackle hardest subjects first

 Schedule activities for after your school work

 Regularly review your priorities

 Learn to say ‘no’

Eliminate distractions

 Distractions harm your productivity and focus

 List your main distractions and time wasters

 Use headphones
 If you find interesting articles, save them read later
 Designated distraction time
 Check your email and text messages just three to four times a day
Eliminate distractions

 Turn-off your Wi-Fi

 Turn off all notifications
 Unfollow people on social media
 Unsubscribe from YouTube channels
 Mute group chats
 Delete all social media apps
 Use a very long password
 Put your tablet and phone in another room
Take advantage of gap time

 Not enough hours in the day?

 Gap time: commuting, lines, waiting rooms, in-between tasks, small breaks
in the schedule…etc…
 Use this time to:
 Read saved articles
 Lectures audio
 Organize your work
 Plan your week
 Don’t use it to browse social media!!
Block out time and space

 Dedicated study space.

 Put a clock on your study table.
 Declutter your study area
 Remove all distractions
 Mix it up every now and again

 Dedicated study time.

 Protect this time
 Fixed stop time
Specific techniques: Pomodoro
technique
 30 minute chunks: 25 minutes working, 5 minutes break

 Repeat for 2 or 3 cycles

 Specific technique: Eisenhower
 Write down all your tasks.

 Identify what’s urgent and what’s important.

 Urgent and Important:

 Do these tasks first.
 Important but Not Urgent:
 Put these on a calendar to do later.
 Urgent but Not Important
 Not Urgent and Not Important
 Specific techniques: 80/20
 “80% of the output or results will come from 20% of the input or action”.
 Regain focus and prioritise time
 For example:
 Is 80% of work achieved with the first 20% of effort?
 Are 20% of the reading 80% of the important knowledge?
 Do 80% of your distractions come from 20% of sources?
 Do 20% of your tasks give you 80% of the pleasure in your work?
 Answers form the basis of your efforts.
Specific techniques: 18 minutes

 Each morning, spend five minutes deciding what you need to do that day

 Each hour, spend one minute considering if you’ve used the hour productively.

 Each evening, spend five minutes to assess what you’ve learned and
accomplished during that day.
Avoid procrastination

 Break down your larger goals into small manageable tasks with realistically
achievable milestones

 Be clear about what the next step is

 For every task be specific about when you will start

Maintenance

 Hold yourself accountable:

 Use helpful resources
 Study buddy,
 Join a study group
 Hang out with motivated, productive people

 Routine
Evaluate

 Different techniques call for different usage at different times for different
people for different tasks!

 Try new methods

 Regularly evaluate if your technique is working

 Make time to reflect on a weekly basis

 what went well and what didn’t go so well?
 what changes will you make in the coming week?
Take time off/self care

 Crucial to sustaining motivation, passion, and productivity

 Quick breaks and longer vacations
 Sleep
 Eat well
 Get exercise
 Deep breathing exercises, relaxation
Reward yourself

 Celebrate Small Achievements

 When you’ve reached a milestone or goal, reward yourself.
 Both during working on a task and upon completion
 Do something you enjoy
 The break will also allow your brain to relax and be more productive when
you return
 Don’t overindulge until you have completed your task
Summary

 Why is time management important?

 Analyse your use of time
 Plan, schedule, organise and prioritise
 Strategic approaches
 Protect your time and workspace
 Eliminate distractions
 Specific techniques: Pomodoro, 80/20, Eisenhower and 18 minutes
 Avoid procrastination
 Maintenance
 Evaluate
 Self care
 Reward yourself!
Conclusion

 Different techniques call for different usage at different times for different
people for different tasks

 Experiment