Time Management

PART ONE

TIME MANAGEMENT IS SELF-MANAGEMENT

An Overview

Effective time management in nursing school can be a challenge, but it is a key element to your success. The ability to balance academics, home life, and work requires diligence and strategic scheduling of daily activities while leaving room for the unexpected. Ultimately, time management boils down to decision making.

The time management system offered on this website is a framework. While students who have used it have reported success and reduced stress, you may find that you need to tailor it according to your needs. The bottom-line is that you need to structure and manage your time. Doing whatever is in front of you means something will be forgotten, missed, or otherwise left undone. Be intentional, thoughtful, and thorough in planning how you will manage your time. It’s a precious resource.

Hint: Creating a time management system can feel overwhelming the first time you try it. Working with an academic success coordinator can help.

Also – None of this works -- unless you make it work.

USE GOAL SETTING to DRIVE YOUR HABITS

Time management begins with identifying priorities and setting goals

Know, reinforce, and believe in your “why.”
1. Identify what really matters to you. What are your values?
2. Reflect and confirm your long and short-term goals.
3. Make decisions based on what you value.
Use WOOP goal setting.
When people do not reach a goal, it is often because they did not anticipate and plan for internal obstacles. The WOOP approach to goal setting, developed by Dr. Gabriele Oettingen, professor of psychology at New York University, is a science-based mental strategy that people can use to find and fulfill their wishes, set preferences, and change their habits.
1. WOOP Steps
  1. Wish (goal) – (Identify your goal and write it down.)
  2. Outcome (Identify how you will feel when you reach the goal.)
  3. Obstacles (Identify how you will feel six months from now if you fail at reaching your goal. Identify the internal factors that led to this failure. These are your obstacles.)
  4. Plan (Plan to reach your goals and plan for what to do when obstacles arise.)
2. Sharpen and post
  1. Review your goal from step one above.
    Revise so it is a SMART goal: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time limited.
  2. Post your goals a place where you will see them at least periodically.
Use self-talk
Understand the value of self-talk in reaching goals and managing time.
- Is what I’m doing right now helping me to reach my goals?
- Am I doing what I have scheduled right now?
- What is my highest priority between options?
- Distinguish between what you Must do/Want to do/No need to do
Share
Share your goals with someone else, especially someone who will help support you and who will help with accountability.
Remind yourself
1. Periodically remind yourself about your goals, continuing to use self-talk to reinforce your decisions.
  Self-talk examples:
  - Because my goal is to _________, I will ________________.
  - Because my goal is ________________, I am prioritizing ____________ over _____________.
2. Reflect periodically on your progress toward reaching your goal(s).

Time management begins with identifying priorities and setting goals

Know, reinforce, and believe in your “why.”
1. Identify what really matters to you. What are your values?
2. Reflect and confirm your long and short-term goals.
3. Make decisions based on what you value.
Use WOOP goal setting.
When people do not reach a goal, it is often because they did not anticipate and plan for internal obstacles. The WOOP approach to goal setting, developed by Dr. Gabriele Oettingen, professor of psychology at New York University, is a science-based mental strategy that people can use to find and fulfill their wishes, set preferences, and change their habits.
1. WOOP Steps
  1. Wish (goal) – (Identify your goal and write it down.)
  2. Outcome (Identify how you will feel when you reach the goal.)
  3. Obstacles (Identify how you will feel six months from now if you fail at reaching your goal. Identify the internal factors that led to this failure. These are your obstacles.)
  4. Plan (Plan to reach your goals and plan for what to do when obstacles arise.)
2. Sharpen and post
  1. Review your goal from step one above.
    Revise so it is a SMART goal: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time limited.
  2. Post your goals a place where you will see them at least periodically.
Use self-talk
Understand the value of self-talk in reaching goals and managing time.
- Is what I’m doing right now helping me to reach my goals?
- Am I doing what I have scheduled right now?
- What is my highest priority between options?
- Distinguish between what you Must do/Want to do/No need to do
Share
Share your goals with someone else, especially someone who will help support you and who will help with accountability.
Remind yourself
1. Periodically remind yourself about your goals, continuing to use self-talk to reinforce your decisions.
  Self-talk examples:
  - Because my goal is to _________, I will ________________.
  - Because my goal is ________________, I am prioritizing ____________ over _____________.
2. Reflect periodically on your progress toward reaching your goal(s).

Time Management is a Mindset

Know your goals and priorities.
Time management boils down to decision making.
Battle barriers to productivity.
1. Identify your personal productivity hurdles.
  Examples: procrastination, tempted by social media, reluctant to have other help around the house, disorganized, overwhelmed, flutter from task to task, lack focus, prefer to socialize, too many conflicting deadlines, try to do too much, setting your standards too high and accepting nothing less
2. Avoid Time Traps (social media, streaming videos/shows, unnecessary research, socializing, productivity hurdles, etc.
3. Plan for barriers and time traps. Be intentional and thoughtful in your planning. Write your plan.
  Examples:
  When ______________________ (happens), I will __________________.
  Or Because ___________________ (happens), I will__________________
  Because I’m tempted by my phone, I will ask my roommate to hold it for me until my study block is over.
  
  Because I like to socialize, I will reserve an individual study room and face away from the glass door.
Maximize productivity
1. Focus on values, goals, and priorities to motivate yourself.
2. Use positive self-talk. (Say your own name, followed by what you want to tell yourself. For example: You can do this. You have what it takes, do it. This is hard, and you can do hard things. You are a hard worker and you want this goal.)
3. Work with an academic success coach/partner.
4. Learn and employ self-management and study strategies.
5. Implement a time management system.
Motivate yourself
1. Use self-talk to remind yourself that the sacrifices of today will pay off in the future.
2. Visualize yourself in the future.
3. Anticipate how good you will feel when you reach your goals and how good you will feel at various milestones, even finishing tests.
4. Be aware of what motivates you – and what demotivates you.
Prepare to be flexible
1. Preparation, including for unexpected changes, allows you to be proactive instead of reactive when something unexpected arises.
2. Unscheduled time is flextime. Use it to manage unexpected demands.
3. Plan to trade or move scheduled studying and plans around during exam times.
4. Anticipating the need to be flexible helps to reduce stress when the unexpected happens or necessary changes need to be made.
Take care of yourself
1. Manage your personal expectations. (e.g. Be kind to yourself re: grades.)
2. Eat right, sleep right, and exercise.
3. Consider mindfulness or meditation.
4. Include FUN in your life, in your schedule, and on your calendar.
5. Reward yourself for small and big achievements.

PART TWO

TIME MANAGEMENT IS DECISION MAKING

Get specific

Managing your calendar is key to time management. Ultimately, it boils down to makind decisions about how to use your time. Decision making is best done with information in hand. What needs to be done? What other opportunities want your time? Evaluate options, outcomes, pros, cons, potential results. Choose the best option. Monitor, evaluate, adjust. It’s an ongoing process, but pausing to intentionally make decisions about your time reduces stress, helps to ensure that all courses receive the attention they need, and helps to improve academic performance.

Consider the following time management system.

Having the ability to visualize the big picture will enable you to chunk your goals into achievable tasks.

Big Picture #1: An on-going, catch-all to-do list
1. Capture all to-do’s in one place.
2. Your task list should be accessible to you at all times. Do not rely on your memory to recall tasks. Use your phone or carry a small notebook for this purpose.
3. Identify priorities. Consider using a ranking from urgent/must be done immediately to sometime/when I have time to get to this.
4. Re-evaluate priorities each week.
Big Picture #2: A monthly/semester calendar
1. Schedule your important personal events (doctor’s appts, ceremonies, birthdays, weddings, etc. that require your time)
2. Schedule your important academic events (exams, projects, assignments, quizzes, all due dates) using your syllabi and class schedules.
3. Use this calendar to help with long-term and weekly planning.

Manage your time management system

Use your big picture calendar to guide your weekly calendar.
Create a weekly calendar each week.
1. Construct before the start of each week. (Sunday or Friday)
2. Block required/committed time that occurs each week (e.g. classes, sleep, meals, personal care, exercise, commuting, meetings with tutors or instructors or academic success coordinators, religious commitments, etc.)
3. Schedule study time. Refer to the Study Cycle. Think about what it takes to be successful in each class.
  1. Preview + Review + Intensive Study Sessions
  2. Within each block of intensive study time, assign a topic, activity, project, learning objective, goal, etc. A block that says “STUDY” is too vague.
  3. Recommended: 2 – 3 hours outside of class for every hour in class.
Schedule other times
1. Identify flex times
2. Reserve fun and social time.
3. Scheduling or reserving fun time, socializing, or time to “just be” is important. Just because it is not studying or required time doesn’t mean it is not important. You need it for your mental and emotional health.
TRADE TIME. DO NOT STEAL TIME.
If something impacts “committed time,” reschedule that committed time to a flex time or trade it with one of the “other” times listed above.
Manage your daily to-do’s.
1. Refer to your master, catch-all to-do list.
2. Identify weekly and/or daily priorities. Which task must be completed this week.
3. Prioritize your tasks in order of importance or group tasks into categories based on location.
4. Use these to create your daily task list.
5. Assign a time frame for each task or group of tasks on your daily calendar. This will help you to better organize your day.
6. Cross off tasks as they are completed.
Use waiting times or combine time.
1. (e.g. Standing in a line for something or waiting for class to start? Do retrieval practice using your PowerPoints or work through some flashcards.
2. Exercise with a study buddy who can call out topics to you while exercising and return the favor.)
Plan for rewards.
1. Put “reward time” on your schedule for after you have accomplished a daily or weekly task.
2. Reward systems can help you avoid the pitfall of procrastination, and they can be great for motivation.
3. A reward can be as simple as talking with a friend or family member, reading a chapter in a novel, scrolling through Instagram (with a time limit), or having coffee or a snowball with a friend.

Support system

Work with an academic success coordinator.
Creating a time management system can feel daunting and overwhelming the first time you try. Working with an academic success coordinator can help.
Have an accountability buddy.
As you continue to manage your calendar, it is also helpful to have an accountability partner. An accountability partner is someone who will be supportive. Check in with them to let them know how you are doing sticking to or revising your plans. Identify someone early in the semester and be consistent about working with them.
Communicate with family and friends about your needs.

PART THREE

Take care of yourself

Manage your personal expectations. (e.g. Be kind to yourself re: grades.)
Eat right, sleep right, and exercise.
Sleeping is studying.
Consider mindfulness or meditation.
Include FUN in your life, in your schedule, and on your calendar.
Reward yourself for small and big achievements.
Personal time can be reinvigorating, both physically and mentally.
Scheduling time for fun, rewards, and yourself reduces stress and “gives you permission” to focus on it because you are doing what you have scheduled at that time. ENJOY it, worry-free.

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Calendars / Schedules

Time Management

Effective time management in college can be difficult, but it is a key element to your success in college. The ability to balance academics, home life, and work requires diligence and strategic planning of daily activities while leaving room for the unexpected. Time management begins with identifying priorities and setting goals. The ability to visualize the big picture will allow you to chunk your goal into achievable tasks.

Time Management Strategies (TMS):

Look at the big picture. Taking control of your time requires you to look at the big picture. Utilizing your syllabi to create semester and weekly calendars will afford you the opportunity to set realistic goals and create a study plan that is manageable and efficient. As a college student, you will receive a syllabus for each course. Syllabi outline quiz dates, course meeting times, projects, and exam dates. Start with blocking out these times and dates on your semester calendar. Next, block off your work schedule, personal commitments, and extracurricular activities. Blocking out fixed appointments and tasks can prove to be helpful when allocating time to study.

Do not create a rigid schedule. Allow for the unexpected. Create a schedule that will allow you to make changes when necessary. Your schedule will change in college, especially around exam times. Preparing for the unexpected allows you to be proactive instead of reactive. Creating a flexible schedule can also reduce stress precipitated by the unexpected.

Create a task list. Creating a task list will allow you to better organize your day. Writing your list allows you to track your day to day activities, prioritize your day, and cross off tasks as they are completed. Task lists can be used in conjunction with weekly calendars to help you better plan your study sessions. Your task list should be accessible to you at all times. Do not rely on your memory to recall tasks.

Prioritize your schedule. To prioritize your tasks, identify what tasks you must complete for the week. This information can be transferred from your weekly calendar. You can prioritize your tasks in order of importance or group tasks into categories based on location. It is also important to assign time frames for each task. Prioritizing your day will help you remain organized and help you achieve your goals.

Manage external time gobblers. You may be thinking, “What are time gobblers?” Time gobblers are external factors that are vying for your time. Unexpected visits, emails, telephone calls, and the internet can be considered time gobblers if not properly managed. It is important that you learn how to manage these factors. Scheduling a time to respond to your emails will help you better utilize your time during the day. Set up a voicemail indicating the times that you will be available to respond to calls. Scheduling calls between classes or appointments will help limit the amount of time you spend on the phone.

Organizing your time around family obligations can also be quite challenging, but can be accomplished. Develop a master calendar that will allow everyone to list events, appointments, tests, messages, and other commitments. Place this calendar in a common area that can be viewed by all.

Schedule rewards. Reward systems can help you avoid the pitfall of procrastination. Treat yourself to something that appeals to you after you have accomplished your weekly or daily tasks. A reward can be as simple as taking advantage of free time after completing a task or a simple ice cream cone at the end of the week. The idea is to reward yourself for successfully accomplishing your goal. This can be a great motivator.

Stay strong and healthy. Proper time management also involves scheduling time that will allow you to focus on your needs. Schedule a night at the theatre, a 30- minute exercise session, or a simple walk in the park. Scheduling personal time can be reinvigorating both physically and mentally.