Time Management

OR, HOW TO BE A GREAT STUDENT AND STILL HAVE A LIFE

Desislava Draganova/Alamy
Richard O. Straub, University of Michigan, Dearborn

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How Are You Using Your
Time Now?

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We all face challenges in our schedules. In this section, I will outline a simple,

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Design a Better Schedule Some of you may be taking midnight four-step process for improving the way
courses, others squeezing in an online you make use of your time.
Plan the Term course between j obs or after putting 1. Keep a time-use diary to understand
Plan Your Week children t o bed at night. Some of you how you are using your time. You
may be veterans using military benefits may be surprised at how much time
CLOSE-UP: More Tips for Effective
Scheduling to jump-start a new life. Just making the you’re wasting.
standard transition from high school to
college can be challenging enough. 2. Design a new schedule for using your
How can you balance all of your life’s time more effectively.
demands and be successful? Time man- 3. Make the most of your study time so
Make Every Minute of Your agement. Manage the time you have so that your new schedule will work for
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Study Time Count that you can find the time you need. you.
4. If necessary, refine your new sched-
Take Useful Class Notes
ule, based on what you’ve learned.
Create a Study Space That Helps You
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Learn
Set Specific, Realistic Daily Goals
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Use SQ3R to Help You Master This

Text
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Don’t Forget About Rewards!

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Do You Need to Revise Your

New Schedule?
Are You Doing Well in Some Courses
But Not in Others?
Have You Received a Poor Grade on
a Test?
Are You Trying to Study Regularly
for the First Time and Feeling
Overwhelmed?
MGP/Getty images

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family commitments, and other fixed

TABLE 1 Study Habits Survey
activities?
How Are You How much time do you sleep? In the
battle to meet all of life’s daily commit-
Using Your Time ments and interests, we tend to treat
Answer the following questions, writing
Yes or No for each line.
sleep as optional. Do your best to manage
Now? your life so that you can get enough sleep 1. Do you usually set up a schedule to
to feel rested. You will feel better and be budget your time for studying, work,

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Although everyone gets 24 hours in the healthier, and you will also do better aca- recreation, and other activities?
day and seven days in the week, we fill demically and in relationships with your
those hours and days with different ob- family and friends. (You will read more

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2.  
ligations and interests. If you are like about this in Chapter 2.)
most people, you probably use your time Are you dedicating enough time for
wisely in some ways, and not so wisely focused study? Take a last look at your

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in others. Answering the questions in notes to see if any other patterns pop out. 3. Do other students seem to study less
TABLE 1 can help you find trouble spots— Now it’s time to create a new and more than you do, but get better grades?

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and hopefully more time for the things efficient schedule.
that matter most to you.
4.  
The next thing you need to know is
how you actually spend your time. To Plan the term
find out, record your activities in a time-
Before you draw up your new schedule,
use diary for one week. Be realistic. Take
think ahead. Use your phone’s calen-
notes on how much time you spend at- 5.  
dar feature, or buy a portable calendar
tending class, studying, working, com-
that covers the entire school term, with
muting, meeting personal and family
a writing space for each day. Using the
needs, fixing and eating meals, social-
course outlines provided by your instruc-
izing (don’t forget texting, Facebooking, 6. Be fore reading a chapter in a
tors, enter the dates of all exams, term-
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and gaming), exercising, and anything textbook, do you skim through it

paper deadlines, and other important
else that occupies your time, including
assignments. Also be sure to enter your and read the section headings?
life’s small practical tasks, which can
own long-range personal plans (work and
take up plenty of your 24/7. As you re-
family commitments, etc.). Keep your
7.  
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cord your activities, take notes on how

calendar up-to-date, refer to it often, and
you are feeling at various times of the
change it as needed. Through this pro-
day. When does your energy slump, and
cess, you will develop a regular schedule
when do you feel most energetic?
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that will help you achieve success. 8. Do you usually try to summarize in
your own words what you have just
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finished reading?
Plan Your Week 9. Do you find it difficult to
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Design a Better  concentrate for very long when you

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study?

Schedule 10. Do you often feel that you studied

the wrong material for a test?
Take a good look at your time-use diary.
Where do you think you may be wasting
Thousands of students have participated in
time? Do you spend a lot of time commut- similar surveys. Students who are fully realizing
ing, for example? If so, could you use that their academic potential usually respond as
time more productively? If you take pub- 1. Enter your class times, work hours, follows: (1) yes, (2) no, (3) no, (4) no, (5) no, (6)
lic transportation, commuting is a great and any other fixed obligations. Be yes, (7) yes, (8) yes, (9) no, (10) no.
time to read and test yourself for review. thorough. Allow plenty of time for Do your responses fit that pattern? If not,
you could benefit from improving your time
Did you remember to include time for such things as commuting, meals, management and study habits.
meals, personal care, work schedules, and laundry.
xliv   

2. in test questions. To make things worse,

many students take poor notes during
Make Every class. Here are some tips that will help
you get the most from your class and
Minute of Your your text.

Study Time Count

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How do you study from a textbook? Many Good notes will boost your understand-
3. After you have budgeted time for
students simply read and reread in a pas- ing and retention. Are yours thorough?
studying, fill in slots for other obliga-

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sive manner. As a result, they remember Do they form a sensible outline of each
tions, exercise, fun, and relaxation.
the wrong things—the catchy stories but lecture? If not, you may need to make
not the main points that show up later some changes.

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C LO S E - U P

More Tips for Effective Scheduling

There are a few other things you will want to keep in mind when you
set up your schedule.
Spaced study is more effective than massed study. If you need 3
hours to study one subject, for example, it’s best to divide that into
shorter periods spaced over several days.
Alternate subjects, but avoid interference. Alternating the subjects
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you study in any given session will keep you fresh and will, surpris-
ingly, increase your ability to remember what you’re learning in each
different area. Studying similar topics back-to-back, however, such
as two different foreign languages, could lead to interference in your
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learning. (You will hear more about this in Chapter 7.)

Determine the amount of study time you need to do well in
each course. The time you need depends on the difficulty of your
courses and the effectiveness of your study methods. Ideally, you
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would spend at least 1 to 2 hours studying for each hour spent in

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class. Increase your study time slowly by setting weekly goals that
will gradually bring you up to the desired level.
Create a schedule that makes sense. Tailor your schedule to meet
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the demands of each course. For the course that emphasizes lec-
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ture notes, plan a daily review of your notes soon after each class. If
you are evaluated for class participation (for example, in a language
course), allow time for a review just before the class meets. Schedule
study time for your most difficult (or least motivating) courses dur-
ing hours when you are the most alert and distractions are fewest. © Hero Images/Corbis

Schedule open study time. Life can be unpredictable. Emergen-

cies and new obligations can throw off your schedule. Or you may
simply need some extra time for a project or for review in one
of your courses. Try to allow for some flexibility in your schedule
each week.
Following these guidelines will help you find a schedule that
works for you!
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Keep each Course’s notes Use an outline Format next to notes that answer them. (For ex-
ample: “What are the sleep stages?”)
separate and organized Use roman numerals for major points,
This will help you when you review your
Keeping all your notes for a course in one letters for supporting arguments, and so
notes before a test.
location will allow you to flip back and on. (See FIGURE 1 for a sample.) In some
forth easily to find answers to questions. courses, taking notes will be easy, but
Three options are (1) separate notebooks some instructors may be less organized, Create a study space
for each course, (2) clearly marked sec- and you will have to work harder to form that Helps You Learn
tions in a shared ring binder, or (3) care- your outline.
It’s easier to study effectively if your
fully organized folders if you opt to take
Clean Up Your notes After work area is well designed.
notes electronically. For the print op-
tions, removable pages will allow you to Class O
add new information and weed out past Try to reorganize your notes soon after

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Work at a desk or table, not on your bed or
mistakes. Choosing notebook pages with class. Expand or clarify your comments
a comfy chair that will tempt you to nap.

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lots of space, or using mark-up options and clean up any hard-to-read scribbles
in electronic files, will allow you to add while the material is fresh in your mind.
Minimize Distractions

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comments when you review and revise Write important questions in the margin,
or by using an electronic markup feature, Turn the TV off, turn off your phone, and
your notes after class.
close Facebook and other distracting win-
dows on your computer. If you must lis-
ten to music to mask outside noise, play
soft instrumentals, not vocal selections
that will draw your mind to the lyrics.
When
circad is my daily Ask others to Honor Your
Sleep (Chapter 2) harde ian arousa peak in
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bject Study Quiet time

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then!
I. Biological Rhythms
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Tell roommates, family, and friends
A. Circadian Rhythm (circa-about; diem-day)—24-hour cycle. about your new schedule. Try to find a
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study place where you are least likely to

1. Ups and downs throughout day/night.
be disturbed.
Dip in afternoon (siesta time).

2. Melatonin—hormone that makes us sleepy. Produced by pineal S

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gland in brain. Bright light shuts down production of melatonin.

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(Dim the lights at night to get sleepy.) The simple note “7–8 p.m.: Study Psychol-
B. FOUR Sleep Stages, cycle through every 90 minutes all ogy” is too broad to be useful. Instead,
break your studying into manageable
night! Aserinsky discovered—his son—REM sleep (dreams,
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tasks. For example, you will want to sub-

rapid eye movement, muscles paralyzed but brain super divide large reading assignments. If you
active). EEG measurements showed sleep stages. aren’t used to studying for long periods,
start with relatively short periods of con-
1. NREM-1 (non-Rapid Eye Movement sleep; brief, images like
centrated study, with breaks in between.
hallucinations; hypnagogic jerks) In this text, for example, you might de-
2. NREM-2 (harder to waken, sleep spindles) cide to read one major section before
each break. Limit your breaks to 5 or 10
3. NREM-3 (DEEP sleep—hard to wake up! Long slow waves on EEG;
minutes to stretch or move around a bit.
bedwetting, night terrors, sleepwalking occurs here; asleep but Your attention span is a good indicator
not dead—can still hear, smell, etc. Will wake up for baby.) of whether you are pacing yourself suc-
cessfully. At this early stage, it’s impor-
4. REM Sleep (Dreams…)
tant to remember that you’re in training.
If your attention begins to wander, get
FIGURE 1 sample class notes in outline form Here is a sample from a student’s notes taken in up immediately and take a short break.
outline form from a lecture on sleep. It is better to study effectively for 15
xlvi   

minutes and then take a break than to you come to material that seems to an- minutes to create a brief written sum-
fritter away 45 minutes out of your study swer an important question that you mary covering all of your questions and
hour. As your endurance develops, you haven’t jotted down, stop and write answers. At the end of the chapter, you
can increase the length of study periods. down that new question. should take advantage of three important
Be sure to read everything. Don’t skip opportunities for self-testing and review—
Use sQ3R to Help You photo or art captions, graphs, boxes, ta- a list of the chapter’s Learning Objective
bles, or quotes. An idea that seems vague Questions for you to try answering before
Master this text when you read about it may become clear checking Appendix D (Complete Chapter
David Myers and Nathan DeWall orga- when you see it in a graph or table. Keep Reviews), a list of the chapter’s key terms
nized this text by using a system called in mind that instructors sometimes base for you to try to define before checking
SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve, their test questions on figures and tables. the referenced page, and a final self-test
Review). Using SQ3R can help you to un- that covers all of the key chapter concepts
Retrieve

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derstand what you read, and to retain (with answers in Appendix E).
that information longer. When you have found the answer to one

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Applying SQ3R may feel at first as of your questions, close your eyes and Don’t Forget About
though it’s taking more time and effort to mentally recite the question and its an-
Rewards!

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“read” a chapter, but with practice, these swer. Then write the answer next to the
steps will become automatic. question in your own words. Trying to If you have trouble studying regularly,
explain something in your own words giving yourself a reward may help. What
S will help you figure out where there are kind of reward works best? That depends
Before you read a chapter, survey its key gaps in your understanding. These kinds on what you enjoy. You might start by
parts. Scan the chapter outline. Note that of opportunities to practice retrieving de- making a list of 5 or 10 things that put a
main sections have numbered Learning velop the skills you will need when you smile on your face. Spending time with
Objective Questions to help you focus. are taking exams. If you study without a loved one, taking a walk or going for
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Pay attention to headings, ever putting your book a bike ride, relaxing with a magazine or
which indicate important

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and notes aside, you may novel, or watching a favorite show can
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subtopics, and to words set
You will hear more about
develop false confidence provide immediate rewards for achiev-
SQ3R in Chapter 1.
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in bold type. about what you know. ing short-term study goals.
Surveying gives you the With the material avail- To motivate yourself when you’re
big picture of a chapter’s content and or- able, you may be able to recognize the having trouble sticking to your sched-
ganization. Understanding the chapter’s correct answer to your questions. But ule, allow yourself an immediate reward
logical sections will help you break your for completing a specific task. If running
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will you be able to recall it later, when

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work into manageable pieces in your you take an exam without having your makes you smile, change your shoes,
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study sessions. mental props in sight? grab a friend, and head out the door! You
Test your understanding as often deserve a reward for a job well done.
Question as you can. Testing yourself is part of
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As you survey, don’t limit yourself to the successful learning, because the act of
numbered Learning Objective Questions testing forces your brain to work at re-
that appear throughout the chapter. Jot- membering, thus establishing the mem-
ory more permanently (so you can find it
Do You Need to
ting down additional questions of your
own will cause you to look at the mate- later for the exam!). Use the self-testing Revise Your New
opportunities throughout each chapter,
rial in a new way. (You might, for exam-
ple, scan this section’s headings and ask including the periodic Retrieve + Re- Schedule?
“What does ‘SQ3R’ mean?”) Information member items. Also take advantage of
becomes easier to remember when you the self-testing that is available through What if you’ve lived with your schedule
make it personally meaningful. Trying to LaunchPad (www.worthpublishers.com/ for a few weeks, but you aren’t mak-
answer your questions while reading will launchpad/pel3e). ing progress toward your academic and
keep you in an active learning mode. personal goals? What if your studying
Review hasn’t paid off in better grades? Don’t
Read After working your way through the despair and abandon your program, but
As you read, keep your questions in mind chapter, read over your questions and do take a little time to figure out what’s
and actively search for the answers. If your written answers. Take an extra few gone wrong.
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Try to figure out what went wrong. agement is to identify a regular schedule
Are You Doing Well in Analyze the questions you missed, divid- that will help you achieve success. Like
some Courses But not in ing them into two categories: class-based any skill, time management takes prac-
others? questions and text-based questions. How tice. Accept your limitations and revise
many questions did you miss in each cate- your schedule to work slowly up to where
Perhaps you need to shift your priorities
gory? If you find far more errors in one cat- you know you need to be—perhaps add-
a bit. You may need to allow more study
egory than in the other, you’ll have some ing 15 minutes of study time per day.
time for chemistry, for example, and less
clues to help you revise your schedule. De-
time for some other course.
pending on the pattern you’ve found, you ***
can add extra study time to review of class I hope that these suggestions help make
Have You Received a Poor notes, or to studying the text. you more successful academically, and
Grade on a test? that they enhance the quality of your

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Did your grade fail to reflect the effort Are You trying to life in general. Having the necessary

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you spent preparing for the test? This skills makes any job a lot easier and
can happen to even the hardest-working
study Regularly for the more pleasant. Let me repeat my warn-
First time and Feeling ing not to attempt to make too drastic

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student, often on a first test with a new
a change in your lifestyle immediately.
instructor. This common experience can
be upsetting. “What do I have to do to get
overwhelmed? Good habits require time and self-disci-
an A?” “The test was unfair!” “I studied Perhaps you’ve set your initial goals too pline to develop. Once established, they
the wrong material!” high. Remember, the point of time man- can last a lifetime.
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REVIEW
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Time Management: Or, How to Be a Great Student and Still Have a Life
1. • Try to eliminate distractions to your study time, and ask friends
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and family to help you focus on your work.

• Identify your areas of weakness.
• Set specific, realistic daily goals to help you focus on each day’s
• Keep a time-use diary. tasks.
• Record the time you actually spend on activities. • Use the SQ3R system (survey, question, read, retrieve, review) to
• Record your energy levels to find your most productive times. master material covered in your text.
2. • When you achieve your daily goals, reward yourself with
something that you value.
• Decide on your goals for the term and for each week.
• Enter class times, work times, social times (for family and friends), 4. Do You Need to Revise Your New Schedule?
and time needed for other obligations and for practical activities. • Allocate extra study time for courses that are more difficult, and a
• Tailor study times to avoid interference and to meet each course’s little less time for courses that are easy for you.
needs. •
3. Make Every Minute of Your Study Time Count
• Make sure your schedule is not too ambitious. Gradually establish
• Take careful class notes (in outline form) that will help you recall
a schedule that will be effective for the long term.
and rehearse material covered in lectures.