Time Management

Time management
Being a student takes up a lot of time. There is always class or an assignment to do, and then work, appointments and social events on top of that. Time management is the idea of organising your time, so you have enough time to get everything done to a suitable standard (Victoria University Webpage, 2007).
I have found that using a wall planner is a great way to plan out my time. I have a 6 month wall planner on which I note down any class and elluminate days in one colour, assessment dates in another colour, and other important non-negotiable appointments in another colour. This is a strength of my time management as it allows me to easily see when I have time for personal activities, and also times when I have a lot on and therefore need to save a few days prior to that for study.
Another strength for managing my study time, is to arrange study with someone else. That way I am a lot more motivated to stick with my study plan and to do some study prep before the session, to make sure I am well prepared so to not let down my study partner. However, even though I have my time so well prepared, and good intentions when it comes to negotiating time to study in, sticking to my plans is never as easy as I think it’s going to be!
One main reason why I find it difficult to stick to a study timetable, is that apart from class, allocating study time is completely voluntary. And unless I’m feeling really pressured to get something done, I can usually think of other things I would rather be doing with my spare time. But I think if I work on seeing study time as important and immovable (which I should be doing anyway), then I’ll get better at getting it done rather than putting it off!
Another weakness in my time management, is that I’m easily distracted, so my study time keeps getting pushed back and shortened. To overcome this I need to make sure I remove myself from any, or at least most, possible distractions before I start studying.
Overall, I think planning my time is my strong point, but actually sticking to my plans is something I need to work on. However, by realising the importance of study time, and by scheduling group study away from distractions, will hopefully help me to better manage my time in the future.

References

Victoria University of Wellington. (2007). Time Management. Retrieved August 7, 2009, from http://www.victoria.ac.nz/st_services/counselling/concerns/time.aspx