Getting Organized: Managing Your Time

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The best students are those who use their time effectively. The first part of this chapter shows you some ways that organization can help you avoid distractions and save time so that you can easily find and access what you need when you study or work on an assignment. In addition to these helpful organizational strategies, you need to plan and maintain your schedule, not only of class times and assignments, but also for fun and extracurricular activities.

While it may seem like a drag to write down all the things you have to do, it’s actually very freeing. When you’ve recorded the key dates (and steps for completing an assignment), you don’t have to worry about your time as much because you have a plan. You don’t have to worry about what’s due when and what you’ve forgotten, because you have it recorded. And when you do have free time, you’ll enjoy it, because you won’t have to worry about what you should be doing. Changing your attitude about time management may be the biggest hurdle, but after you’ve mastered this skill, you’ll find it has big rewards.

Ways to Record Your Schedule

To manage your time, you need both due dates and a way to record that information. You may want to use one or several methods for tracking and managing your schedule. Consider some of the following:

• Assignment book: It’s a good idea to carry an assignment book or calendar book with room to write down assignments. This should fit in your backpack, so that you can record dates for assignments as the instructor tells you or from handouts. This is your traveling time management tool, and you want to have it with you in each class.
• Daily to-do lists: This is covered in detail in the “Making a To-Do List” section.
• Desk or wall calendar: In addition to an assignment book that keeps track of daily homework and upcoming assignments, you may want a master calendar that you place on your desk or hang on a wall. You may choose to record only big assignments and tests as well as school events, such as days off, athletic events, and dances. If you play a sport, you may record your practice times and games on this big calendar as well.
• PDA (personal digital assistant): Some students choose to use a PDA, which is a combination of tools, including a contact manager and a scheduler. While you may note some information in these schedulers, I don’t recommend using one as your sole time-management tool, because for many people, printed information stands out better than information on a screen, but some PDAs do allow you to print your schedule. Also, it’s easy to lose a PDA or to lose data if you don’t back up the information. It’s not the most reliable method, although some people prefer this time-management tool and do make it work.

Planning Class Time

Now that you know the various ways you can track all the things you need to do, places you need to go, and people you need to meet, start thinking about exactly where you need to be, what you need to do, and whom you need to meet. Start by blocking out your class schedule. For each class, block out the class time and record any key dates for major assignments. Sometimes, the instructor will include a syllabus with key dates. Other times, tests and assignment dates are given throughout the course. Regardless, note these in your daily assignment book as well as your big overview calendar so that these dates stand out.