Follow the steps to create your own time management plan!
1) Make a copy of the Weekly Schedule tool by clicking here.
2) Fill in all of your standing obligations.
○ Standing obligations are commitments in your schedule that happen every week
and do not change - like work, your children’s extracurricular activities, etc. You can
even make meals/cooking a standing obligation if that works best for you.
3) Observe what flexible times (blank spaces) you have and reflect on how you are currently
spending your time.
○ Ask yourself, when will you study and complete assignments weekly?
4) Fill in study time blocks that you will do your best to use for studying.
○ Consider, are you a morning person, a night owl, or depends on the day?
○ Think about times in your schedule to study that you can realistically commit.
5) Fill in any other weekly activities that you want reflected in your schedule.
6) Now that you have made the plan, plan to WORK the plan!
Tips on Effectively Using Your Time Management Plan:
- Pick a time to review and reflect on your plan every week.
○ What is working? What is keeping you from following through on how you planned
to spend your time? What adjustments do you need to make? - Avoid extremes - this is not a rigid plan to beat yourself up about if you don’t follow it 100%
exactly each week AND it should also not just be a plan you ignore and never stick to. Use it
as a guide for your time. - If you find yourself forgetting to stick to your study times, put alarm clock reminders in your
cell phone. - Think! What will help you be more effective in strategically using your time to earn your
degree? You won’t be in school forever, but you are in school now. Your time should reflect
that school is a priority.
Additional resources:
- Mindset Shift: Has college become one of your priorities?
- Time Management Workshop (slide deck)
- "Big Rocks" Time Management video: