quiz

Assessing Your Time Management Skills For each set of statements below circle the number of the one that best describes you. 1. I like my watch to be set exactly at the correct time. 1. I like my watch to be set a few minutes ahead of the correct time. 2. Most of the time, I don't wear a watch. 1. I tend to arrive at most functions at least 5 minutes early. 1. I tend to arrive at most functions exactly on time. 2. I tend to arrive at most functions a little late. 1. In the course of my daily activities I tend to walk and talk quite fast. 1. In the course of my daily activities I tend to take my time. 2. In the course of my daily activities I tend to walk and talk quite slowly. 1. In high school I almost always completed my daily assignments. 2. In high school I usually completed my daily assignments. 3. In high school often failed to complete my daily assignments. 1. I rarely spend more than 15 minutes at a time on the telephone. 2. I sometimes spend more than 15 minutes at a time on the telephone. 3. I often spend more than 15 minutes at a time on the telephone. 1. I like to finish assignments and reports with a little time to spare. 2. I like to finish assignments and reports exactly on their due dates. 3. I sometimes finish assignments and reports a little late. 1. I rarely spend more than an hour eating a meal. 2. I sometimes spend more than an hour eating a meal. 3. I usually spend more than an hour eating a meal. 1. I never watch more than 1 1/2 hours of TV on a weeknight. 2. I sometimes watch more than 1 1/2 hours of TV on a weeknight. 3. I usually watch more than 1 1/2 hours of TV on a weeknight. 1. I never spend more than an hour surfing the Web or talking on a chat line at any one time. 2. I sometimes spend more than an hour surfing the Web or taking on a chat line at one time. 3. I usually spend more than an hour surfing the Web or talking on a chat line at one time. Now add up the numbers that you have circled __________________ The higher the total, the more you need to work on time management skills now that you are in college. If your total is over 10, you probably need to adjust your priorities and begin to take more responsibility for managing your time.

Exercise 168 Hours per Week Complete a time analysis Each week has 168 hours (24 hours per day X 7 days per week). Analyze how much time you spend in an average week on sleep, meals, chores, exercise, transportation, work, family responsibilities, classes and studying. Look at the following example of a time analysis: Hours per activity in a 7 day week Sleep 56 hours Meals 14 hours Chores 5 hours Exercise 5 hours Transportation 5 hours Work 15 hours Family 5 hours Classes 15 hours Studying 30 hours Total 150 hours

Note in the example the student has 15 hours of classes. Generally speaking, you should study for twice as many hours as you spend in classes. For example, if you spend 15 hours per week in classes, you should set aside 30 hours per week for studying. Studying refers to activities such as reading you textbook, preparing for classes, reviewing class notes, and working on assignments. However, the amount of study time per course will vary depending on various factors, such as the difficulty level of the course material, the importance of the course to you, and number of assignments.

Also note that in the above example, 150 of the 168 hours in a week are committed to various activities and 18hours are flexible time. Flexible time is important so you can deal with unexpected pleasant events such as being given tickets to a hockey game, or unpleasant events such as getting sick. You can trade time in some circumstances, for example, delaying beginning an assignment and go to the game.

Without flexible time, you may find it difficult to compensate for those hours you lose when you are sick. Also, sometimes things take longer than you anticipated. With flexible time, you can catch up with your textbook reading even though your research paper takes longer than you expect.

Ensure you have enough flexible time to easily juggle commitments and avoid stress caused by a too tightly planned schedule. Without this time, you may not be able to keep working towards all your goals, and you may have to reexamine them, prioritize them and postpone the less important.