Study Skills & Tips: Scheduling Time
Of 168 hours in a week, students generally use:
- 56 hours of sleep (8 hours are usually adequate; do you get enough sleep?)
- 21 hours of eating (eat, and relax, and socialize!)
- 20 hours of attending class and labs.
- 71 hours/week or 10 hours/day for study, recreation, and everything else.
Consider Making a Schedule
It can work like a charm in cutting down on
tensions, worries, and daydreams. Far from making a robot of you, a time
schedule frees you from making top-level decisions constantly, thus allowing you
to make the best use of your time. START BY MAKING A RECORD OF YOUR FIXED
ACTIVITIES.
Examples would include classes, meals, meetings, etc. Each week add information
revolving around class assignments; note due dates and estimate study time
required.
Principles of Time Use
Remember these principles of time use when deciding how to spend your time. Many
effective schedulers habitually plan their day at a regular time for 5 to 10
minutes in the morning or before going to bed. Allow larger blocks of time for
learning new material, grasping concepts, drafting a theme, etc. Divide these
larger blocks of time into definite subparts the length of your concentration
span (20 minutes? 30? 10?) As you begin work on each sub - part, jot down the
time you expect to finish; when you're through, reward yourself with a brief
break: move around, talk to a friend, drink water, eat a snack...whatever is
good for you.
Use short periods of time (15 to 45 minutes) to review. It’s especially wise to
spend a few minutes reviewing immediately BEFORE a class involving discussion or
recitation.
Immediately AFTER a lecture class spend a few minutes reviewing your notes.
Schedule harder study tasks when you are most alert and can concentrate best. Do
something daily -- don’t let it all pile up! Plan to really learn the first
time; the rest of your study time should be spent reviewing through recitation,
discussion, making up and answering possible test questions, etc. Don’t try to
allocate ALL your time; know what needs to be done and how long it will take
you. It’s HOW you use your time that counts.
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