Suggestions for Managing Time

Make a Tentative Weekly Schedule On a Convenient Form

1. List all classes and other fixed activities.

2. Add time needed for meals, sleep, job, travel, grooming, etc.

3. Estimate and list time needed for studying each subject, generally 2 to 3 hours per credit per week. However, individuals vary. Some may need more time in certain subjects than others.

4. Find your periods of peak efficiency and periods when you are likely to have the best study conditions. Plan to study your most difficult subjects then.

5. Be sure to use any free hours between classes.

6. Allow time for preview and review. For example, if you have a free hour between classes, it is wise to spend the beginning of that hour reviewing and revising notes from the preceding lecture. The latter part of the hour may be profitably spent previewing for the next lecture.

7. Schedule each study period as close to that class meeting as possible.

8. To avoid learning interference, schedule the study of unlike subjects consecutively. For example, it is better to follow the study of a language with the study of a science than to study two languages one right after the other. If you MUST study two similar subjects on the same night, try taking a break in between.

9. Be sure to plan some time in your schedule for recreation.

Adapt Your Schedule to Changing Situations:

1. Allow longer periods in your schedule for term papers and projects the weeks you need to work on these.

2. Be sure to plan your final exam review schedule at least three weeks ahead. Plan to spend time on intensive review several nights before the exam and to use the night before to go over concepts that are still fuzzy.

3. Allow some unscheduled time in case emergencies arise during regularly scheduled study periods.

Additional Hints:

1. Use odd periods of time for some reviewing or reading. Periods of time spent on a bus or waiting in a dentist's office may be so used.

2. Use periods when you are tired or when your situation is noisy for jobs that do not require much concentration or original organization. Such jobs as sorting notes or preparing materials for the next day's use may be accomplished at these times.

3. Consider your schedule a firm but flexible guide, not as a hard and fast rule.