TIME MANAGEMENT AND STUDY GUIDELINES

(taken from Time Management On-line Course from MIT, and modified to suit IIIT’s Needs)

http://web.mit.edu/uaap/learning/modules/time/index.html

Kamalakar Karlapalem

IIIT, Hyderabad.

kamal@iiit.ac.in

Some Tips on When to Study

· Make studying a regular part of your schedule. It should become routine like brushing your teeth or tying your shoes. For example, decide on times that work for you and your schedule (e.g. 2-4:30 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 8:30 pm-12 am on Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays).

· Find times and days that work best for you and allow you enough time to complete assignments on time.

· Once you find a schedule that works for you, stick to it.

· Use daylight hours: Research shows that 60 minutes of study during the day is the equivalent of 90 minutes of study at night (Pauk 1989).

· Study soon after lecture: Aid retention and understanding by a reviewing your lecture notes immediately after class. If you have questions or something is unclear, check with a classmate or the instructor to clarify what you missed; it may be something important that you need for your problem sets and might appear on an exam.

List and do tasks according to priorities: Remember Parkinson’s Law that “work expands to fill the time available for its completion” (Retrieved from http://www.bartleby.com/59/3/workexpandst.html, 12 January, 2007). If you allot two hours to read ten pages, it will probably take you the full two hours to complete this 30-minute task.

· Start long or involved assignments ahead of time: It goes without saying—avoid cramming and the resultant poor quality work.

· Determine how long you need to study to fully engage with the material you are learning. A four credit course will normally require 12 credits of study including classes, labs and tutorials, and a five credit course will normally require 15 credits.

· Plan to study for blocks of time: Generally, studying for one-hour blocks is most effective (50 minutes of study with a 10-minute break). Shorter periods can be fine if studying notes and memorizing materials but longer periods are needed for problem solving tasks, problem sets, and writing papers.

· Set an agenda for each study period: Be specific, and plan ahead so that you know exactly what task you plan to accomplish during each study period.

Effective Text Reading

Don’t try to tackle textbook readings as you would a novel. Instead, take the following approach to each chapter or individual reading assignment:

· Read the Introduction and the Summary. Consider this a preview of the topics you will encounter. They also provide an overview of what you are expected to understand by chapter’s end.

· Ask and answer questions about the reading and try to answer them as you go along. Turn the topics mentioned in the Intro into questions and reference them as you go along. Tip: jot these questions down in the margins of the text, in a notebook you keep on readings, a file on your laptop, or on small slips of papers placed in appropriate sections within the chapter so they are handy as references. You should find the answers as you progress through the reading. If not, re-read the section again to try to find what you missed. If you have difficulty understanding anything from the reading, be sure to make a note of it and ask for clarification during lecture or tutorial.

· Look for visual clues. Bold print, underlining, bullets, font size, color, and type placement are often used to draw your attention to key principles and concepts. Illustrations, charts, diagrams, and their captions are equally important. For example, Biology textbooks tend to be illustrated colorfully and often can clarify concepts better than the text itself.

· Recall and Recite. After each section of required reading (following the steps above,), stop for a minute. Close the textbook and do not reference your notes. Look at the questions you created after reading the preview. If you cannot answer them correctly or completely, re-read the section and try again.

· Review. Reread the introduction and summary sections. Do your questions and, most importantly, the answers come immediately to mind? They should, so if they don’t review the section again and consider taking more complete notes.

Taking Effective Lecture Notes

Effective note taking is an important part of effective study. The following note taking tips should help you get the most out of lectures.

Before Lecture

1) Prepare.

Readings prepare you for what is to come in lecture. Be sure to complete required readings BEFORE lecture. If you haven’t done the reading, you may feel like you are scrambling to keep up with the unfamiliar information coming at you.

2) Attend

Skipping lecture is not an option. Do not rely solely on your classmates’ notes or online lecture notes. Individuals tend to take notes on different things and in different ways. Besides, do you realize how much money you waste by skipping lecture?

During Lecture

1) Less is More

Do not attempt to write down the lecturer’s words verbatim. Try to get down as much of the relevant information as possible using the fewest possible words. Use personal abbreviations and symbols that you will remember and save you writing time. Develop a system that works for you.

2) Listen for Signal Words and Phrases

· Signal words and phrases can help you pinpoint when key ideas and formulas are going to be introduced.

Some common signal words and phrases include:

▪ ‘There are 3 reasons why…” or “First…Second…Third…”

▪ “And most important…” or “It is worthwhile to note”

▪ “A major development…” or “A key concept…”

Some common signals for supporting material include:

▪ “On the other hand…”

▪ “On the contrary…”

▪ “For example…”

▪ “Similarly…”

▪ “In contrast…”

“Furthermore…”

After Lecture

1) Review

· Review your notes as quickly as possible after class when the material is still fresh in your mind.

If you have terrible handwriting, consider typing your notes, either bring a laptop to class or type them up from your handwritten notes after class. Don’t type notes just to waste time or if your handwritten notes are clear.

2) Revision

· Regardless of how you took your notes, be sure to spend time touching them up, filling in blanks, clarifying abbreviations, and making note of any questions that come up as you review them.

· If anything from your notes is unclear or you have remaining questions from lecture or your readings, jot them down and have them ready to discuss with your TA in tutorial.

Some Tips on How to use Workspace

Workspace is a shared area with computers for you to do computer oriented projects and assignments. The regular lab sessions are conducted in teaching labs wherein the basic concepts and skills are taught. In the workspace you work on your assignments and experiment to learn and improve your skills. You need to answer YES to all of the following questions.

1. Am I utilizing my Workspace in a right manner?

The most priority and important thing to do in workspace is work on the assignments, and improve your skills. Playing computer games, chatting, unnecessary browsing waste the workspace resources and will put pressure on you as the time to do actual work or learning gets reduced. Workspace is not a place is to relax, go to hostel room outside to relax.

The computers, mouse, monitors, furniture in the workspace are under my care. I should take care of them with responsibility. When each one of us takes care of the resources – everybody gains as less time is wasted in working/searching for resources.

2. Have I planned what I will do in Workspace?

It is important to go with a plan of learning or assignments you want to work on before you go to workspace. Just doing some trial and error with no plan wastes your time and the resource. Even if you want to do some learning – plan it.

For assignments – have the code ready in a piece of paper, so that you just have to type it. Creating code from scratch in front of computer takes time as your thinking is working in contrast with your typing, etc. By planning you will have a specific goal to work on during workspace session.

3. Have I kept the workspace as a place where serious study can take place?

Keep your mobiles off or in silent mode. If you get a call go outside and talk.

Discuss quietly (with low voice) with others. There are students who are concentrating and working – they do not want to be distracted by your actions.

Do not play loud music – get headphones if you want.

4. Am I sharing the workspace with others?

Each workspace computer is shared by three students. Make sure that you plan your schedule for almost equal number of hours a week in the work space.

Ensure you plan for one block of 3 hours and multiple blocks of two hours and one hour.

Stick to the timings and leave the workspace if your time is up and another student is waiting.

Make sure your time slots match your study schedule. Be flexible in case of conflicts.

Some Tips on Where to Study

You need a good study place to study well, so consider the questions posed below and find out whether your study place is the best place for you to study well. If you have an appropriate study space, then you should be able to answer YES to all of the following 4 questions.

1. Is my study place available to me whenever I need it?

Your study place does you little good if you cannot use it when you need it.

If you are using a shared study place, work out a schedule so that you know when you can use it uninterrupted.

2. Is my study place free from interruptions and distractions?

It is important to have uninterrupted study time.

Even one hour of study without distraction is more effective than four hours of study with interruptions.

How can you ensure that your study is free of interruptions?

Turn off your cell phone or set it to silent. No ring tones + no vibrations = no distractions.

Turn off your IM feature on your computer, unless you are using it as a means to communicate with members of a study group.

Don’t check your email while studying. Set aside time to read it before you start studying or once you have finished.

3. Does my study place have all the materials I need?

Be certain that your study place includes text books and all of the supplies you generally need (e.g. graph paper, pens/pencils, rulers, calculator).

4. Better to study by sitting in chair with desk/table?

While working on an assignment or studying for a test, use a desk of table.

Allow enough room for writing.

Try to avoid clutter.

TIME MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION

Students who are pressed for time are often too busy to assess how they are managing it. Some feel that it will take too long develop a plan—planning time may seem better spent on assignments, studying, or catching up on lost sleep. There is also a misconception that time management means documenting your time rigidly and following a robotic routine. Although managing your time does require discipline and an initial investment, it is time well-spent. When you have developed this skill, you will exercise it easily and complete your work more efficiently. A good schedule allows for flexibility and variation—a system which is too regimented can be as problematic as no system at all. You will find the ability to organize yourself translates into managing projects and other responsibilities well too.

Time is a limited resource. How are you using yours?

Time Distribution Assessment

The first step to managing your time well is to evaluate your current methods. Take a moment to quantify how you spend your time during the week using the “Hours / Week Currently” column of this survey. If you are new to IIIT, report on your habits from high school. When you are finished you should have 168 hours total for the first column.

Academics (list each of your subjects)

Hours / Week

Currently

Hours / Week

Revised

§ Classroom (lecture, labs, tutorials, etc.)

s Subject 1:

s Subject 2:

s Subject 3:

s Subject 4:

s Subject 5:

s Subject 6:

s Subject 7:

§ Studying (regular review of reading and lecture notes, test prep., etc.)

s Subject 1:

s Subject 2:

s Subject 3:

s Subject 4:

s Subject 5:

s Subject 6:

s Subject 7:

§ Assignments (reading, papers, problem sets, etc.)

s Subject 1:

s Subject 2:

s Subject 3:

s Subject 4:

s Subject 5:

s Subject 6:

s Subject 7:

Totals:

Extracurricular Activities (list activities such as varsity/intramural sports,

theatre, orchestra, religious activities, student government, FSILG

membership duties, volunteer/community service work, etc.)

Totals:

Jobs (list)

Hours / Week

Currently

Hours / Week

Revised

§ Totals:

Sleep (list how much sleep you are getting each day)

§ Sunday

§ Monday

§ Tuesday

§ Wednesday

§ Thursday

§ Friday

§ Saturday

§ Sunday

Totals:

Meals (include preparation/acquisition time)

§ Breakfast

§ Lunch

§ Dinner

Totals:

Other Personal Essentials

§ Showering / getting ready in the morning

§ Travel time (to/from class, activities, jobs, meals, etc.)

§ Cleaning your room / picking up living space

§ Laundry

§ Miscellaneous administrative tasks (doctor/dental appointments, running

errands, paying bills, banking, etc.)

Totals:

Free Time!

§ Socializing with friends / hanging out

§ Email / telephone / instant messaging

Totals:

Grand Totals:

(168 hrs/wk)

TIME MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION—Your Assessment Results

The number of hours you spend on certain tasks can be surprising, especially when you begin to compare the totals. Do you spend almost as much time doing extracurricular activities as you do academics? Do you sleep-- at all? Are most of your meals eaten on the run? Do you wish you had more free time?

As you begin to evaluate your current time expenditures, consider some of the points below. Make adjustments to your time distribution as necessary using the second column on the Time Distribution Assessment. If you would like more specific feedback about your plans, your Dean (Academics) is an excellent resource for advice on time management. Your teachers and Human Values Mentors can also be consulted.

Academics

When planning your academic time ask yourself...

· How are you doing academically? Are you happy with your progress or do you feel you need to put more time into your work? Do you need more time for studying, assignments or both?

· Which subjects are more challenging for you and require more of your time?

· Are you able to complete assignments on time? Do you have to stay up very late the night before an assignment is due to finish?

· How often do you find yourself procrastinating on assignments? Do you need to work on using the academic time you have more effectively?

· Do you currently use weekend time to study and do assignments?

· Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by the amount of work you have to do?

· Do you usually study more than 2 days in advance of an exam? Are you able to prepare adequately for tests?

Extracurricular Activities

Finding the right balance between academics and extracurricular activities can be difficult. A commitment made to an activity at the start of the term might not be easy to continue if classes become consuming. The best approach is usually a conservative one, at least until you have spent a full term at the Institute and know what to expect. Consider participating in a single extracurricular activity for starters, or two if the time commitments are small. Remember that there are a lot of fun things to do at IIIT that are not extracurricular, and you will want free time to explore those too.

When planning your extracurricular time ask yourself...

· Which of your extracurricular activities is most important to you? Why?

· Which of these activities help you to relax? Which help you to relieve or work off stress?

· Does your enthusiasm sometimes lead you to overcorrecting to activities, clubs, sports, etc.?

· Have your extracurricular commitments ever adversely affected your academics? Are they adversely affecting your academics now?

· Which do you enjoy more: well-structured activities with meeting times and established goals or independent activities that you pursue at your own pace?

Which of your extracurricular activities could you pursue in other ways? For instance, instead of being on the track team, you could go running regularly on your own or with friends? This would be much a much more flexible task to schedule.

Sleep

Students love to sleep, yet it is the first thing they give up when pressed for time. Not only is sleep necessary for your physical and mental well-being, you will simply not be about to concentrate well if you are tired, distracted and mentally run down. You will spend more time on assignments, learn appreciably less and be vulnerable to making obvious mistakes on exams and projects. Although it might feel as though you are doing more by sleeping less, the habit isn't sustainable, so sleep well and often, and consider it an investment.

For peak efficiency, students should sleep at least six, if not eight hours per night.

When planning for sleep time ask yourself...

· How many hours of sleep per night is ideal for you? How many hours of sleep do you need to wake up feeling rested and refreshed, but not groggy?

· Between which hours of the day are you most comfortable sleeping?

· Do you feel that you get enough sleep now?

· When you run short of time on assignments, do you sacrifice sleep to make up the balance?

· Do you often feel tired or lethargic in class, especially in the morning?

· Do you sometimes have difficulty concentrating in class and/or have headaches due to fatigue?

· Do you occasionally fall asleep in class?

· Do you often wish for (or take) a nap during the day?

· Are you able to get out of bed when the alarm clock rings the first time?

Meals

Eating is just as important as sleeping for all the same reasons. Always eat something in the morning, even if it is just a breakfast bar on the way to class. Plan to make sit-down time for lunch and dinner-- not only because you need the fuel, but because you need physical, mental and emotional breaks in your day. Meals can rejuvenate you on all of these levels. Plan to eat with friends or do some other 30-minute activity that gives you a much-needed break from your studies. Relax, eat well and enjoy yourself.

When planning for meal time ask yourself...

· Do you make a point of eating regularly and well? Although you can't always have a healthy, well-balanced meal, do you usually try to make health-conscious decisions?

· Do you occasionally skip meals? How do you feel when you do?

· Does being hungry sometimes distract you in class?

Other Personal Essentials

These tasks are routine and often don't take much time, and because of this it is easy to take them for granted and let them slide indefinitely. Set aside some weekly time to attend to chores. Knowing that you have a plan to get them done will give you several less things to worry about during the week.

When planning for chores ask yourself...

· Did you family often take care of some of these things for you? You will have to spend more time on laundry and other things now then you did in high school.

· Do you usually let chore-like tasks go until you must do them?

Free Time!

At last! Are you surprised at the amount of free time that you have? Is it too much or too little? Do you prefer your days to be more flexible and spontaneous or packed and busy? The amount of free time that you have at the start of the term might diminish as you find fun things to do and your academics gain momentum. Again a conservative approach is often best: Leave yourself some space to unwind and relax every day, and extra time to handle the unexpected-- whether it is a difficult problem set or going out with friends.

When planning for free time ask yourself...

· Which of your free time activities are most important to you? Which could you give up if you wanted or needed to spend time on other things?

· Which of these activities help you to relax? Which help you to relieve or work off stress?

· Do you occasionally find yourself procrastinating by overindulging in one of these activities? Do you need to be more disciplined about limiting these activities?

· Is there something that you would really like to do or try, but you never seem to have the time? Could you fit it in by re-prioritizing your other tasks?

TIME MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION—A Well-Balanced Schedule

Now that you know you would like to spend 7 hours per week on Physics and 5 hours per week playing pick-up volleyball (for instance), it is time to make your plans more concrete by developing a schedule. Use a planner and follow the steps outlined below:

Phase 1: Add All Regularly Scheduled Meetings and Classes

This includes all of your academic, extracurricular and work commitments that meet regularly throughout the term. As these are inflexible, all of the rest of your time will have to be arranged around these blocks.

Be certain to include fun breaks in your schedule as well (if they meet at a specific time). If your living group has a study break at 10:00 p.m. in the evenings that you enjoy or you have a circle of friends that likes to meet at 9:00 p.m. on Wednesdays to watch TV-- put that on your schedule. These small, brief gatherings will be welcome study breaks for you later on.

Phase 2: Add Time for Eating (3 meals!), Sleeping & Personal Essentials

Make your eating times as consistent as possible, and give yourself at least a half-hour for lunch and dinner. You will have earned the break and eating with friends will be something you can look forward to.

Sleep times should also be consistent as possible. On days when you need to get up a bit earlier you should plan to go to bed slightly earlier. Does this mean you have to go to bed at 9:00 p.m. every night? Of course not. If the best time for you to concentrate on your work is in the evening, then by all means work in the evening, but do be sure to get at minimum 6 hours of sleep, preferably 8. Remember, all of your studying is for naught if you are not alert enough to absorb the information.

For your personal essentials, it is not necessary to schedule each item on your list (many only happen occasionally, like doctor's appointments), but do remember that you need to account for showering/getting ready in the morning and for traveling. At this stage it might also be wise to add a brief two hour block for "errands" on a Monday afternoon- just so you know you always have that time available for laundry, banking and whatever else might come up.

Phase 3: Add Time for Reading, Studying & Assignments

This step takes some thought, because some ways of organizing your study time are more effective than others. How many hours do you plan to spend on each subject?

Here are some tips to help you plan your study time.

It Is Most Effective to Study After Lecture and Before Tutorial. Studying after a lecture helps to solidify new information, and reviewing before tutorial prepares you to address weak areas with the TA. Always makes use of the time between your classes.

· Plan to Study During Your Best Hours, Which Is Usually Daytime. Get as much done as possible between classes and in the early evening. Late evening and into the night you will be more prone to distractions, restless and eager for a break- even if you haven't been particularly productive. Occasionally a difficult assignment might keep you busy past midnight, but this should be the exception to the rule (and an indication than you need to plan better in the future).

· Spread Your Assignments Out Over Several Days. Working on the same task for an extended period is draining, especially when you are having difficulty making progress. Plan to work on the assignment steadily (perhaps 2-3 hours every other day) until it is due. This will give you time to work through difficult areas and seek help from the TA or a tutor if you become stuck. It will also give you some much needed variety.

· Plan Regular Breaks Into Your Schedule. The white space (your free time) is well scattered. When will you have a break? Lunch and dinner are two guaranteed breaks of good length, use them to relax and unwind. Strategically add several regular breaks to your schedule, just a half hour here and there. Never work through them. You need to give your mind an occasional rest in order to stay alert and productive, plus they will be something to look forward to.

· Study On the Weekends. It is nearly impossible to do all of your work on weekdays only, so don't try. Spread your work out evenly, leaving a lighter load for yourself on the weekend, but still continuing to make progress on assignments and reading.

Suppose a student is doing a substantial amount of work, 34 hours of studying and assignments combined with 20 hours of classes and tutorials. The work needs to be distributed evenly with breaks and free time in the mid-evening. There should be options to extend time for working on tougher courses/assignments. There should be flexibility in schedule to adapt to changes, difficult assignments and the occasional 8:00 p.m. call from mom that might throw things off an hour. The schedule must give student time to unwind and relax before bed, gets at least 6 hours of sleep per day or more and has fun on the weekend. Balance is the key.

TIME MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION—Simple Ways to Save Time

Here are some easy ways to can save time daily.

· The Alarm Clock is Your Friend. Don't ignore your friend! Your alarm clock is one of the few time management tools that will actually pester you to stay on schedule. If you can't rise to the alarm, then chances are you will have a hard time following the rest of your schedule.

· Make Waiting Productive. You will literally spend years of your life waiting-- in line, for appointments and meetings, to catch the bus or train, between classes... the list is endless, and the time adds up. Find simple ways to make this time productive: keep note cards handy for review, touch up your lecture notes, continue with a reading assignment or work on a problem set. Remember that most tasks aren't done completely in one sitting. Make incremental progress whenever possible. Along these lines...

· Break Big or Difficult Tasks Into Smaller Ones. Getting started on a challenging problem set, a large research project or preparing for finals can be difficult because the task at hand is overwhelming. Use the Assignment Timeline to break a project down into manageable components. This will help you in several ways:

o you will have a plan for accomplishing the task at hand;

o you will know at a glance whether you are on schedule for timely completion;

o you will have goals and checkpoints toward which to strive; and

o lastly your focused attention on each component will help you to manage the details, which can easily become lost with a global, "all at once" perspective. Adapt this technique for smaller, more dense tasks as well, such as reading for a difficult subject.

o Keep a Daily To-Do List. Prioritize tasks and carry over those that you did not complete to the next day. Your goal is not to do everything in one day, but to prioritize and do everything in a timely fashion. A To-Do list is a simple tool, but it will save you time.

· OHIO: Only Handle It Once. When you sort through your mail, do you tend to look at everything once, and then leave it all in a pile, perhaps opening one or two things of interest? Then when you need to pay bills, you have to look at everything a second time in order to pull out your statements. Later, you may go through the same pile a third time to find a program flyer or the one credit card offer in which you might be interested? What a hassle! Only handle things once. When you sort your mail, sort it into bills, items to file/keep, items to pursue (put them on your to-do list) and recycling. You can likewise triage your email and telephone messages.

· Organize Your Space. Even a brilliant time management plan will run aground if you find yourself constantly looking for misplaced text books, lecture notes, car keys, meal card or student ID. This is not to say that your room must be ruthlessly spotless, but there is a certain degree of freedom in knowing where important things are without having to look. By keeping your space organized in a way that makes sense to you, you can free yourself from interruptions in creativity and those annoying last-minute searches that make you late.

· Consume Information Selectively. You are constantly bombarded with information: from the Internet, television, radio, magazines, newspapers-- you name it. Some of it is not worthwhile, but even putting that quantity aside, there remains a vast sea of news, events, entertainment and learning of interest to you. When you are taking in a program, having a conversation or studying, ask yourself if you need this information. Will be useful to you later?

· Stop Others From Stealing Your Time. Who interrupts your work? Well-meaning friends and family can sometimes be a constant distraction. Pick a quiet, comfortable study location where you are not likely be disturbed, and tell only those friends who can preserve your space where you will be. If this doesn't work, you might have to be more direct. Most people will be understanding about your need to concentrate on your work.

Email and Instant Message In Moderation. Are you spending more than an hour per day composing email or sending instant messages? Is this necessary? You might feel as though you are multi-tasking when you message someone while reading or doing problems, but often the reverse is true. You are gradually becoming drawn into a conversation so slowly that you are not aware of the time you are spending, until hours have passed. An assignment done while instant messaging or in between emails will likely take 2-3 times longer and not turn out as well.

Limit yourself to one hour of email/message time per day, a half hour in the morning and a half hour in the evening. When it is your time to send messages, have an agenda in mind for your replies, avoid tangents and stop when the half hour has passed. Be clear and succinct in your writing, and you will find you can convey much in a short space and time-- and still get your work done.

Use Technology to Make Life Easier. Nothing should make an IIIT student happier than this suggestion. Electronic planners (prepare an excel sheet, or a text file) are often more efficient than paper planners because one schedule is usually integrated in many views. With one click you can see your daily plan, as well as your weekly and monthly.