2: time management

Time management = self-management

"You can't save time, you can only spend it wisely" declares a current advertisement for a chain of convenience stores, and the point holds true for the management of study. Busy people, attempting to juggle work and family demands, find they have to prepare meals in advance, purchase pre-prepared convenience foods and use the microwave a lot. While there are no "boil in the bag" solutions to study problems, there are several organisational strategies which will improve performance immediately.

Time management means self-management and that's the key to making time your ally rather than your enemy. The goal is to be in control of your time. You have the same "budget" available to you as everyone else - 24 hours each day, 168 hours each week - and you have control of the "purse-strings". As you move closer to your end-of-year goals, the questions to ask yourself each day and each week are: Am I spending my time wisely? Am I getting good value for it?

The starting point is to identify your critical success factors - the things that might be holding you back, the areas that could make a big difference to your performance in June if you could fix them now. Try to answer the following questions honestly and rate your performance in each area on the following scale: problem area - needs urgent attention; fair - could be improved; performing well - under control.

Do you have a routine established for study during the week?

Do you get some solid revision done at the weekends?

Do you have a definite time for starting study each day?

Do you have difficulty starting into tasks?

Do you get your written work handed in on time?

Do you find your plans regularly knocked off-schedule?

Do you find yourself panicking before tests?

Weekday schedule

Establishing a realistic routine, even at this stage of the year, will make a huge difference to the effectiveness of your work between now and June. Like most jobs, study is mainly a matter of habit. Once settled in a routine, life becomes much simpler and study becomes more productive. Making out your own schedule, based on your particular circumstances, will act as a helpful structure for your work.

While quality is ultimately more important than quantity (more on this next week), at this stage of your Leaving Cert year, you should be aiming to do four hours of productive study each day. This includes homework, revision, and any study sessions in school.

Using the sample timetable below as a model, construct a weekly schedule for yourself. Start by including your class times, travel, sports and other commitments. Then add designated study periods for the afternoons/evenings and for the weekend. It is better to start with realistic targets that you can fulfil rather than being over-ambitious. You can always build up the hours as the weeks go by. Like a distance runner, you need to build up your stamina levels.

Have a definite time for starting study each evening. Pick a time that you can stick to. It will reinforce your discipline and condition your system to make the most of the session.

Weekend schedule

Getting productive study done in the remaining weekends will make or break your chances of success in June. Weekends are when you can get effective revision done, can spend more time on reviewing topics covered during the week in class, can prepare for tests or oral exams, can devote time to an essay or important assignment that needs to be done well.

The weekend is also the time when you might feel least like studying, when the level of distraction is higher, when you want to take a break from school pressures and relax. The potential for friction at home can increase at weekends. How can you cope with these competing factors?

The answer lies in balance and organisation. It is not possible to do everything (get some rest, play sport, work in a part-time job, go out on two or three nights, spend time with your friends, get the necessary study done), so something has to give and priorities must be agreed for the coming weeks. Settle on a routine that can work for you. Nominate certain blocks of time that you will devote to study at weekends (e.g. Sunday afternoon) and let these periods become firmly associated with productive study in your mind.

You should be aiming to do eight or nine hours of good study over the weekend period (i.e. from Friday evening to Sunday evening). Try getting some homework done on Friday afternoon/evening before 7 p.m. (thus "breaking the back" of the job before the weekend really starts), keep Saturday free for rest and recreation, and use Sunday (when there are fewer distractions) as the day to get some solid revision done.

Doing it now

You know that familiar feeling - work piling up, assignments to be handed in, exams on the horizon, lots of distractions competing for your attention, the task looking bigger each day, stress levels rising, and less incentive to start into the job each day. Putting things off is probably the biggest time-waster of all.

Procrastination is letting the low-priority tasks get in the way of high-priority ones. Students of physics may liken it to the concept of inertia - a mass at rest tends to stay at rest. Here are some steps to spending time more productively. But remember, don't just read them, do them!

Start thinking positive thoughts

Incorporate self-motivating statements into your speech and thoughts: "There's no time like the present", "The sooner I get this done, the sooner I can go out."

Plan ahead by working backwards

By using revision planners in your various subjects (available on www.LeavingCert.net), you should know what quantity of material has to be covered over the coming months. Start from the final date (end of May) and divide your revision up week by week, allowing some flexibility for unforeseen delays. Surprise yourself by being ready in time!

Learn to say no

Stick to your weekly schedule as closely as possible - it will become a help to your efforts and a shield against temptation. You'll still be able to socialise, rest and play, but it will be on your terms, not someone else's.

Reward yourself

Self-reinforcement has a powerful effect on developing a "do it now" attitude. Take satisfaction in the completion of tasks and give yourself a treat with the time saved by taking a break. You'll have a greater sense of freedom and accomplishment because you're in control - and you'll enjoy your "free time" more.

Weekly Schedule

Remember:

Fill in school classes and study periods.

Have a definite time for starting study each day/evening.

Guideline hours: Sixth year - 4 hours a day, 8 to 9 hours at the weekend.