Time Management

Chenevert, M. (2006). Tour guide to nursing school:

A student’s road survival kit (5th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby.

Time Management

Riddle

What comes in short supply, cannot be purchased for any amount of money, and once used, cannot be recouped?

TIME

How many hours of time do you have in a week?

24 X 7168 hours in a weekSo what do you do with YOUR time? Most of us think there are not enough hours

in the day!

Keys to Success and Time Management

EffectivenessEffectiveness EfficiencyEfficiency

AttendanceBudgetingConcentrationDirty JobsEquipmentFiling SystemGoalsHanging in there

InvestmentsJotting it downKnocking offLibrarianMajoring in minors“No”Other people’s timePrime time

Keys

EffectivenessEffectiveness EfficiencyEfficiency

QuestionsRegretsSaving timeTomorrowUrgency

VacillatingWastebasketXeroxingYakety YakZzzzzzzs

Keys

Attendance

You hear us say all the time….”You need to come to every class.” “Nursing school takes precedence.” “You need to get your priorities in order.”

Some students will skip class in order to study.

Is this an example of poor time management?Guess what? For every hour you spend in class, you will

reduce your study time by 3 hours!

Budgeting

You have to budget your time just like you do your money.

You have 168 hours in a week—use it wiselyIf possible: PDA, Day planner, large calendar

—track it ALL well in advance.Test days, clinical, final exam, concept maps,

time to study, time to spend with family, time to sleep, time for R&R!

If you only have class 3 days a week—those other days are not days off!

Concentration

Focus, focus, focus.Remove all clutter from your study area.Cluttered study area = cluttered mind.Focus on one thing at a time.You should only keep items on your desk that

deal with the task at hand—eliminate confusion.

Dirty Jobs

We all have that one assignment/task that we absolutely do not want to do!

Guess what---do it first! Get it out of the way so you don’t ruin the rest of your day thinking about how bad you hate to start that project!

Eventually, if you put it off, tomorrow will come and it still won’t be done.

Then, tomorrow is ruined as well as today

Equipment

You can’t put out a fire with water pistol!Before you start a project or an assignment,

make sure you have everything you need—pens, pencils, index cards, poster board, blank concept maps, articles, you name it!

You waste time when you are not prepared.

Filing System

“I know that article is around here somewhere.”

You have now lost 20 minutes of prime time looking for an article----

Have a place for everything and everything in its place.

Don’t keep papers from NUR 3030 by your desk when you are in NUR 4350. File away the 3030 items in a filing cabinet, under the bed, out of your way!

Goals

Be goal orientedSet short term and long term goals for

yourself every dayIf you know what your goals are, you can skip

activities and even avoid people who are not relevant to the accomplishment of your goal.

Don’t sit around and say “I wish I could get a better grade in Adult Health II.” Instead…

Say…”How can I get a better grade in Adult Health II?”----Make a list of steps

Goal: Improve my grade in Adult Health II Fall 2008

List the steps you need to take to achieve this goal.

Decide which steps you are able to take to achieve the goal.

Decide which steps you are willing to take to achieve this goal.

Identify people who can help you achieve this goal.

Consider how you might allow yourself or others to get in the way of achieving this goal.

Bottom line—don’t whine—only YOU can do something about it!

Hanging in there!

The harder the assignments get, the more tempting it is to put them off.

Fight the urges to blow it off and watch TV or go partying---fight, fight, fight!

If you stop working on the assignment when you find it difficult, you will leave with a defeated attitude---instead, work on it for a while until you feel like you are winning the battle—then stop.

It will be much easier to return to it tomorrow! Promise.

Investments

This is a tough one---You have to think of your time as an investment or a deposit.

You must learn to prioritize your activities. Every minute you spend studying is an

investment in yourself and your future.Are you worth it?Invest more time in high-priority activities.Example

Investment

Tomorrow, you are having a test in Nursing course A that is worth 40% of your grade. You are also having a quiz in Nursing Course B that is worth 5% of your grade.

Where will a wise student invest the bulk of his/her time?

Jotting it Down—not just for the elderly!

Lists!Help you prioritize.Help you remember.Give you a sense of accomplishment at the end

of the day.Helps you consolidate and use your time wisely.Tonight, before bed, make a list of 6 things you

need to accomplish tomorrow. Then put them in rank order and tomorrow start with number 1. Try it!

Knocking Off

Sometimes just good enough is good enough.Settle for an A…..Don’t spend 5 additional

hours for an A+Know when you have had enough and are no

longer productive.

Librarian

No person can save you more time---just ask.

Majoring in Minor Activities

BusyworkGives you a false sense of accomplishmentMakes you tired Produces no resultsBe proud of your results, not your efforts

One Word

“NO”

Other People’s Time

“A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.”

Piss Poor Planning results in Piss Poor Performance

Prime Time

Everyone has their “best” time of the day…what is yours?

Use it to your advantage.If possible, block this time off as your study

time.Use your less-than prime time for non-

cognitive tasks like xeroxing articles, Internet research, etc.

Question Yourself

Several times a day Is this the BEST use of my time right now? Is this activity helping me to achieve one of my goals? Is this worth the amount of time it is going to take? Is this still worth doing? If I didn’t do this, what would happen?

Regrets

Don’t waste your time with them.If you find yourself saying..” If only I had not

____________” or “I wish I had ________” change your mindset and say…”Next time I am going to……”

Saving time

Can’t be done!You can’t find it.You can’t make it.You can only make better use of what you

have.

Tomorrow

Never gets here.Do it today!

Urgency

Urgent things are not always important.Important things are not always urgent.If you make time for the important and ignore

the pseudoimportant you will be a better student.

Vacillating

Indecisiveness wastes timeBe decisiveEstablish your own policiesGive yourself a deadline—stick to itGive yourself a study time—stick to itRun your education like a business

Wastebasket

Use it!

Xeroxing

Keep copies of all of your written papers and major assignments.

Save all of your written papers and major assignments electronically.

This is your insurance policy against loss.

Yakety Yak

Unplug the phone or..Tell callers you will call them back after your

study time.If you close the door and someone walks in

and asks if you have a minute, tell them “no,” but I will have a minute at 9:00 p.m. and I will meet you in the library….

ZZZZZzzzzzzzs

Schedule them!

Your time management calendar

Keeping in mind all of these concepts----Create a weekly time map