Current Time Management Status

Complete this exercise to help you assess how you are doing right now with time management. You may want to add this to the end of your Self-Analysis Worksheet. Before you think, "This is dumb!" please note that self reflection is a key to success no matter what your chosen career.

Consider Alice in Wonderland:

Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?
The Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.
Alice: I don't much care where. (Not ANY self reflection!)
The Cat: Then it doesn't much matter which way you go.

Having done a quick weekly estimate of how you spend your time in the previous activity, write a paragraph or two about your current status related to managing time. What are the constraints you are experiencing? How have your time management issues changed now that you are enrolled in college? How do you currently feel about the way you are dealing with the demands on your time?

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Estimating a Week's Time Commitments

Now that you have started to think about all the activities and responsibilities that demand your time, you need to actually assign numbers to these activities. Estimate the time you spend on these activities during one week. Look at the worksheet you completed in the previous activity. Make an additional table like the one shown below. List every extra-curricular activity and responsibility you have. Next to each entry, estimate the time you'll designate to these activities and responsibilities. Total the estimated time column. 

Extra Curricular Time Spent

Extra Curricular	Estimated Time (hours)
Work	20
Rehearsals	6
Racquetball	4
Goofing Off	14
TOTAL Extra Curricular	44

Next, look at your curricular or in-class activities and preparation time, and make two entries: one for the number of hours you spend in class weekly and another for preparation time (which is the number of in-class hours multiplied by 2 or 3). Total the estimated time column.

Curricular Time Spent

Curricular	In-class	Prep Time	Estimated Total Time (hours)
English Literature	3	6-9	9-12
Art History	3	6-9	9-12
Chemistry	3	6-9	9-12
Chemistry Lab	1	2-3	3-4
Psychology	3	6-9	9-12
TOTAL Curricular	13	26-39	39-52

Total your estimated hours for both curricular and extra curricular activities.

Cutting back on sleep isn't a very good time management strategy. Sleeping is also a necessity! Add the average number of hours you sleep per night; or day, or whenever you do your sleeping to your total. Many experts recommend eight hours of sleep per night.

 

 

There are 168 hours in one week. The sample worksheets show that 56 hours have already been estimated for sleep, leaving just 112 to be allocated.

You may not be surprised by the totals you see in your own estimated time logs. Others will be amazed, frustrated, or feel as though things are totally out of their control.

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Time Management Exercise

Here's another way to look at how you spend your time. Use this time estimator (opens new window) to mark the average hours per day or hours per week spent doing the activities on the left. While filling this out, think about where most of your time is wasted. Click the "Total Hours Allotted" button to calculate how many hours you spend on activities each week. The time remaining total will automatically update to show the amount of time that could be used for studying per week. Close the new window or tab when you are finished.