NGN110

TIME MANAGEMENT
Time is Money!
Assembled by:
Dr. Rami As’ad 1
QUIZ
1. Do you estimate how many hours you will
need to study each week?
2. Do you meet assignment deadlines?
3. Do you begin working on semester long
projects early in the semester?
4. Do you write a daily “to do” list?
5. Do you prevent social activities from
interfering with your study time?
6. Do you have a job that requires fewer than
10 hours a week?
QUIZ continued…
7. Do you set specific goals for each study period?
8. Do you begin your study time with your most
difficult subject/assignment?
9. Do you complete most of your studying during
your most productive hours of each day?
10. Do you treat being a full-time student like a full
time job?

For every “Yes” you responded give yourself 1point.

Tally the total number of points you received.
Results
• If you scored 8-10, you are doing well managing
your time. Maybe you need to change one or
two things.
• If you scored 5-7, you are average and have
some good time management skills, but clearly
need some more help.
• If you scored 1-4, you should get a plan
together for how you want to address these
issues. Good thing for you that academic
advisors can help you with that.
Misconceptions about Time Management
 “Time management is nothing but common
sense.”
 “I work best under pressure.”
 “I use an appointment calendar and a to-do list.
Isn’t that good enough?”
 “I’m a spontaneous person. Time management
will take all of the fun out of life.”
 “I don’t have time to learn how to do all of this.”

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Hear it Now, Believe it Later …

•Being successful doesn’t make you

manage your time well.

•Managing your time well makes you

successful.

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What is
Time Management?

• Time management refers to the development

of processes and tools that increase efficiency
and productivity (for a student, for a business,
for an organization)

• Time management doesn’t “just happen” for

anyone – it is a skill that must be worked on,
and that most people find it to be a life-long
challenge

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Planning Puts You in Control

•Failing to plan is planning to fail

•Plan Each Day, Each Week, Each Semester

•You can always change your plan, but

only once you have one!

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Planning Puts You in Control
1. Set long-range goals and objectives linked to
them.

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Effective Goals SMART
 Specific
 Measurable
 Achievable
 Realistic
 Timed

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Planning Puts You in Control
1. Set long-range goals and objectives linked to
them.
2. Establish priorities among those goals and
objectives based on their long-range importance
and short-range urgency.

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Priorities
Priority Matrix
Importance

Low, High,
Low Low
Urgency

Low, High,
High High

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The 80/20 Rule (Pareto Principle)
20% of your efforts produce 80% of the results

• You’re in your 80% if you’re:

• Working on tasks other people want you
to, but have no investment in them
• Frequently working on tasks labeled
“urgent”
• Spending time on tasks you’re not good
at
• Complaining all the time
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The 80/20 Rule (Pareto Principle)
•You’re in your 20% if you’re:
• Engaged in activities that advance your overall
purpose in life
• Doing things you have always wanted to do or that
make you feel good about yourself
• Working on tasks you don’t like, but you’re doing
them knowing they are related to the bigger picture
• Smiling

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Planning Puts You in Control
1. Set long-range goals and objectives linked to
them.
2. Establish priorities among those goals and
objectives based on their long-range importance
and short-range urgency.
3. Learn your personal energy cycle and sketch out
an “ideal day” based on your best working
times.

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The Ideal Day

A Template for Your Daily Plan

7:30-8:00 am Commute
8:00-10:00 am Attending classes
10:00-12:00 pm Studying
12:00-1:00 pm Lunch
1:00 – 2:00 pm Taking a nap
2:00 – 5:00 Attending a lab

and so on … Plan your day around your own energy

cycle 16
Planning Puts You in Control
1. Set long-range goals and objectives linked to them.
2. Establish priorities among those goals and
objectives based on their long-range importance
and short-range urgency.
3. Learn your personal energy cycle and sketch out an
“ideal day” based on your best working times.
4. Use the above three to create a plan for the day
and write it down!

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Putting it All Together
Start with long-range goals and objectives

Relate the day’s activities to those goals

Assign priorities to the day’s tasks according to

their contribution to your overall goals

Schedule tasks according to priority and to the

degree of concentration required

Stay on track, using the plan to guide you through

crises and interruptions
Time Wasters
Leaving tasks unfinished  Personal
Management by crisis disorganization
Telephone interruptions  Lack of self-discipline
Inadequate planning  Inability to say no
Drop-in visitors  Procrastination
Confused responsibility  Meetings
or authority
Poor communication  Paperwork

Incomplete information

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The most important word in our Time
Management vocabulary is…

“NO”

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Just say “no”
How do you say it?
“I can’t do it right now, but I can fit it in later.”
“I am not the best qualified person for that job, how
about asking…”
“I can’t go to the movies tonight, but I can go on
Saturday.”
“I can’t focus on that right now.”
“I have made a commitment to complete my current
project/task ahead of any other.”
“Normally I would say yes, but I’ve had a few things
come up unexpectedly and I have to deal with those
first.”
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The worst word in our Time
Management vocabulary is…

“Ba’dain” (in Arabic)

In English, it means “Later”

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Procrastination

“Procrastination is the
thief of time”
Edward Young
Night Thoughts, 1742

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Avoiding Procrastination
• Doing things at the last minute is much more
expensive than just before the last minute.
• Deadlines are very important: establish them yourself!
• Set meaningful goals.
• Don’t believe in magic.
• Make good choices.
• Deal with the unpleasant

Procrastination and “Management by crisis”

go hand in hand!
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Useful Planning tool: a daily to-do list
• Write a list of activities that you want or need to
accomplish today
• Remember to prioritize and list the most important
tasks first
• Check to see if there are any activities that you can
accomplish at the same time
• Write down how long you anticipate it will take
you to get the task done
• Write down when you will start each activity

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A daily to-do list: Example
• It’s helpful to create a list with the following headings as a
way to organize your time:

Wednesday, March 26

Task Time Req. Importance Other Notes

Math homework 1 hour Important
Play rehearsal 2 hours Very important Drama Room
Science Quiz ½ hour Very important Cell structures
Geography mapping ½ hour Important Extra help from
Mrs. Belford

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Daily To-Do List
• It’s even more effective to actually create a daily
schedule and block out the time when events will
happen.
• It’s important to tick things off on your daily to-do list
as you complete them – gives you a sense of
accomplishment
• Try to put down a little more on your list than you
think you can realistically accomplish
• Breaking down large projects into smaller tasks that you
can accomplish in small chunks of time is one of the
most effective Time Management strategies

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Set Long-Term Plans …
• Best to use a monthly calendar
• Important to be able to look ahead by at least 4
weeks
• As soon as you are informed of deadlines for
assignments, test dates etc. put them on the
calendar so you can ensure that you’re able to do
some long-range planning
• A very important step in preventing last minute
cramming or rushed assignments

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In Summary…
• Time management is a skill that EVERYONE must
work on in all areas of their life (personal, academic,
work)
• Successful time management requires self-evaluation
and the desire to improve
• Effective time management will require you to do
things you don’t want to do when you don’t want to
do them – you have to push yourself!
• The pay-off of good time management is ALWAYS
worth the effort.
• Always look back in time and ask yourself: “what
have I accomplished in the past day/month/year”?

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References
• Time/task management presentation, by Dionne S. Dávila.

• Time management presentation, by Randy Pausch, Carnegie

Mellon University

• Time management presentation, by University Learning

Center University of Arizona

• Time Management presentation by Jennifer Peel, Director of

Education, Graduate Medical Education

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