TIME MANAGEMENT
One of the most difficult adjustment issues that international students face when
they enter college is learning to effectively and efficiently manage their time.
When you enter college you face a level of independence you probably didn't have
before, you have just a couple of classes during the day, you don't have your parents
reminding you to do your homework everyday and you are facing a lot of new responsibilities
that come up to when you live alone.
At the beginning it might seem like you have a lot of time but soon you will notice
that managing your time and get all your school work is a little harder that you
expected things will take longer than you anticipated and soon you will realize
that time flies.
We will like to suggest a couple of alternatives that will help you to organize
your schedule and have a more productive school experience without a lot of sacrifices
- Try to put at least 40 hours a week into being a student, this
will include going to classes, the library, group meetings, etc. this is the standard
number of
hours in a traditional work week but you can adjust your time
according to your daily activities that way you will have a flexible schedule and
free time to
enjoy college.
- Keep a daily planer, calendar, electronic planer or some portable
tool to help you to keep your schedule handy and allow you to plan activities having
an
idea of how much free time you actually have. Write everything
down no matter how silly it looks that way you won't have surprises later.
- If you have a huge task to present at the end of the semester
try to break it into small projects, that way you won't see yourself running at
the end of the
semester trying to finish everything at the same time.
- When you have a to do list you will have an organize way to know
what tasks you have during a day. When you finish a task always cross it off, it
will give
you a huge satisfaction and a feeling of accomplishment that will
motivate you to finish the rest. Try to keep your list a accessible place and make
that
place the same during the semester that way you will know where
to look for it.
- If you have your study plan set don' postpone task for unnecessary
reasons, don't make excuses to avoid having your job done and have an organized
study environment to avoid wasting time.
If you follow these simple rules you will see excellent results during the academic
year and you will notice that you have less stress in your life, more time for your
self and your friends and family without worrying that you haven't finished you
school work.
Don't dedicate your planning only to academic activities; include also sports and
leisure activities, that will make you feel good.
College rules. Sherrie Nist, PHD., Jodi Patrick Holschuh, PHD. Ten Spedd Press,
2002
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