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Time Management & Planning

Why is time management & planning important?

  • Managing your time effectively will help you to be successful. 
  • All other things being held constant, better time management skills can improve your grades, help alleviate stress and give you more time for academics, work and leisure.
  • You should estimate 2-3 hours of study time per class hour.
    • Eg. 15 credits = 30-45 hours of study
Example of a weekly planner that shows the days of the week, times of day (from 7am through midnight) broken down into half hour increments, and different sixed squares labeled

Now that you know your time commitments, plan your week

  • Identify your “best time" for studying.
    • Are you a "morning person" or a "night person“?
    • Study during your prime-time, when you are most alert
  • Study difficult subjects first.
  • Study in shorter time blocks with breaks in between.
  • 50-minutes of study, then 10-minute break
  • Make sure your surroundings are conducive to studying.
  • College is your full-time job
  • Read assigned materials prior to class and review again immediately before class
  • Rewrite your notes immediately after lecture classes
  • Make studying a habit/routine.  Build a study schedule for the week.
Example of a form the student can fill out to determine how to best break up their 168 hours in a week; the form breaks that time out into categories (eg. Academics, Work hours, Self-care, Meals, Commute, and Other), with boxes to enter the time spent doing these activities, and a box to total up those hours. For full description, see Fig. 1 caption.

Fig. 1 Example of a form the student can fill out to determine how to best break up their 168 hours in a week; the form breaks that time out into categories (eg. Academics, Work hours, Self-care, Meals, Commute, and Other), with boxes to enter the time spent doing these activities, and a box to total up those hours.

College Theory 168

  • How will you balance school, work, family, and social life?
  • 168 Hours in Week/24 Hours in a Day
    • Academic – Class & Studying
    • Work
    • Sleep – Ideally 8 hours
    • Meals
    • Commute Time
    • What else?

Did you know that there are 168 hours in a week? Understanding how you use your time each week will help ensure that you have enough time to study effectively. College study demands far more time than what you needed in high school and requires greater repetition to master challenging concepts. this worksheet will help you account for this, as well as consider co-curricular involvements, work commitments, and time for self-care so you can create a balanced lifestyle while at UMassD.

  • Academics: Total number of hours in class for the entire week (you will write this number in the box)
  • Work hours: tot number of work hours per week (you will write this number in the box)
  • Self-care/co-curricular responsibilities (eg. hobbies, athletics, clubs, meetings, etc.): List the activity, and the total number of hours spent on that activity per week. (you will write the activity in the ordered list and the number in the box)
  • Meals
  • Commute time (if applicable):
  • Other (anything else that you do during the week on a consistent basis), eg. Spiritual gathers, miscellaneous errands, laundry, "morning routines," etc.: (you will write the activity in the ordered list and the number in the box)

Add up the total amount of hours from all the gray boxes. Subtract that number from 168. 

  • Eg. 168 - X = X hours free

This time can be spent on studying, getting ahead on assignments, utilizing office hours, etc. How much of that time would you like to dedicate to studying?

  • Eg. X hours

Review syllabus

  • Locate syllabi in your Canvas for each course A syllabus is an outline of requirements for a course. It includes the instructor’s contact information and due dates for readings, assignments, papers, exams, and quizzes. It’s your roadmap to success.
  • Highlight important assignments on the syllabi
  • Review your syllabi for upcoming assignments weekly, even daily!!

Get organized/update academic planner

  • Use an academic planner – it will help
  • Write all the important assignments, papers, exams, and quiz dates in your academic planner for each class.
  • Make a weekly or daily to-do-list
  • Let’s start now!

What educators say students should know

  1. Attend all classes and arrive on time
  2. Create a schedule
  3. Study—don’t just skim—the first-day handout (syllabus) for each course.
  4. Learn your instructors’ names, office locations, and office hours.
  5. Get all of your learning supplies
  6. Locate your classroom(s)
  7. Commit to your success
  8. Participate in every class
  9. Complete and hand in all assignments on time
  10. Set goals for each course
  11. Get comfortable with campus technology
  12. Learn your campus