As a new university student you're probably wondering, how do I
succeed during my time here at UBC? As exciting as university, students often
struggle to manage time between their academic and social life. With
responsibilities and commitments piling up, effective time management is as
important as ever to your overall well-being. According to the Center for
teaching and learning at Princeton University, good time management can help
reduce stress levels, increase productivity, and create more room for
other opportunities. Therefore by developing healthy time
management behaviors, it can set you up to succeed in juggling all your
responsibilities. but time management is not something That can be learned
overnight, it's a long and difficult learning process so let's look at some
strategies that will help you succeed. First ask yourself what do you do to
manage your time? Have your current methods benefited you? If not what are
the areas that could be improved upon? Keep these questions in mind it may be
useful when going through the rest of the video. Next is to create a long term
plan. Long term planning helps ensure you're on the right track towards
accomplishing all your goals. When planning your study schedule you'll need
to consider your busiest time periods. You may find that your short term goal
will be interrupted as you won't have as much time on your hands, so you should
look at this time period long before it arrives so you can prepare in advance.
Looking at the timetable in this way can help you set goals for the long term.
Here are some good examples of long term goals. Maintain an average of 75% by the
end of the year. Complete a self-directed studies class from my home
faculty. Improve my overall well-being physically and mentally by the end of
the school year. At first these goals will seem like daunting tasks, however if
broken down properly into SMART goals they can be achievable with proper
planning. SMART goals ensure that your goals are specific, measurable, attainable,
realistic, and time-bound. This leads us to our next step, which is short-term
planning. Short-term planning is an amazing way to keep yourself
accountable to your long-term goals. So instead of tackling a huge goal all in
one go, it's easier to take small steps towards achieving your long-term goal.
Always remember to recognize your small achievements so you don't lose
motivation. You can set short-term goals on a weekly basis, a daily basis, or even
both! Setting short-term goals can really help build a structure to your day. Let's
look at how you break down your long-term goals appropriately. For
example, let's take one of the goals mentioned earlier. Maintain an academic
average of 75% by the end of the year. Some examples of short-term goals would
be, after each class take at least one hour to review material that was covered
in class that day. When reviewing new material come up with 1 to 2 questions
to ask the professor in the next class. Throughout your goal planning process it
is important for you to know how you spend your time. To do this appropriately
you will need time awareness. Tracking your time may sound tedious but it's as
easy as making a quick note every hour on how you spend your time. For those who
are feeling extra motivated, you can take it a step further by making a table with
two columns. The first column is where you write down how you think your day
will go, the second column is where you'll write down how your day actually
went. This method of tracking time will allow you to visualize how effective
your day really was, and then ask yourself did you really stick to your
plan? Or was most of your day spent watching videos on YouTube try. Try and do
this for one whole week and then group similar activities together into
categories such as work, study, sleep travel, and recreation. Now compare the
time you thought you would spend against the time you actually spent on the
activity. From this comparison you'll be able to see which activities took longer
than expected and if any needed more attention. Essentially this will help you
better distribute your time. We understand that adhering to your desired
schedule can be scary, and you're going to experience a lot of hiccups
the way, but don't let this discourage you from beginning your time management
journey. So here are some points to keep in mind when beginning your own process
of building a schedule. First is to be honest, you are the only person that
knows how you will utilize your time the best, don't try to compare what you're
doing to what someone else is doing, because what works for someone else
might not work for you. Second is to be realistic, don't schedule yourself three
to four hours of studying when you know you can only focus for one to two hours,
and if you know you'll be going to that party everyone's been talking about
don't schedule a study session at the same time. Third be flexible, if your
plans unexpectedly change, don't stress about it, take note of it and do your
best to make up for it later, and remember to alter your schedule to make
up for the lost time. Fourth remember to schedule in personal time.
Students often forget to take time for themselves but personal time is just as
important as your other commitments so remember to block off those times for
relaxing whether that is taking a nap, reading a book, or going for a run.
Without taking time off for yourself you are more likely to burn out and follow
through with your schedule. Five, be patient and stick with it.
It'll be difficult to stick with your plan right away especially if this is
new to you but start small and give it some time. For example start with goals
like going to bed and waking up on time then work your way to bigger tasks. And
last but not least keep in mind that there will always be events or tasks
that come up unexpectedly but be sure to remind yourself to learn from each
experience, and sometimes it's okay to make mistakes. This video is one of many
student toolkits created by the Chapman Learning Commons at the University of
British Columbia. To learn more about ways to excel at university take a look
through the Learning Commons website at learningcommons.ubc.ca or come visit
our Chapman Learning Commons help desk on the third floor of the Irving K.
Barber Learning Center