Time Management Tips

The Importance of Time Management

Online learning can be challenging. The necessary hours, pages, and practice may be similar to face-to-face education, but the structure, medium, and methods vary greatly. Managing time involves accurately predicting how much time it will take to do a task and then setting aside that amount of time to complete it. Managing time is much more difficult than it may seem, which is why there are entire courses of study and research on the best approaches. But if you develop a method to undertake each component, you’ll be successful.

How Long Will It Take?

Accurately predicting how long a task will take is usually the most difficult part of time management. Most of us are not very accurate timekeepers, especially when we are busy applying ourselves to a task. Our estimations must also account for unknowns, interruptions, or unforeseen problems that cause delays.

Important elements of estimating time include the following:

• Understanding the requirements of each assignment or task
• Knowing all the materials, data, information, and resources, you may need
• Awareness of research time, waiting time, and response time
• Ensuring that you know the order or dependencies of steps
• Recognizing any interim due dates (such as a first draft)

How to Prioritize

Prioritization means putting some tasks and activities ahead of others. While prioritization should involve a degree of flexibility, you should try to stick to your priorities as much as possible. It can be all too easy to immediately respond to an issue as soon as it comes to mind, especially if it is causing stress. But you should consider the impact on your overall goals and priorities. When it comes to juggling multiple problems or tasks to complete, prioritizing them first may mean the difference between completing everything satisfactorily and completing nothing at all.

Always undertake the following steps:

• Read the assignment fully and/or take detailed notes when the instructor describes it.
• Ask questions; don't assume you know
• If there is any opportunity for an instructor, tutor, assistant, or another knowledgeable person to review your progress, take it; this not only helps with time management but probably helps your grade.
• If you need lab time, research time, device time, or a response from others, build that time into your planning process.

Time and Priority Management Methods

Calendars, Lists, and Reminders As much as possible try to unify and organize your calendars and task lists as much as possible.

• You can choose any number of online tools for this, including a built-in calendar app on your phone.
• Follow the discipline of adding tasks, meetings, and other notes to your calendar.
• For example, if most of your activities are coming through your campus learning management system calendar, then maybe it’s best to use that calendar for everything simply.
• On the other hand, you might want to use a more generic system like Google Calendar

Studying Tips from UNC Learning Center: https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/studying-101-study-smarter-not-harder/

Source:

• Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/college-success/pages/1-introduction