Excellence in Time Management
Time management is one of the most important skills needed for success at university. How students use time has a major impact on their academic accomplishments, satisfaction, and stress level. Adapting to the unique learning environment of the university provides many challenges to the ability of first-year students to manage their time and themselves. Here are some examples:
- Compared to high school, most students spend relatively few hours each day in classes and labs. Most of the day is unstructured, so students must decide for themselves what to do, how much to do, and when to do it. This situation is dramatically different than the way time is structured in most high schools, and probably in most workplaces as well.
- Because many students study, live, and relax in the same environment, setting the boundaries of "work" vs. leisure time can be difficult.
- New students often find that the amount of work, and therefore the amount of study time, expected of them is very different from high school. Once the semester is underway, readings, assignments, and labs may pile up faster than they can be completed. Some students may become overwhelmed by the volume of work, particularly at peak times in the semester. Others find that they miss the satisfaction and relief that they felt in high school when they were "finished" all there was to do. In university, that feeling usually doesn't come until after the last exam has been written at the end of the semester.
- The term "peer pressure" takes on a whole new meaning on a university campus. At no other time in students' lives are they surrounded by literally thousands of people so close to their own age. In this environment, particularly in residence, there is usually something more enjoyable to do than studying, and lots of interesting people to do something with. Many activities compete for a limited number of hours in a week and studying can all too easily get pushed to the bottom of the list.
Given these characteristics, it's easy to understand why time management is one of the biggest challenges facing entering students. As with any other skill, developing the ability to manage time requires time, practice, and feedback. We encourage you to take some time now to learn about Learning Services, part of the Learning Commons, and the range of services and award-winning resources we offer to help you hone the critical skills of planning time and controlling procrastination. If you have any questions about time management, please feel free to email us at .