So you resign yourselves to caffeine-fueled all-nighters, cramming
for tests, and forgetting about time-consuming activities like eating
and sleeping. Trying to do everything—even when there’s too much
to do—without acquiring the skills to controlyour time, is an approach
that will surely lead to frustration and failure.
Whether you’re a book author typing as fast as you can to meet a
publisher’s deadline; a student juggling five classes and a part-time
job; or a parent working, attending classes, and raising a family; a
simple, easy-to-follow time-management system is crucial to your
success. And despite your natural inclination to proclaim that you just
don’t have the timeto spend scheduling, listing, and recording, it’s
actually the best way to give yourself moretime.
Why Do All This?
An organizational or time-management system that fits your needs
can help you get more work done in less time. Whether your prior-
ity is more free time, improved grades, a less frantic life—or all of the
above—learning how to organize your life and your studies can help
you reach your objective, because an effective time-management
system:
- Helps you put first things first. Have you ever spent an
evening doing a time-consuming assignment for an easyclass,
only to find that you hadn’t spent enough time studying for a
crucial test in a more difficult one? - Helps you learn how long everything really takes. One
of the important components of this system is estimating how
long each task will take you and tracking how long you actually
spend doing it. Once you’ve inculcated this concept into your
life, you’ll finally discover where all that time you’ve been
“losing” has been going.
76 How to Study