Motivation and Learning Strategies for College Success : A Self-management Approach

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TIME MANAGEMENT 149

class and make an appointment with him or her. You even write it

down and put the date and time on a piece of paper. You lose the

paper and forget the appointment.

I have experienced numerous situations in which I missed appoint-

ments because of poor time management. I cannot tell you how many

times I have asked my wife if she found a piece of paper in one of

my shirts as she was removing them from the wash.

Fortunately, I never (okay, rarely!) miss an appointment now

because I no longer carry notes, cards, and slips of paper. Every-

thing goes into my appointment calendar. A major advantage of car-

rying your calendar with you is that you can schedule meetings or

make appointments around your planned schedule. If you have to

make changes in your schedule, you can do it in the least disruptive

manner.

Student Reflections

for me in college. I really was unprepared for the amount of material

that is presented here and the speed at which it is presented. It was

pick up as easily anymore.

great start because I had never really learned to study this enormous

for a big time span and then neglect it for a week. Then I moved on

to another subject and forgot about that for a week. So, there was

no continuity within each course. That had a lot to do with it. Finally

time every day on each subject. (from Light, 2001, p. 24)

Things that worked for me in high school, I discovered, don’t work

a bit of a shock. Things I picked up quickly in high school I couldn’t

Here at college I wasn’t checked every day. I did not get off to a

amount of material in a systematic way. I tended to do one subject

I figured it out. This year, I’m pushing myself to spend a little bit of

HOW DO I DEVELOP A SYSTEM OF TIME PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT?

I now use the information presented in this chapter to develop a

system for time planning and management. The following are three

forms useful in planning your time: a semester calendar, weekly pri-

ority tasks list, and a weekly schedule.

Semester Calendar

The semester calendar should be used to identify due dates each

month for assignments and papers, dates of tests, and important

nonacademic activities and events. This calendar should be on the wall

in your room or on your desk. Semester calendars can be purchased

in college bookstores and local stationery stores.