Transcript Time Management Skills and Defeating Procrastination Workshop

Time Management
Skills and Defeating
Procrastination
Workshop
Presented By
The New Student Advisement and
Retention Services (STARS) center
Time Management
 Failing to plan is planning to fail
 Plan Each Day, Each Week, Each
Semester
 You can always change your plan, but
only once you have one!
 It is a Life Skill not a Study Skill !!
The Rule
 Many people spend their days in a frenzy of
activities that produce few results because
they are not concentrating on the right things.
 80% of unfocussed effort generates only
20% of results. The remaining 80% of results
are achieved with only 20% of the effort.
Four(4) Steps for
Effective Time Management
 Step1-Setting goals
 Divide goals into time frames
 short-term, medium-term , and long-term
 Most urgent assignments first
 Step 2-Track how you use your time.
What’s the purpose of tracking your time?
 Discovering how you actually spent my time
 Assessing if you’re using your time efficiently
 Helps in the process of creating a better time management plan
 Step 3- Planning
a. Types of Planning Tools
 Monthly Planner
 Weekly Planner
 “To Do” Lists
 PDA or other electronic device
Four(4) Steps for
Effective Time Management
Step 3b. Planning your time
 Make time for errands
 Make time for fun
 Set realistic time goals
 Allow flexibility in schedule…“flex time”, “open time ”
 Set aside study time…2hrs for every hr in class
Step 4. Evaluation and Adjusting
Once you have completed your plan
 Evaluate how closely you were able to follow your plan
 Reflect back on any problem areas
 Ask yourself what went right or wrong
 Adjust your plan accordingly
Advantages of good time
management
 Increased effectiveness and efficiency.
 Reduces stress and anxiety.
 Reduces avoidance.
 Leads to more balance.
 Eliminates cramming.
 Allows more time for review.
The Roadblock to Time Management
“How do I put things off? Let me
count the ways.”
1. If I ignore it, it will go away.
2. I underestimate the time something will take and then
not be able to complete it.
3. Mediocrity is just fine with me – I just need enough not
to fail.
4. I can’t study until my room is clean, I have washed my
car, and feed the hungry masses.
5. Just watching 5 more minutes of TV won’t hurt.
6. I took my books with me…I just never had time to look
at them…
7. If I just get this one part of the assignment perfect, the
rest of the work will be really easy.
8. I can’t decide which is more important to do first, so I
don’t do either.
Reasons to Procrastinate
1. Lack of Relevance
Things that aren’t personally important to
you are often harder to want to do.
2. Working On Someone Else’s Goals
Goals that others set for your are harder to
want to pursue and lead to mediocre
performance at best.
Reasons to Procrastinate
3. Perfectionism

Believing that the only good task is a perfectly
done task will make it hard to finish anything.
4. Evaluation Anxiety

A cousin to perfectionism. Worrying about
how you or your project will be judged creates
anxiety and makes it harder to work.
Reasons to Procrastinate
5. Ambiguity about the task

If I don’t know exactly what I need to do, I
can’t start. I’ll wait ‘till I know more.
6. Fear of the Unknown

Ambiguity’s cousin. If this is new, I don’t
have any way of telling how well I can do or if
I can do it at all. I’ll wait ‘till I know more.
Reasons to Procrastinate
7. Lack of Skills to do the Job
I can’t do this, so I won’t try.
8. Add your own reason to this list:
1.-------2.-------3.--------
Procrastination Solutions
 Start Something – Anything
“In creating, the hardest part is to begin.”
- Anonymous
 Reward yourself for starting
 Break it up
 Exercise: Make a list of 101 things you’ve been
meaning to do and start doing them
 Learn to say “no” appropriately
 Learn value of delayed gratification
The Rock Keeps Moving
 Think of the college as a big rock, rolling
slowly along with nothing to stop it.
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Whether you study today or not
Whether you have a good day or bad day
Whether you broke up with your partner or not
Whether your sick or healthy
Please complete the evaluation
handout...
Thank you for attending!!!
New STARS Center
Savoy Building
Room101D
Telephone: 718-518-4319
Or visit us at:
[email protected]