Time Management

1. Time Management Asnath Mayayise & Michelle Schreuder Directorate for Counselling, Career & Academic Development Es’kia Mphahlele Registration Hall, 1st Floor Unisa Sunnyside Campus 012 441 5373/2 http://www.unisa.ac.za/ counselling@unisa.ac.za

2. Focus of this session • Time Management • The 60/30/10 principle of time management and study • The advantages of group work

3. What is Time Management?

4. What is Time Management? • Time management is a set of principles, practices, skills, tools, and systems that work together to help you get more value out of your time

5. Why is it important? • It is one of the top reasons why students drop out of university • They don’t know how to manage their time effectively – social life, studies, family life etc. • Improve quality of life • Reduce frustration, irritability, anger • Reduce negative stress • Gain a sense of accomplishment • Have more time to do things you want to do • Improve organization in your life • Peace of Mind

6. The FACTS: • Research shows that: • “Procrastinators produce inferior work, contrary to beliefs that the best work is done under pressure.” • (Tice and Baumeister, 1997) • A study by Tuckman (2002), found that students who complete their work late or at the last minute are prone to say to themselves things like, • "I'm just waiting for the best time to do it" • "I know I can pull it out at the last minute" • Students who indicated that they frequently tell themselves such things did relatively poorly.

7. The EFT Principle of Time Management • E Exploration 60% • F Fixation 30% • T Testing 10% • An effective method of managing your time with regard to any activity(assignments, exams, work, etc.)

8. Short-term planning: Exploration Phase • Explore & gain information & knowledge about a topic • Includes activities that familiarise yourself with the material you have to study • Primary objective: be prepared for the intensive study that follows Explore 60% Fix 30% Test 10%

9. Short-term planning: Exploration Phase • During the Exploration phase: • Work through your curriculum • Complete your assignments • Do additional reading in the library • Discuss your field of study with others in the field • Contact fellow students to sort out problems • Make summaries for intensive study later • Identify questions you have to answer • Identify & clarify difficult concepts Assignment Writing: 60% 30% 10% Research Write Review

10. Short-term planning: Fixation Phase • Intensive study phase • Bringing together logically all the facts gathered during exploration phase • Divided into 3 steps: 1. Consolidation Phase 2. Summary Phase 3. Memorisation Phase Explore 60% Fix 30 % Test 10 %

11. Short-term planning: Fixation Phase • Consolidation Phase • Thorough preview of study matter & additional notes • Identify main topics & ideas of study material • Making sure you understand all concepts & words • Summary Phase • Make adequate summaries of the work to be studied • Helps you separate more important facts from less important ones • Memorisation Phase • Using a core summary to reduce material to essential key words to use as reference points during the exam • Committing the work to memory through understanding of the key concepts

12. Short-term planning: Fixation Phase Example: Exam Preparation Explore 60% Fix 30% Test 10% 60% 30% 10% Consolidation Phase: Summary Phase: Memorisation First repetition of all work Summaries & Phase: main points main points

13. Short-term planning: Testing Phase • Test yourself by asking & answering questions which cover the study material • Use the study material to formulate questions • Use old exam questions to practice • Have group study sessions • The more questions you answer, the more familiarised you will become with the work Explore 60% Fix 30 % Test 10 %

14. How do the different planning cycles fit together? • Long-term over a semester 4 February 31 March 28 April 7 May Explore 60% Fix 30% Test 10% • Read • Do assignments • Group discussions • Summaries • Refine summaries • Study - memorize • Answer exam questions • Have group sessions • Check old papers

15. Time Management Process • Work back from last date – e.g. 3 June • Count number of days from today (e.g. today is 1 March) to 3 June = 95 days • Divide number of days into three parts according to the 60/30/10 principle • 60% = 57 days : 1 March to 26 April Exploration • 30% = 29 days : 27 April to 25 May Fixation • 10% = 9 days : 26 May to 3 June Testing

16. Group Discussions: Study Groups • Advantages of a study group: • Interact with other students • Help each other with problems • Group support • Opens discussion of different topics – different views & opinions

17. Study Groups: Key Principles • Choose members that you get along with • 3-4 participants • Select group leader • Agree on meeting place & time • Make personal commitment • Don’t use group to replace independent study

18. Study Groups: Procedures • Try to reach agreement on important and less important work • Clear up any differences between notes of the different group members • Use surface and deep learning techniques • Identify possible exam questions • Meet regularly • Ask each other questions about past study methods • “How do you usually study for subject X ?” • “Based on your experience, what is the best way to study for subject X?”

19. Forming a Study Group • To form a study group: • Phone Unisa Contact Centre at 0861670411 • Request a list of fellow students for modules that you are registered for • You can also access a class list on myUnisa