Time Management Resources

We have created time managment resources for YOU.  These resources include planning sheets to help you create a vision for your semester, week, and day, as well as a focus on points during the semester that will be hectic or require additional planning/time management.

THE SEMESTER CALENDAR

Creating a semester calendar is one of the best tools a student can use to visualize and prioritze his/her semester It usually takes 30 minutes to 1 hour to complete a semester calendar, but it is time well spent when you have a visual of your semester that will allow you to plan accordingly.

• To complete the semester calendar you will need your course syllabi and work schedule for the semester.  It is also helpful to keep a list of meetings you regularly attend, planned trips, and other obligations you may have. 
• You will need to print off as many of the blank monthly calendars as there are months in the semester. 
• Fill in the calendar with the month/date, then review your course materials and place tests, papers, quizzes, homeworks, readings assignments, and other course obligations on the semester calendar according to the due dates.  Be sure to include dates class is cancelled and vacations/breaks.
• Once you have added your course obligations continue to add your remaining obligations for the semester. 
  • If you are tight on space, you can draw arrows to indicate where information that doesn't fit in a specific day actually belongs.  You can also utilize post-its when you need additional space.  Write the information on the post-it, date it, and place it on the calendar...either over or to the side of the date it should be on.    
• It is helpful to color code your calendar too.  A pack of highlighters, colored pencils, crayons, or markers can do the trick.  
  • Once your semester calendar is complete.  Create a key and assign each group of activities a color.  For example, each course should get a specific color. Clubs and organizations should get specific colors, as well as work and personal obligations.  If you are utilizing highlighters you can assign colors after you complete the calendar, but if you are using crayons or markers you will want to assign the colors prior to completing the calendar.  Don't worry if you don't have enough colors for everything.  You can assign all course work one color, personal obligations another color, and work obligations another color.  Be creative!  
  • It is also helpful to indicate on your syllabi the color you assigned to a specific course.  This can be done simply by drawing a line or shape on the syllabi with the color you used for your semester calendar.
• Remember to add new items to your calendar as they are brought to your attention.  Post-its can also be handy for this.

Tips and Tricks for the Semester Calendar

• You can place emphasis on important dates by placing stars next to them or any other symbol that will make it stick out to you.
• You can buy posterboard and tape, glue or staple your completed calendars to the board.  This is an excellent idea for students who want to mount their semester calendar to the wall in their room.
  • You may also want to stick post-its on the sides of your calendar for when you need to make a quick addition to the calendar and have run out of room.
• Attach a writing utensil to your calendar, so you can make additions quickly, correctly, and efficently.

THE WEEKLY PLANNER

The weekly planner is a great supplement to the semester/montly calendar, as well as the daily calendar.  It allows you to look at your entire week, including the times, at a glance.  It is simple to fill out a weekly planner.  

You can complete the weekly planner on a Saturday/Sunday and utilize it to schedule out the majority of the tasks that need to be completed for that week.  With a semester calendar completed, you can complete a weekly planner in as little as 10 minutes.  You may even want to complete your weekly planners for the entire semester, hole punch them, and keep them in a binder with your daily calendars.  Then you can make additions, corrections, and deletions as needed.   

THE DAILY CALENDAR

The daily calendar is a resource that many students find helpful.  It is similar to an academic/day planner, but larger.  The daily calendar can give you a realistic look at your daily schedule, as well as allow room to schedule more obligations/comittments.  There is also room on the daily calendar for you to jot down reminders, your class meeting times, and other important information.  The daily calendar is a great tool for students who like to keep all their information in one binder and/or place.  

The daily calendar can be helpful for students who do not have an academic/day planner.  The most efficent ways to utilize the daily calendar are to (a) print and label a full semester and (b) complete them after completing a semester calendar that way you can copy the information from your semester calendar onto your daily calendar sheets.  

NOTE: When opening the daily calendar file, be sure to click through the tabs on the bottom of the spreadsheet to change the days when printing.  

PROJECT PLANNING & TASKS

The project planning and tasks worksheets are a smart addition to anyone's time managment toolbox.  The project planning sheet allows you to start an outline/plan for upcoming assignments.  These are great to have because they fit into most academic planners.  Often times ideas for a paper/project will strike at any moment, but you might not be prepared to write them down.  With the project planning sheet you willl have a place to centralize your ideas/thoughts.

The tasks sheet is handy for jotting down items that need to be completed or followed through with.  It also is the perfect size for most academic planners and is a useful addition when you run out of room to write on your academic/day planner.  

NOTE: These sheets easly attach to most planners with a simple paperclip, which means you can remove them when completed.

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We hope you find this resources useful and will try to implement an effective time managment strategy for your own academic/personal life.  The tools can be utilzed together, separate, or in any combination that works most effectively for you.  Time managment styles are often personal and as such it is important you create a style that works for you and fits you.  

If you want additional time managment information/assistance or a more indepth explaination of the above mentioned materials, please stop by the AES office at 101 Towers Concourse.

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