TimeManagement

A common mistake made by people taking online classes is assuming that time management is not important. They might think that because work is done on their own time, and there is no class meeting to attend, scheduling is unnecessary. This assumption would be a big mistake. Many people who take online classes are doing so because they work full time, are raising a family, or have other commitments that make attending a traditional class impossible. Because of this, and the fact that there is no professor standing over your shoulder cracking the proverbial whip, time management is even more important to the online student than to the traditional student.

• The University of Minnesota Duluth provides Time Management tips for college students.

• The University of Nebraska, Lincoln has 13 Timely Tips that are very helpful.

• If neither of these sites seem to help you, or apply to your particular study habits, the University of Chicago has a Virtual Pamphlet Collection that includes time management strategies from universities all across the US.

-- MichaelVoigt - 31 Mar 2005

TimeManagement Part 2

One of the biggest challenges for me with online classes was and is managing my time. It’s like making all of those New Years Resolutions. You spend your time setting goals and planning how you’re going to obtain the end results. You mapped out the details of your goal and everything is ready to roll. Two weeks go by; you look at goals and say, “I’ll start tomorrow, I promise”. By Summer time your Resolutions are on the back burner and you swear you’ll start just as soon as vacation is over. Well by November and December you figure, “It’s the holidays, I’ll wait till January and start fresh, and the cycle continues. Okay, okay for those who achieved ALL of your goals and have no problem managing your time, Please skip to section B (just kidding!); please add any helpful information. For everyone else this is for you……………

The Following website offer some great tools to help you get organized

• Mind Tools
• Counseling Center
• Study Guides and Strategies

The 3 Keys to Managing Time by Jennifer Hairfield

1. Know your work Style: Didn’t your mother always tell you that knowing is half the battle? Well it’s true. For me, I have found that I work better under pressure. Knowing this I can determine when it is best for me to start and complete assignments. This helps me keep cool under pressure. I know this will most likely be my best work.
2. Figure out what works best for you: Nights were normally the best time for me to get the work done, but I also found that if I could work the weekends and have the weekdays off, I was more productive. No one was around to distract me and I wasn’t sitting around wondering what everyone else was doing. They were at work and I was at home.
3. When you don’t know something, you're confused and have a question, ASK: You’ll spend more time trying to figure out the problem then working on the assignment

-- JenniferHairfield - 12 Dec 2005 -- SueMcGinnis - 18 Dec 2005