UCF students, just like any other college students, are faced with the challenge of continually fitting lots of activities into their schedules. Some of the information here is not traditional, but is more tailored to college students.
This page will serve as a guide for getting organized and getting it all done, with organizational tips.
- The pros and cons of avoiding procrastination
- Creating the perfect schedule
- Learning to say no
- Avoid time-wasters
- Making lists
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of
times."
-Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
Let's start this out by breaking a general rule of time management and exploring the pros of procrastination. The truth is, many college students just work better under pressure and at the last minute. No matter how long they try to correct what everyone believes is as a bad habit, they still manage to produce great work after procrastinating until the last possible moment.
Of course, there are still pitfalls to procrastination--such as the chance that one last minute detail, such as a broken printer or malfunctioning computer, could render the student's entire work late or unacceptable. Luckily, there is always Kinko's.
"I've developed a new philosophy... I only dread
one day at a time."
-Charlie Brown
One of the freedoms UCF students enjoy is the ability to create their own schedules of classes. Depending on the student's major, class standing, and whether or not he or she is a LEAD scholar, honors student or athlete, the student can often create the perfect schedule. A few questions to ask yourself when creating your schedule:
- Would I rather go to class three days for less time or two days with longer classes and longer weekends?
- Am I a morning person or a night person?
- When will I be most alert for classes?
- Will I be able to fit in extra-curricular activities and work with this schedule?
When you do create this perfect schedule, be sure to put it all in one place. Whether you prefer a planner to a PDA, keeping all your activities in one spot will help you later, when you need to say no...
"Time is money."
-Benjamin Franklin, Advice to a Young Tradesman
It is important that you know your limitations when agreeing to take on extra responsibilities. If you know that taking on an office in a club or joining another organization will complicate your schedule, just don't do it! People will not think you are mean for being responsible.
"The 'Net is a waste of time, and that's exactly
what's right about it."
-William Gibson
For fun, on a typical day keep track of how much time you spend on various activities. The first step to avoiding wasting time is to identify what wastes your time. Do you spend too much time online chatting? Do you waste a lot of time on the phone? Do you try to do two activities at once, such as homework and watching TV, and do more TV watching than homework? Evaluate what wastes your time and then limit your involvement in it.
"Enjoy life. There's plenty of time to be dead."
-Anon.
A convenient
way to ensure you get everything done is make a simple to-do list, including
important tasks and lesser ones. After you make the list, highlight or
number the most important tasks. Stickie notes are great too, just don't
let them overtake your work area or planner.
Finally here are some tips for ADD College Students (let's face it, we all suffer from a lack of concentration from time to time) from Virginia Tech's Cook Counseling Center:
- Learn to use a daily planner.
- Put all due dates and exams in the planner.
- Break reading assignments into little bits and schedule times to do the reading.
- Include all your social, work and recreational activities in your planner.
- Always have your planner with you.
- Allocate 10-15 minutes in the morning or before you go to bed at night to plan your day.
- Make a "To-Do" list, and keep it in your planner.
- Make constructive use of your time between classes, e.g., catching
up on assignments, doing assigned reading, etc.