Christian Haro

11/16/08

English 250/260

Managing Your Time

     Up to fifty percent of community college freshman do not complete their first year of college and drop out. This is half the students that go in at the beginning of the year! Putting time management into effect is a strategy that will help a student succeed and overcome some of challenges in college and prevent from dropping out. For example, time management can help avoid wasting time, and staying organized.

     Students may not know it but they most likely use and put time management into effect by as little as having a weekly planner or a small calendar and putting it to use (Hoerr 24). Thinking about it, a planner is a very helpful tool that helps remind students that they have assignments due on certain dates. It also helps them keep things in mind such as knowing they have an appointment on a certain day therefore they will not schedule anything for that day and time. Students could use the planner for obligations, schoolwork, and personal appointments (Hoerr 24).

     When students do not put time management into effect, they usually do not do a lot of important things that will help them succeed in college. For instance, some students do not make time to study for a test that is coming up and instead they will hang out with their friends or do other things. When students don’t study for a test, they will more likely than not end up messing up on the test.

     An excellent way to make study time is by making a study schedule. By making a study schedule, the student is choosing certain hours of certain days and dedicating themselves to studying. Some students choose their study time and write it down in their planner. According to Sara Avila, who is currently a student at San Jose State University in her third year, “it is best to choose a time when you are able to concentrate and feel alert.”

     I asked her if she thought if managing time is a crucial tool of a student’s survival kit in succeeding in college. She said that it definitely was, and if students do not prioritize themselves and put school first, they are in a danger zone of eventually dropping out. I then asked her, “What if students work and don’t have time for their homework or to study?’’ She answered by saying, “Students could take their homework to work and complete it when the work is slow.”

     Students could also manage and save time by making flash cards and studying them. It is much easier and faster than going through your books the day before the exam trying to find the important information. Also, if a student is on a lunch break or on the way home on the bus or train, he or she could read a few pages from a chapter meanwhile they get home (Hoerr 24).

     If a student has two assignments that are worth the same portion of their grade, they should prioritize and work on the one that is due first. According to the book “A Student’s Guide to Succeeding in Community College” Hoerr, if there are two assignments due on the same day, the student should work and” by Dorothy focus more on the assignment that is worth more on their grade. They should still try and make an effort to do and complete the other assignment. When a student is at that stage of managing time, they are considered to be intermediate time managers by Hoerr.

     However, things do come up in life and sometimes things don’t work out how students wished they had. “The most important key to effective time management is to realize that you won’t always stay on track” (Hoerr 24). That is exactly why students should set aside some “catch-up time” every so often so that they could use it to get back on track.

When students are masters at time managing, they pretty much have their whole day planned out, from the time they wake up to the time they go to sleep. They will have a certain time for when they wake up, eat breakfast, class time, and most importantly study time. They are very organized for everything and they are always on point. They always outline a schedule of what is most important first, then, they will squeeze in what is not so important. They always get to class on time and will never usually miss an appointment.

     Time management has affected me in college in lots of different ways. For example, I never used to study for my math class because I never made any study time for it. I eventually started falling behind in my math class and started failing the exams. So by the time we got our progress reports, I was failing the class and I was completely lost on the material. My counselor called me into her office and recommended that I drop the class, so I did. I had to learn the hard way that if I would have just simply made some study time and used it effectively, I wouldn’t have had to drop it. Now I make sure I have a study for each one of my classes.

     My friends and peers started side tracking me when I first started college. They wouldn’t go to class, never studied, and never did homework. I would skip out on class with them to go eat instead of showing up and waiting until after class. But then I realized that if I wanted to get through this all, I needed to prioritize myself and put school before my friends. So I always make sure to do my homework and show up to class because that is what is most important on my schedule.

     I try and not waste my time because time is precious when you are a college student. During breaks between classes I will read a few pages of an assigned chapter. I will never just sit there and space out because if I have the time to do it, I take advantage. When I don’t have any reading assigned, I will pull out some flash cards and study. Studying with flash cards is a fast and effective way to study before a test.

     I have been in situations where I have two assignments due on the same day and I don’t bother to check which assignment is worth more points. Well there was one time when I put more time and effort into the assignment that was worth less and didn’t put much effort into the one worth more. I was kicking myself on the head for not checking to see how many points they were each worth. Now I check on these details, then, work accordingly on them depending on how much they are worth. There are also times when I have two assignments worth the same amount of points but due on different days. I manage my time by working on the one that is due first. I then focus on the other assignment that is later due.

       I don’t consider myself to be a master at time managing because even though I am pretty close, I am not quite there yet. I do have a rough schedule of how my day goes from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep. Sadly things don’t always work out how I wish they do because unexpected things come up sometimes and it throws me all off. I never set up some “catch-up time” to try to get myself back on track which I really need sometimes. I am still trying to figure out how I could fit some “catch-up time” into my schedule.

     By putting time management into effect, it would prevent lots of first- year college students from dropping out. Time management would keep them from wasting time and instead use it wisely. They would prioritize what is most important to them and be in control of it through managing their time. Time management will not only help students succeed in just college but also in life.

Works Cited

           Hoerr, Dorothy Lehman. A Student’s Guide to Succeeding in Community College. Boston:

                       Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008

           Avila, Sara [San Jose State student]. Personal interview. Gilroy, CA. 14 Nov. 2008