Mp3 Script for Time Management: Organizing

Managing Your time at University
By Learning Strategies Development Queen’s University, Kingston
Theme Three: Getting Organized

After goal setting and prioritizing, it’s time to get organized.

While there may be a connection between neatness and organization, this is not always the case. 
People have different styles and tolerances, and some people are “selectively organized” in areas that reflect their personal values. 

Before you begin, ask yourself:
What is my organizational style?
Why do I use this style?
How is it working/ not working for me?
How can I improve my organizational skills?

To get organized you need to know 3 things:
• Understand the task to be done
• Estimate the time to complete the task and the time available
• Know what tools are available and how to access them

You should also know what your Personal Cognitive Style is: either left or right brain. 

Depending on your personal cognitive style, different strategies will be helpful around “task, time and tools”. 

 
Individuals may adopt a style that is “left brain” (logical, detailed, sequential) while others favour a  “right brain” approach (holistic, creative, relational, gestalt) or a mix of the two.

To determine your style, take our mini self-assessment. In order to do that, I’ll need to go to our “Time Management” module. Either click on the pdf or text-only version and go to Page 6 to “Two Different Approaches to Organizing”

If you lean towards a more right-brain cognitive style, you might wish to look at the additional strategies in “Learning Strategies for Right-Brain Thinkers” in the TOOLS section of the pdf or text-only version.
Now let’s move to some strategies to help you get organized…

First and most important is SCHEDULING.
Scheduling time for completing assignments, labs, preparing for exams, etc. will ensure that tasks are not left too late or deadlines are not met. 
The first thing we recommend is to use scheduling tools: 
term calendars, weekly and daily planners, and study plans. 

Although many of these are on the market commercially, we have put a number of these tools into our “Time Management” module. So, simply go to the pdf or text-only version and scroll down to the TOOLS section to find a variety of different things you can use. 

[Alternatively click on the hyperlink in the Powerpoint to take you to scheduling tools.]

The second thing we recommend is to use “found-time”. “Found time” are small amounts of time between classes or appointments which can add up to many hours over the week.
 
Next step after scheduling is Administering.
Organize your study space/ desk area; your notes in binders with tabs, file folders or note pads and colour-code by course, download notes from the Web before each class, find old exams early in the term, etc. But now, it’s time to get organized.
 
The third strategy is analyzing assignment worth.
 At the beginning of the term review your course outline or syllabus to note the value or weighting of each assignment. Write the assignment AND its weighting on your term calendar. 

We also have some strategies for organizing in a group.

It’s important to have an ‘external team’ to assist you in organizing your time is a great idea. Here are some ideas for using others to help you organize.

A very useful study approach is to form a study group of about 2-4 classmates/friends. [For guidelines for running an effective study group, click on the hyperlink]. 

Find peer support: could be a don in your residence, a classmate, anybody who is available and has a good listening ear.

Make a contract to get organized and sign it in the presence of a friend, family member, learning strategist, or classmate. 

Don’t forget to use available technology such as software scheduling programs. You can find some of these on the Queen’s University website. 

This concludes the theme of Getting Organized. Please continue to our last theme “Overcoming Procrastination”.