Adri Prattas

In my ongoing master’s thesis, “Am I Being Productive? Managing time, technology, and expectations among university students,” I examine how undergraduate students interpret, negotiate, and manage expectations around the organization of their time through digital technologies. I specifically ask:

1) how do students organize their daily/weekly tasks;

2) in what ways do pervasive technologies both provide mechanisms for coping with and produce expectations about time management; and

3) how do students interpret and reflect on how their time is managed?

I am using qualitative research methods—time-use diaries and semi structured interviews—with 15 undergraduate students at Queen’s University across three faculties with distinct schedules, expectations, and temporal autonomy: Engineering, Business, and Arts and Sciences. Critically approaching the narratives of ‘time management’ and productivity, and exploring how these are qualitatively experienced and managed, will be vital for better understanding the issues around students’ well-being.