Time_Managment_Research_Paper

Time Management Research Strategy Paper Name University of Phoenix GEN/200 March 8, 2010 Teacher Time Management Research Strategy Paper Effective time management skills are essential for getting the most out of your college experience and it can be one of the most frustrating and/or rewarding challenges that one can face while pursuing a college degree. Depending on one’s lifestyle, juggling the many different tasks as a student, parent, employee, or all three, can be rather challenging at times. As college students, managing time properly to ensure all tasks are completed on time and to fullest potential can mean the difference between passing and failing. All students have the same 24 hours in a day and the same seven days in a week, but the crucial skill of effectively managing time seems to create problems for some while working to the benefit of others. For those who are struggling to manage their time effectively in order to complete tasks, it is important to develop a research strategy to overcome this frustrating dilemma. What Time Management is The first step in developing a time management strategy is to overcome poor time management skills and to understand what time management is. According to Carter, Bishop, & Kravits (2007), “time management allows you to complete work on a reasonable schedule and minimize stress.” The purpose of time management is to accomplish goals and tasks by effectively constructing and managing one’s schedule. In the book Keys to College Studying: Becoming an Active Thinker, Carter, Bishop, & Kravits (2007) state that “goal achievement is directly linked to effective time management.” If an individual fails to set and stick to a strict schedule that encompasses all their tasks, goals, and responsibilities in a realistic timeframe, it will then be difficult to accomplish everything in a given period. To help develop a plan when focusing on time management strategies, it is important to gather information that will put you on the right track to set you up for success. Think Critically When managing multiple responsibilities involved in college and work, organization of the schedule and knowledge of the plan in advance is very crucial and requires critical thinking. Thinking critically about how to gather information to effectively create a schedule that not only makes sense but also helps with time management instead of creating issues with time constraints. As the weekly reading of Chapter 3, Solving Problems and Making Decisions (Carter, Bishop, & Kravits, 2007), says thinking critically involves asking and answering questions to solve a question or problem. In this case, the questions I would need to ask myself would be how often does each of these tasks require being completed in order to keep my college work life balance, and what risks arise if a task is not completed in a timely manner. Having the ability to ask, understand, evaluate, and answer these questions will assist in finding a solution to effective time management. Identify & Build Gathering information to help solve a problem such as failing to manage time effectively “requires a careful analysis of how much information you need, how much time to spend gathering it, and whether the information is relevant” (Carter, Bishop, & Kravits, 2007). Most of the information being gathered to solve this problem will be generated by critically analyzing one’s own schedule. The first step in information gathering will be to “Identify Your Time-Related Needs and Preferences” (Carter, Bishop, & Kravits, 2007). In order to accomplish this, one must determine what part of the day they are most productive, take a look at their current time-related habits, and make a list of preferences to help establish a routine that works best for them. Once all information is taken into account, the next step is to build a schedule incorporating the gathered information. When building a schedule, it is helpful to get a planner to help keep track of important goals, assignments, tasks, responsibilities, and deadlines. In addition to keeping track of all this information, it is important to prioritize the information to ensure the more significant tasks are completed first. After getting organized with the help of a schedule, the next step is to “Use Time-Saving Techniques” to help manage time. As a student, there are a number of techniques that can be used to help manage time. These techniques include planning a regular schedule, incorporate to-do lists into one’s routine, make use of the course syllabus to ensure compliance, use a calendar to keep track of major commitments and avoid schedule conflicts, and become familiar with the array of resources available through the University (Carter, Bishop, & Kravits, 2007). Fight Procrastination and be Flexible The final steps in time management are “fight procrastination” and “be flexible.” As students, it is natural for us to put off assignments for any number of reasons. Sudden changes in a well planned out schedule can cause complications both to your organization and to your academic and personal life. This causes anxiety, frustration, guilt, and stress. Whether major or minor, being flexible with changes and handling them intelligently will aid one’s time management skills. With effective time management skills, procrastination and a flexible schedule should not be a factor. Now that the appropriate information is gathered and analyzed, the next step in the problem solving process is to evaluate what was learned. Evaluate When evaluating gathered information, one must determine the perspective and validity of the material being used. The process of evaluating information is done though asking a series of questions. These questions include: “Do I agree with this information' Does this information fit what I’m trying to prove or accomplish' Is this information strong or weak, and why' How important, or applicable, is this information' Which ideas or pieces of information would I choose to focus on'” (Carter, Bishop, & Kravits, 2007). After evaluating the material, one must then apply the useful information to form a possible solution to the problem. Re-evaluate by Review With the possibility of numerous solutions to a problem, it is important to take into consideration the likely pros and cons of each solution and chooses one that will work best. Once a possible solution is generated, it is time to move forward and implement the solution to the problem. The researched information above outlines steps to take in order to resolve a time management problem. After these steps are implemented, the next step is to evaluate how well the solution fixed the problem. If adjustments need to be made to the solution in order to more effectively fix the problem, this will be taken into account and implemented as needed. Conclusion Problem resolution requires critical analysis to come to a proper solution. Developing a research strategy that aids in finding a solution to a problem will greatly help generate an effective solution. The problem of poor time management is no different. Researching, analyzing, and implementing a strategy to improve one’s time management skills will not only help an individual complete work on a reasonable schedule but will also minimize stress related to this problem. References Carter, C., Bishop, J., & Kravits, S. (2007). Keys to College Studying: Becoming an Active Thinker (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.