The Importance of Time Management at School

When I read Becoming a Master Student, I ask myself, what is important to me and what do I actually want to get out of this book? I never knew I could get this much information out of eight chapters than I did in a whole life time. I dont plan on selling this book after the class is done or ever for that matter and there were a few methods that interested me and I will be talking about at least three of them. I feel Time management, effective note taking, and reading styles are the most important to me.

Time Management is very important to me because it seems I never have enough time to spend with my husband and child. I go to school from 8-12 Monday through Friday and when I get home my son goes to school from 12:30-4:30 Monday through Thursday, so I take advantage of that time to do some homework and try to spend time with my husband because he goes to work from 3:30-1 am every day. This is why I use time planning. It has helped me in figuring out when I do have time for my homework and when I can spend more time with my family. It keeps me on a schedule, which I like.

I also use a basic planning method in which I keep track of what needs to be done for homework on that particular day. I use an ABC to do list for chores I need to get done around the house for every day of the week. When I look and see that I have to clean the bathroom on Monday it makes me feel that I cant back out because I have it in writing! An ABC to do list is good for me because it brings an order to my life which I need.

The seven-day anti-procrastination plan works the same way for me. I always procrastinate and it helps to look at that list and say to myself okay girl, its Monday, and youre going to do something and make it meaningful so you can have a great reward on Friday! Rewards help me a lot too! I often find myself having to practically yell at myself to get up and do something productive. So what I found out that works best for me is when I cant seem to get off the couch or away from the TV I tell my husband to tell me to get up and get stuff done. I also ask him what I can do so I am not so bored, but when he tells me to put clothes away, I dont find him so helpful after all!

I really need to use Effective Note-taking because I dont study because I dont have anything to study. I dont have anything to study because I cant take effective notes. After reading that section in the book I was surprised that I hadnt already sense to do what the book told me to do. But it was suppose that direction I needed most of all. In high school I never took notes. I had A.D.D as a child and supposedly they say you learn to overcome it as you get older and I have never been tested for it since, but when it comes to taking notes I find it extremely difficult to listen to the instructor and write material down at the same time. I learned that for my learning style I am a visual/non verbal person. Observing my surroundings is helpful to me. I understand it is difficult for me to learn, so I sit as close to the front as possible and I always, always watch the instructors eyes. Even on my most tiresome days.

I have yet to use the Cornel format for note taking but I do recollect being taught that in middle school. I am sure it would be helpful to me and I plan to use it in future classes. When I do take notes, I write the key words life-size on one line and then skip a line and continue and when I read key words I emphasize them with a translucent marker. I havent tried writing on just one side of the paper but I am sure it would be good to start. Reading has always been strength of mine, but my weakness is not remembering most of the material when I am through. I am sure the problem is that I read too fast. Either because the story is intriguing or I cant stand the very beginning and want to get past that!

I read the reading part of this book and found that reading the introduction, index, or description first and then going through the material just to get an idea has helped immensely. For example, when first had to write this paper I had no clue where to begin. The instructor told us to write an outline and thats where it began. I wrote an outline and then reviewed it over and over again, and I even went back to the book and reviewed that again. Now when I read something I follow the seven main steps of reading.

When I dont understand something I write a question mark by it or when I dont know the meaning of a word or want to look up a different word for the same meaning I have a dictionary and thesaurus sitting right beside me just in case. Unfortunately my dictionary and thesaurus are from the dollar store, and has a very slim selection of words to choose from! Although In this case I was fortunate enough to use the computers grammar and thesaurus options.

I love to read and like I said before I read too fast so I started to take a note card and put it just above the line I was on so I didnt have all those extra words to distract me, or I might lose my place and read them a second time which obviously slows the reading process down. When I read I constantly have a picture in my head about what I am reading, and I have learned to control my pictures instead of getting carried away. I try not to let my imagination take control of my reading.

When I am done with a chapter I ask myself what the chapter was about and I sit back and absorb what I read. I just let it fully sink in, and when I find myself losing concentration I either switch positions or take a break and make some popcorn. But rarely do I have time to get so into my book that I get tired. I like to read just a little at a time, especially a really good book, because I dont want it to end.

I took college success because I really needed to learn how to be a better student and I wanted to get the most out of my education. I feel I have learned a lot of valuable information and using it is up to me. If I didnt use this information I would stay exactly where I am and that would be great if I werent unhappy with that. But I feel it would make me a better person by continuing this new knowledge in school and out on the field as well. I never imagined I could learn so much more in just a little over a semester than I did in all my school years. Unfortunately I havent even gotten the most out of any class I have right now, but now that I have learned what I have and am lucky for taking this course so early, I can apply it to my next classes, and dont plan on making the same mistakes twice!