How to use MyTimeFinder to Help Post-Secondary Student Learn Time Management Skills

Time management is often a major barrier to success for post-secondary students.  As children, most students have their time managed externally by schools, parents, and extra-curricular activities.  They are told when to attend class, when to do homework, and when to practice a sport or musical instrument. 

Many are then thrust into a post-secondary environment where for the first time they are responsible for setting their own schedule.  Actual class attendance is rarely more than 15 hours per week, with the balance being independent study.  Students don’t have the experience to know how much time they should set aside for study, how to prioritize course work, and how much real free time they have.

MyTimeFinder offers a unique time management software tool that helps students manage their time. It is also an excellent learning tool for Academic Counseling Offices to help mentor their students.  By dynamically modeling the student’s study habits against their actual schedule, MyTimeFinder can provide real-time feedback as to whether a student is devoting enough time to their studies, have developed sustainable study habits, or are setting themselves up for a crunch later in the semester.

The key to using MyTimeFinder to learn better study habits is to recognize that MyTimeFinder is a way to model your existing habits and explore changes in those habits.  We recommend that for the first week, students make a log of when they study, what they studied and for how long.  If you are tutoring students, we suggest that you ask the student to bring their log to the next session.

Once you have developed a log you should use it to build your Availability Chart.  Remember that the Availability Chart models your actual work habits and uses that model to create your schedules.  For example, if last week you studied from 9:00pm to 11:00pm on Tuesday, make your Availability for Tuesday exactly that.

Now enter your assignments for next week.  Again, if you are in a tutoring session use the previous log to help students estimate the time it takes to complete each assignment.  MyTimeFinder will give you instant feedback as to whether you are devoting enough time to your assignments.

Use this information to explore changes that may be needed.  For example, you can add or eliminate time from the Availability Chart to explore whether more time is needed to adequately accomplish your academic goals.  Enter a major project, like a paper or studying for a mid-term to see what you realistically need to do to avoid a crunch.

Of course, all of these techniques work for non-students as well.  Keeping a week long log of the hours you actually spend working proactively on your task list as opposed to working reactively on interruptions is an invaluable way to make sure your MyTimeFinder is giving you real, accurate and useful schedules.