1.3 Making Sure Your Schedule Works for You

As a first-year student, you might not have had much flexibility in determining your course schedule; by the time you were allowed to register for classes, some sections of the courses you needed might already have been closed. You also might not have known whether you would prefer taking classes back to back or giving yourself a break between classes.

How might you wisely use time between classes? This might have been your first opportunity to take classes that do not meet five days a week. Do you prefer spreading your classes over five or six days of the week, or would you like to go to class just two or three days a week or even once a week for a longer class period? Your attention span and other commitments should influence your decision. In the future, you might have more control over how you schedule your classes. Before you register, think about how to make your class schedule work for you—in other words, how you can create a schedule that allows you to use your time more efficiently. Also consider your own biorhythms and recognize the part of the day or evening in which you are most alert and engaged.

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ORGANIZE YOUR DAYS

Being a good student does not necessarily mean studying day and night and doing little else. Notice that the Daily Planner (Figure 2.4) includes time for classes and studying as well as time for other activities. Keep the following points in mind as you organize your day:

>Set realistic goals for your study time. Assess how long it takes to read a chapter in different types of textbooks and how long it takes you to review your notes from different instructors, and schedule your time accordingly. Give yourself adeguate time to review and then test your knowledge when preparing for exams.

>Use waiting time to review (on the bus, before class, before appointments). Prevent forgetting what you have learned by allowing time to review as soon as is reasonable after class. (Reviewing immediately after class might be possible but not reasonable if you are too burned out to concentrate!)

>Know your best times of day to study. Schedule other activities, such as laundry, e-mail, or spending time with friends, for times when it will be difficult to concentrate.

>Restrict repetitive, distracting, and time-consuming tasks such as checking your e-mail, Facebook, or text messages to a certain time, not every hour.

>Avoid multitasking. Even though you might actually be quite good at it, or at least think that you are, the reality is (and research shows) that you will be able to study most effectively and retain the most information if you concentrate on one task at a time.

>Be flexible. You cannot anticipate every disruption to your plans. Build extra time into your schedule so that unexpected interruptions do not prevent you from meeting your goals.