Work Together
Share your current schedule with another student and explain what you like or dislike about it. If your current schedule is not working well, discuss why that might be and identify changes you can make next term.
If you’re a commuter student or if you must carry a heavy workload to afford going to school, you might prefer to schedule your classes in blocks without breaks. Although taking back-to-back classes allows you to cut travel time by attending school one or two days a week and might provide for more flexible scheduling of a job or family commitments, however, it can also have significant drawbacks.
When all your classes are scheduled in a block of time, you run several risks. If you become ill on a class day, you could fall behind in all your classes. You might also become fatigued from sitting in class after class. When one class immediately follows another, it will be difficult for you to have a last-minute study period immediately before a test because you will be attending another class and are likely to have no more than a 15-minute break. Finally, remember that for back-to-back classes, several exams might be held on the same day. Scheduling classes in blocks might work better if you have the option of attending lectures at alternative times in case you are absent, if you alternate classes with free periods, and if you seek out instructors who are flexible with due dates for assignments.
Now that you are aware of common college time-management problems and know some tips for organizing your time and making good use of your schedule, it’s time to carry out the priorities and goals that you have set. Here are a few final tips to help as you set forth to successfully manage your time in college: