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PAC Tip: Time Management

Our Peer Academic Consultants can help with a variety of skills, including time management. Here are some tips you can use on how to effectively manage your time.

Why is time management so important?

Research shows that some time management skills are better predictors of grades than SAT scores. These skills include:

  • ​​choosing goals and subgoals, prioritizing the goals
  • generating tasks and subtasks from the goals
  • prioritizing goals/tasks
  • listing the tasks on a “to-do” list

How should I get started with time management?

  1. Use a calendar: You might start with using Google calendar (part of Vassar’s Google Apps for Education) which sends reminders before important events
  2. Make a to-do list: Use your Notes app, a free app like Notion, or a physical piece of paper
  3. Limit distractions: Put your phone on “do not disturb,” use noise-canceling headphones, etc.
  4. Set a timer: Break things into intervals for more manageability

What are some effective methods for time management?

Pomodoro Technique

  • Choose your assignment/work to do
  • Set the timer to 25 minutes
  • Work until the timer rings
  • Take a 5-minute break
  • Take longer breaks (15 to 30 minutes) for every four Pomodoro intervals

Eisenhower Matrix

  • The Eisenhower matrix is a four-quadrant box that helps you separate the Important from the Urgent.
    • Important tasks are those that contribute to your long-term goals and mission
    • Urgent tasks are those that have a strict deadline and need to get done right away.
  • Once you fill in the matrix with the tasks you need to get done, you will see that your tasks fit into four categories:
    • Urgent and Important: Do these tasks first
    • Important but Not Urgent: Decide on a time when you plan to do these tasks
    • Urgent, but Not Important: Delegate these tasks or contribute less time to them
    • Not Urgent and Not Important: Delete these tasks
A 2x2 Eisenhower Matrix used for time management, with axes labeled 'Importance' (vertical) and 'Urgency' (horizontal). The four quadrants are: 'Do' (top-left: urgent and important, in red), 'Decide' (top-right: not urgent but important, in green), 'Delegate' (bottom-left: urgent but not important, in light red), and 'Delete' (bottom-right: not urgent and not important, in blue).

What other strategies can I try according to different learning approaches?

Type of ApproachStrategy #1Strategy #2Strategy #3
VisualWork in 25-minute intervalsUse color-coded notecards for active recallRe-write/draw lecture notes from memory; focusing on connections
AuditoryListen to videos and recordings at random times of the dayCreate your own songs to remember formulas and definitionsStudy with a friend; explain the information to them
KinestheticCreate visuals such as concept maps or flow chartsChew gum while studyingStudy in a rocking chair
Read/WriteCornell NotesCreate mind maps using highlighters to annotateStudy alone in a quiet setting

Need more help?

Check the Peer Academic Consultants main page for more information on time management and other academic skills. Our Peer Academic Consultants (PAC) are also available for individual consultations during which we can discuss your academic skills and personalize these strategies to be most effective for you! If you would like to sign up for a one-on-one consultation with a PAC, we invite you to do so online by logging into WCOnline.

References

Britton, B. K., & Tesser, A. (1991). Effects of time-management practices on college grades. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83(3), 405–410.