Creating a Schedule for the Term

A challenging aspect of being a student, professional, parent, or all three of those identities, is time management. In order to be successful and productive, you have to find ways to manage your responsibilities that align with your goals. The first step in managing your time better is to identify where your time is currently going.

Part One:

Spend two days tracking what you do, including what you do with unscheduled time. If you watch television, play video games, go shopping, complete schoolwork, work extra hours, or any other activity, make sure to record it. Use this template as your tracker.

If you want to know how much time you are truly spending on your phone or other devices, you can use the built in tracking features for both Apple iOS and Android.

• Apple iOS Screen Time
• Android Digital Wellbeing

Part Two:

Now evaluate the two days that you just tracked by answering the following questions (these are also listed under the schedule on your template):

1. Do you have a good work-school-life balance?
2. Are there any activities you are doing which are unproductive?
3. What are some motivational tools you can use to help you reduce your time traps?

Part Three:

Using the following weekly schedule, complete a schedule for each of the next three weeks. Start by filling out your days with events and activities that are constants, such as work and school. Then add specific activities you know are already scheduled. Try to plug in consistent time for what you value. Use this weekly schedule as your example. After you’ve finished all three weeks, answer the following reflection questions (these are included at the bottom of the schedule template).

1. How do you plan to stick with the schedule you set up?
2. What is one positive outcome you learned about yourself by tracking and planning your time for the week?