2.1 Where did the time go?

You know that we never seem to have enough time to do all the things we want to do in a day. Using your time wisely is a part of becoming a successful student. It does not matter if you have half-hour segments or several-hour segments set aside for working on your maths. The truth is that you have to put the time in your daily/weekly schedule or you won’t be able to accomplish your goals. ‘I’ll get to it when I get to it’ is not going to work. So make choices that support your goals. If learning maths is important to you, give it the right place in your schedule.

Here are three more tips:

• Planning: Write a schedule and try and stick to it. This may not always be possible so be prepared to revise your schedule from time to time and be realistic about how much time you really have. Being realistic is very important – if you are too ambitious you may end up feeling deflated if things don’t work out as you expected.
• Making lists: One of the difficult things about being a student is all the stuff that competes for your time and attention. All these tasks create distraction and stress just by being there. One way to get rid of that stress is to get the stuff out of your head and onto a list.

  You don’t necessarily have to complete one item on your list before moving on to the next. When you have a little time you just take some small actions on any of the things on the list to move them forward. The satisfaction when you cross something off your list will give you a sense of achievement that will be very motivating!

• Managing procrastination: Do you have a tendency to put things off? Well, you are not alone … practically all of us do! Reports suggest that nearly 80 per cent of students procrastinate about their studies from time to time. Psychologists suggest you can manage your tendency to procrastinate by:
  • setting realistic goals
  • planning (see above)
  • ‘making molehills out of mountains’ – that is, breaking down a big task into a set of smaller ones.
  • figuring out why you procrastinate (perfectionism, fear of failure, fear of disappointing others) and trying to relax about these obstacles
  • telling your friends and family your goals – they could help to keep you motivated.

If you tend to put things off, maybe one or more of these ideas will help.