eating, relaxation, social life, and
participation in extracurricular activities. Leading a
balanced college life that meets both your
personal and educational needs is the most
desirable formula for achieving academic
success. It also ensures enjoying your stay in
college, which is a unique time in one's
life.
The key to adequately meeting both your school
and personal obligations is the
proper allocation of your time. This can be done
either in a disorganized or in an orderly
manner (without the need for extreme
regimentation). Thus, if you establish a seven-day
grid (Table 3.2, page 36), with a time plan
schedule from 8:00 A.M. to
10:00 P.M.,
you
can readily see: (1) if you have allotted the
needed time to meet all your responsibilities,
and (2) how much spare time you have available
and where it is in order to meet unfore-
seen demands and unexpected
challenges.
Having formulated your semester's course of
study, you should initially fill in the
time where you have scheduled lectures,
recitations, and laboratory sessions. Next, you
should factor into your schedule that one hour
of class time on average requires two
hours of study time. Thus, a typical 16-hour
semester course load requires 32 hours of
study time, resulting in a basic total weekly
educational time commitment of 48 hours
(exclusive of special test study time). Place
any other regular commitments into the time
grid, such as travel to and from school,
attendance at religious services, social obliga-
tions, etc. With these items placed in their
proper time frame, your actual available free
time becomes readily evident and can then be
allotted to meet your personal needs.
You should recognize that allocation of study
time also needs to be flexible, since:
(1) the same course may demand a varying amount
of study time at different intervals
during the course of a semester, depending on
such variables as complexity of topics
and frequency of examinations; and (2)
different courses vary significantly in their over-
all study time requirements, depending on their
inherent difficulty, quality of the
instruction, and ability of the student. With
this in mind, you should be prepared to
make appropriate adjustments in your initial
study time schedule to accommodate
changing circumstances. It is obviously also
essential that you prioritize your study time
so that you place appropriate emphasis not only
on time allotment, but also in the
sequence in which you study your subjects in
the context of their importance and diffi-
culty. Successfully completing the highest
priority assignments should be satisfying
enough to motivate you to proceed with other,
perhaps less appealing, projects. It is vital
for your health and the success of your study
efforts that you allot adequate time for
meals, recreation, relaxation, and
sleep.
Failure to provide time for any of these four
vital areas can diminish the efficiency of
your study efforts. A consistent fulfillment of
your study plans will allow you more free-
dom to enjoy your rest periods without feeling
any sense of guilt for having taken time off.
It is also important that you put to good use
the time breaks between classes for
relaxation, makeup reading, or review of
material, prior to a lecture or lab. This will
allow you to get the most out of these learning
opportunities.
Time-demanding projects, such as term papers or
laboratory reports, should be
placed into your study time schedule as soon as
it is practical. You can then work on
them in a timely fashion, rather than hastily
completing them in order to meet a compet-
ing assignment.
Genuine study involves intense concentration
that can usually be done more effi-
ciently in short time intervals. Thus, you
should try to utilize study time blocks of 30 to
60 minutes to avoid mental fatigue. Also, try
to avoid studying closely related subjects
in sequence, so as to minimize the confusion
between them.
Another major benefit that comes from having
and adhering to a study schedule is
that it reduces the possibility of your work
piling up. Such a situation can produce stress
that may impede your academic progress. It is
obvious that studying under pressure is
not as effective as studying under favorable
conditions.
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