Time Management and Student Life Hacks

Instructor Name: Karina Saunders Date of Lesson: Number of Course Name: Check and Connect
Participants: 5 Session 5: Time Management and
2/22/17 Student Life Hacks
Start Time: 6:45pm End Time: 8:45pm Room/Building: Hunthausen 150

Room Set Up Needs: Circle of desks/tables so that everyone has some space to write on and is part of the group circle, video ready to go on
computer system, handouts to take ready, students asked to bring class syllabi and personal calendar to meeting
Lesson Goals: After this lesson students will leave with a plan for managing their time for the remainder of the quarter, and will be able to apply
practical tools to help: schedule their time, set priorities, and balance the time management around the various time commitments and
constraints in their day to day life. Students will also leave lesson with new ideas to help fight procrastination and help them focus on school
work.
How you’ll introduce the Lesson: Time Management! People are always talking about how if they just had more time…or just were better at
managing their time_______ would be easier. I wouldn’t be such a procrastinator, I wouldn’t be late to everything, I wouldn’t forget about the
amount of time big assignments take….etc… I’m the first to admit that this is something I continuously struggle with. I’m often underestimating
the amount of time a simple task will take and forget to prioritize the more important things going on. I’m hoping that we’ll journey together in this
lesson and we’ll all leave with some practical strategies for the end of the quarter and going into next quarter and beyond

Learning Objective:
Students should be able to identify all of the different activities that they spend time on in a day.

Students should be able to name the different strategies or lack of strategy they use to manage their time.

Activity Analysis

1 Bad time management funny
video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRCTF5Mc2Xg
2 Each student is given a stack of sticky notes and asked to write each
activity that they do throughout the day on the notes (one activity on
each note). Students then organize the notes in the order that they
currently prioritize them. Encourage students to be specific
on notes, they should be listing specific classes. Share with larger group Kolb Cycle: The video and sticky notes are Concrete experiences, the
how they decide to do certain things, do they usually accomplish
everything?
UDL: Multiple means of representation: video, pair conversations,
active writing with sticky notes. Multiple means of expression: thinking,
sharing in small groups, and writing. Multiple means of engagement:
Again, students have the opportunity to assesses their own practices,
and share with peers and begin to identify what in their own practice
needs to change, and what are areas that are common struggles.
second part of the sticky note activity and the third sharing activity are
reflective observation activities. Students are reflecting and sharing
their own practices and beginning to make conclusions

3 Think-Pair-Share: Students think back on yesterday and list off for

themselves all the different things they needed to do yesterday. Share
with partner how they decided the order of things they needed to get
done, and if they were able to accomplish them. What is their current
strategy for managing time?

Materials and Equipment: Computer/projector/speakers, sticky notes, pens, blank paper

Learning Objective:

Students should be able to get a realistic idea of the amount of time everything on their daily to-do list actually takes, learn the strategy of
prioritizing the biggest thing they need to do first
Activities: Analysis:

1 Online tool for figuring out the amount of hours spent on things in one UDL: Website is an interactive visual aid, Rock jar activity is also a visual
24 hour period:  http://www.studygs.net/schedule/ and verbal demonstration, one-minute paper gives students a chance
to conclude and reflect on paper, sticky notes allow students to actively
visualize new goals

2 Pickle Jar Activity: Different size rocks represent the different tasks and
assignments, big jar represents time, sugar or sand represents all the
little things we often prioritize instead of the big tasks (emails, social Kolb Cycle: I think these activities help students go through each stage
media, laundry etc.), the only way the objects will fit in the jar is if the of the Kolb Cycle. Concrete activity playing with the website tool, and
big tasks take place first. More explanation of activity the rock jar activity, reflective stage happens in the conversation and
here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZuFXMPgHCU but can be thinking through the rock jar activity, one minute paper gives students
adapted to particular lesson. the chance to conclude in the abstract conceptualization stage, active
experimentation comes in the reordering of the sticky notes and
thinking through ideal goals for new priorities

3 Students turn back to their sticky notes from earlier and spend a few
minutes figuring out if they would re-order the notes.

4 1-minute paper. Students reflect on what they think is happening in

their current time management and what needs to change? Are there
certain things that I am spending too much time on? Are there certain
things I should be spending more time on? What needs to change in my
current time management work?
Materials and Equipment: Website, if applicable to students smart phones so they can pull up website on personal device, paper, pens, materials
for rock jar demonstration (rocks of different sizes/sand OR toy animals and different size candy, sugar), large jar

Objective: Students should be able to map out the rest of the quarter with strategies on how they will accomplish each assignment or big
commitment
Activity Analysis:

1 Break- before going into specific planning students take a 5 minute
bathroom/walk around break
2 Students take out syllabi of current courses and write out all of the
assignments, projects, big papers, and other big events, then smaller
tasks, and everyday tasks. They will assign/match each of these a
different size rock. Share with peers strategy they have now come
up with.
UDL: Visual aid with handout, making the learning relevant by having
students bring specific dates and assignments to map out, students are
able to choose how they want to map out tasks based on their personal
preferred calendar or planner style, while learning to implement more
strategies that feel relevant to their own practice and needs
Kolb Cycle: Perhaps most of the learning in this section is in the active
experimentation stage, as students are thinking concretely and DOING
the work of planning out due dates.

3 Students are given calendar with the weeks in the rest of the quarter
and map out when they will accomplish each assignment

4 Re-Visit online tool with hours and give out Weekly Planning Guide
(Handout)
Materials and Equipment: students personal syllabi from different classes, personal calendars (whatever students bring), print out of isolated
part of calendar, computer or personal device for online tool, Article handout, closing assessment questions

Learning Objective: Students will identify the barriers that keep them from accomplishing goals or lead them to procrastination. Students should
be able to identify a new resource or “life hack” to help with overall schedule and time management planning and have specific next steps they
will implement

Activity Analysis

List Activity- As a group list out all the different tools that they can think UDL: Group conversation, visual aid of lists, visual aid of websites or
of or that they use that help with self-management: planners, outlook, tools, handout with explanation of tools listed out, listing current
quarter-in-a-page, weekly master schedule. Students take turns strategies, active doing in role play or case study
describing these different tools and naming what the goal of the tool is.
Teacher adds or expands list based on what is named

Kolb Cycle:

Teacher asks if anyone is familiar with web-based task management Again these activities take students through the kolb cycle. They are
software or productivity helpers? Visual slides and/or website to identify listing activities the (concrete), reflecting on what they already know
each of these tools. + Pomodoro method and what would be helpful for a specific scenario (reflective), giving
advice or teaching in the role play (conceptualization), ideally students
Rescue Time- https://www.rescuetime.com/ are finishing this objective with new ideas to implement in their daily
lives (active experimentation)
Pomodoro Method-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT70iCaG0Gs

Case Study—in groups of 2 or 3 read case study of someone struggling

with time management and suggest how you would help this person,
what tools would you suggest this person use to better figure out time
management skills. OR Role Play—time management suggestions.

Sharing personal

Materials and Equipment:

Poster paper and markers or white board and markers, copies of case study or personal examples

Closing Objectives: Students are able to share anonymous feedback from lesson and reflect on what they are taking with them from the lesson,
students recognize and affirm each other creating accountability and a sense of belonging to cohort group.
Activities Analysis

Closing Circle: students stand in a circle and share a hope that have for Verbal and physical affirmation and practicing naming affirmation,
each member of the circle for the next month. Student “receives” the written reflection
hope by holding out their hands to receive hopes from peers

CIQ: Students fill out short questionnaire about the lesson and turn
them in anonymously before leaving the room

References
[JD3]. (2011, April 5). Ross- Time Management. The One Where Joey Dates Rachel. [Video File]. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRCTF5Mc2Xg
[Royale Global]. (2014, October 25). The Empty Pickle Jar. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZuFXMPgHCU
Barker, B. (2014, June 2014). Most Productive People: 6 Things they Do Every Day. Retrieved from http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/06/most-
productive-people/#ixzz35TXCy6UN
Find your ideal work-life balance. (n.d.). Retrieved February, 2017, from https://www.rescuetime.com/
Tank, A.; Lynch, B. ; Hokanson, B. (1995-2012, August 12). Study Guides and Strategies: Time and Product Management Series. Retrieved
from: http://www.studygs.net/schedule/
The Pomodoro Technique. (2013, December 28). Retrieved February 2017, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT70iCaG0Gs
CIQ:
1. Name one thing that worked well in this lesson?

2. Name one thing that I learned today from this session?

3. Name one thing that didn’t work well?

4. Do you have any other feedback about today? Or things you hope to do in Check & Connect in the future?

Follow -Up Email "handout" with references for students:

Hey Ya’ll,
Thanks again for coming and spending time with me last night despite being tired and having 100 other things to do (except Jenna though she
has an extra 8 hours to spare ). Here are some of the tools we talked about last night, I hope you’ll spend some time looking at them and
implementing one or two changes to your current time/self-management schedule. We’ll talk about it more one-on-one

1. http://www.studygs.net/schedule/ See how much time you spend on things, and think about what you are not spending enough time on
or spending too much time on? PIE visual

2. Rescue Time https://www.rescuetime.com/ This website runs in the background of your web browser, and will track and analyze the
amount of time you spend on different sites: social media, email, etc. It will send you a detailed report of your productivity, and can even
block websites for you or alert you if you’ve spent too much time on something!

3. STAY FOCUSED (Add on for Chrome)- StayFoucsed is a productivity extension for Google Chrome that helps you stay focused on work by
restricting the amount of time you spend on time-wasting websites
 4. Waste No Time (Add on for Chrome) This is another productivity extension that will monitor and report on the time you spend on
different websites; will also block websites once you’ve used your allotted time on them for the day, or will instantly block websites for a
predetermined period of time.

5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT70iCaG0Gs
Pomodoro Method- The idea that you work for 25 minutes and then you take 5 minutes of
break. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNBmG24djoY

Please feel free to share with the group if you have other little study hacks or useful tools for managing time!

Karina

Additional handouts:
 Calendar specific to dates left in the quarter
 Other time management charts that students can decide if they think it would be helpful: from Seattle U Learning Assistance Programs