In this Section:

Time Management and Organization

• Time Distribution Assessment
  
  
• Your Assessment Results
  
  
• A Well-Balanced Schedule
  
  
• Simple Ways to Save Time

MIT Study Skills

Academic Integrity

Test-Taking Strategies

Finals Preparation

TIME MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION—A Well-Balanced Schedule

Now that you know you would like to spend 7 hours per week on Physics and 5 hours per week playing pick-up volleyball (for instance), it is time to make your plans more concrete by developing a schedule. Use a planner and follow the steps outlined below:

Phase 1: Add All Regularly Scheduled Meetings and Classes

This includes all of your academic, extracurricular and work commitments that meet regularly throughout the term. As these are inflexible, all of the rest of your time will have to be arranged around these blocks.

Be certain to include fun breaks in your schedule as well (if they meet at a specific time). If your living group has a study break at 10:00 p.m. in the evenings that you enjoy or you have a circle of friends that likes to meet at 9:00 p.m. on Wednesdays to watch Star Trek-- put that on your schedule. These small, brief gatherings will be welcome study breaks for you later on.

Here is a sample schedule in Phase 1.

Phase 2: Add Time for Eating (3 meals!), Sleeping & Personal Essentials

Make your eating times as consistent as possible, and give yourself at least a half-hour for lunch and dinner. You will have earned the break and eating with friends will be something you can look forward to.

Sleep times should also be consistent as possible. On days when you need to get up a bit earlier you should plan to go to bed slightly earlier. Does this mean you have to go to bed at 9:00 p.m. every night? Of course not. If the best time for you to concentrate on your work is in the evening, then by all means work in the evening, but do be sure to get at minimum 6 hours of sleep, preferably 8. Remember, all of your studying is for naught if you are not alert enough to absorb the information.

For your personal essentials, it is not necessary to schedule each item on your list (many only happen occasionally, like doctor's appointments), but do remember that you need to account for showering/getting ready in the morning and for traveling. At this stage it might also be wise to add a brief two hour block for "errands" on a Monday afternoon- just so you know you always have that time available for laundry, banking and whatever else might come up.

Here is a sample schedule in Phase 2.

Phase 3: Add Time for Reading, Studying & Assignments

This step takes some thought, because some ways of organizing your study time are more effective than others. Take a moment to review your notes on the Course Load Breakdown. How many hours do you plan to spend on each subject? As an example, we will use the sample Freshman course load below.

Here are some tips to help you plan your study time.

• It Is Most Effective to Study After Lecture and Before Recitation. Studying after a lecture helps to solidify new information, and reviewing before recitation prepares you to address weak areas with the TA. Always makes use of the time between your classes.

• Plan to Study During Your Best Hours, Which Is Usually Daytime. Get as much done as possible between classes and in the early evening. Late evening and into the night you will be more prone to distractions, restless and eager for a break- even if you haven't been particularly productive. Occasionally a difficult assignment might keep you busy past midnight, but this should be the exception to the rule (and an indication than you need to plan better in the future).
  
  
• Spread Your Assignments Out Over Several Days. Working on the same task for an extended period is draining, especially when you are having difficulty making progress. Plan to work on the assignment steadily (perhaps 2-3 hours every other day) until it is due. This will give you time to work through difficult areas and seek help from the TA or a tutor if you become stuck. It will also give you some much needed variety.
  
  
• Plan Regular Breaks Into Your Schedule. Look at the sample schedule in Phase 2. The white space (your free time) is well scattered. When will you have a break? Lunch and dinner are two guaranteed breaks of good length, use them to relax and unwind. Strategically add several regular breaks to your schedule, just a half hour here and there. Never work through them. You need to give your mind an occasional rest in order to stay alert and productive, plus they will be something to look forward to.
  
  
• Study On the Weekends. It is nearly impossible to do all of your work on weekdays only, so don't try. Spread your work out evenly, leaving a lighter load for yourself on the weekend, but still continuing to make progress on assignments and reading.

Here is a sample schedule in Phase 3.

This student is doing a substantial amount of work, 34 hours of studying and assignments combined with 20 hours of classes and recitations. This schedule adheres to the rules above, so the work is distributed evenly with breaks and free time in the mid-evening. If an 8.01 problem set takes longer than anticipated, this student might have to work until 11:30 p.m. instead of stopping at 10:00 p.m., but that is not really a problem. There is flexibility in this schedule to adapt to changes, difficult assignments and the occasional 8:00 p.m. call from mom that might throw things off an hour. This student has time to unwind and relax before bed, gets at least 6 hours of sleep per day or more and has fun on the weekend. Balance is the key.