UFV Counselling held a time management workshop last Tuesday
UFV Counselling presented a procrastination workshop on Oct. 27 entitled “Too Many Assignments, Too Little Time.” The workshop was held over Zoom by UFV counsellor Mark Zhang, who led the group through tips and tricks toward better time management skills.
Zhang first reminded the group that procrastination cannot be overcome with an hour-long workshop. The following strategies are helpful, but knowledge alone will not be enough. Time management takes practice, action, and patience.
Evaluating life areas
It is firstly important to be aware of the different areas of your life that make up your time. A “wellness wheel” can help you examine and rate your level of satisfaction with each area, which ranges from “career” to “health” to “personal growth.” This will allow you to take stock of the areas that need growth.
Ask yourself: “Where do I currently direct most of my time and energy toward? What area do I want to change? How would changing this area improve my well-being?” It is important to look at each area in order to find balance, be productive, and avoid burnout. Zhang said that students often leave out mental health when managing their time.
Adjustment strategies
The workshop emphasized several adjustment strategies for balancing these areas: first, prioritizing your tasks and assignments can ensure that the important things get done. The workshop group suggested day planners and to-do lists as helpful starting points.
Second, asserting boundaries can help with anxiety and trying to do too much. Recognize when it’s healthy to say no to opportunities. Ask yourself, “Looking at the benefits and costs, is it worth it to say yes?” It can also be useful to think of the qualities of healthy-boundary people in your life that you would like to emulate.
Third, knowing your limit can prevent burnout. Workshop participants said that they were aware of burnout when they were unfocused, had a short temper, or lacked motivation. It is important to know when you are burned out and need to take a break.
Signs of procrastination
Social media, Netflix, and even cleaning can all be time wasters when there are looming deadlines or more urgent tasks to accomplish. Some workshop participants suggested setting timers, deleting apps from your phone, and turning off your phone’s Wi-Fi to manage these distractions.
Students might procrastinate because they feel overwhelmed or paralyzed. They may also believe they can accomplish their tasks at a later date, which can be reinforced by past instances of successful last-minute cramming — thinking they can do it again but forgetting the stress and anxiety that came with it.
Students who procrastinate may feel pressured, stressed, or expect to be perfect, Zhang also explained. It may be more helpful to evaluate which projects need to be perfect and which projects just need to get done, such as online participation.
Managing responsibilities
To manage responsibilities, students can use a weekly or monthly calendar to write down dates and deadlines. Set S.M.A.R.T. goals — a goal should be specific to your task or vision, measurable in how you can accomplish it, attainable in your current circumstances, relevant to one defined area, and time-oriented with a deadline. To keep a S.M.A.R.T. goals measurable and time-oriented, you can divide the goal into smaller tasks and write these tasks in your calendar.
This workshop was part of a series of study skills workshops called “Save Your Semester.” UFV Counselling also held a learning styles workshop on Oct. 26 and a test anxiety workshop on Oct. 28.
For students who need guidance in study skills or career planning, UFV Counselling is available over the phone or by virtual appointment. They also provide personal and crisis counselling. They can be contacted at 604-854-4528 in Abbotsford and 604-795-2808 in Chilliwack, as well as at the UFV website.
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Danaye studies English and procrastination at UFV and is very passionate about the Oxford comma. She spends her days walking to campus from the free parking zones, writing novels she'll never finish, and pretending to know how to pronounce abominable. Once she graduates, she plans to adopt a cat.
