Daily life. Everything happens here, from progress toward your lifetime goals to laundry, shopping, car repairs, and housekeeping. Good organization in your daily life helps you manage multiple priorities with greater ease. Having routines for the routine frees you to make more creative use of your remaining time and ensures that you have the creative energy required for your high-priority activities. On the other hand, a lack of organization can be a significant source of stress: losing notes for an upcoming exam or project, forgetting an important deadline, misplacing your keys or wallet. Such daily hassles contribute directly to your daily stress levels.

    In the previous chapter, you defined and prioritized your goals and listed action steps for the highest priorities. Now you're ready to get organized. How will you fit these steps into real life? This chapter begins with some suggestions on scheduling and organization to help you spend more of your time working toward high-priority goals. A section on study skills should help you get the most out of your study time. The chapter concludes with a discussion of one of the most frequently cited sources of student stress: procrastination.

ORGANIZE YOUR TIME:
MAKING TIME WITH REALISTIC SCHEDULING

Action steps are of little use unless you do them. The best way to be sure you get around to doing them is to put them into your daily schedule.

Why have a schedule? A schedule gives you a direction and reaffirms your commitment to completing high-priority tasks. It is a form of conscious decision making in this case about how you will spend the day. It provides a framework for structuring your day in a way that maximizes progress toward your high-priority goals. Without some sort of schedule, you create stress by wasting time, working inefficiently, and missing opportunities because you didn't plan ahead. But be careful: overschedule yourself and you create stress as well. Learn to create a time management schedule that fits your lifestyle and is flexible and realistic. You will find satisfaction in making progress toward your goals without feeling frustrated or overwhelmed by work overload.

Many people operate with some sort of list of things to do. They get satisfaction from crossing items off their "to do" list as these tasks are completed. Unfortunately, most people feel more immediate satisfaction from doing several low-priority items than from getting to the riskier, more difficult high-priority activities. It's easy to do those routine tasks, but frequently they keep you from addressing the important items on your list. For example, you might feel that you've accomplished a lot by cleaning your room, doing the laundry, writing several letters, and organizing the notes you are planning to study for tomorrow's big exam; you get to cross four items off your list! But if you fail to address that one really important item-prepare adequately for tomorrow's big exam-your list method of organization has failed to help you use your time to move toward high-priority goals.

Creating a realistic plan for activities of each day, week, and month is an art. A schedule needs to be more than a "to do" list. Don't throw that list away, but take out a clean sheet of paper to create a daily schedule for tomorrow. Also take out your time management action plan that lists tasks to help you reach your high-priority goals. Pick one or more of these items that you will do tomorrow. Put a star next to these. Then go ahead and add a few of those other things that must get done tomorrow: school assignments, vacation travel plans, whatever, but try to make it a realistic list. Remember, this is not a "wish list" of all you wish you could accomplish. This is a realistic list. Make a game each day of creating a list that actually gets done, in which all items get crossed off. Realistic planning is much more productive than an exhaustive unprioritized list that follows you around from day to day, reminding you of all you have yet to do, and allowing you to spend too much time on low-priority tasks (Lakein, 1973).

    Next, from your realistic "to do" list, create a realistic daily schedule. First, write in items already scheduled: classes, practice, rehearsals, meetings, and so forth. Then, block out time for those high-priority activities. Look for time chunks of an hour or more and use these for high- priority projects. The earlier in the day you get to these, the better you will feel. Next check your list for medium-priority items. Schedule these in. What's left? Complete your schedule with other activities that need to get done today.

Too Much to Do?

What if everything that has to get done doesn't fit into your schedule? That is often the case! Then some things will not get done. Many students are unhappy with this answer at first, but isn't it better for you to decide which items will not get done? If you can't do everything, then don't do items of the lowest priority. Even though you may still feel that you have too much to do, at least you will feel better for having made progress on the items of highest priority-and you will feel more in control of your time, a feeling that increases your stress resistance (Cone & Owens, 1991; Macan, Shahani, Dipboye, & Phillips, 1990).

While this sort of planning may feel time-consuming at first, it will actually create time for you in the long run. Planning means getting to your priorities and reducing time spent on activities you don't really enjoy (Simons & Galotti, 1992). Most people use both daily and longer-range plans. At the beginning of the semester, you will want to compile assignment deadlines from all classes into a semester calendar. Your semester plan will alert you to weeks when you are very busy and those when you are less busy so that you may plan accordingly. Each weekend, you will probably want to look at the upcoming week to plan ahead for assignments due, then you can schedule other activities around these events. Your daily schedule and list can be made either the night before or first thing in the morning, whichever works best for you. Once you are in the habit of assessing your priorities, your daily planning will take less than five minutes.

As you practice creating a realistic daily schedule, consider the concept of prime time. Prime time refers to the best time to do certain activities.

Internal prime time refers to your personal energy rhythms. Each of us has a fairly predictable energy flow throughout the day, with periods of high and low energy. Some people have good concentration and are most productive in the morning; others aren't really warmed up until late afternoon and have a great deal of energy in the evening. When possible, schedule more challenging activities for the time you are most alert. Perform routine tasks when you are less energetic. For example, if you are a morning person, getting up an hour earlier to study may be more productive than trying to emulate the study habits of your night owl friends. You will get more accomplished more easily with less stress in less time if you work with your personal energy patterns. As time management experts say, "Work smarter, not harder" (Mackenzie, 1972).

    You may also notice that you have high energy days and low energy days. Schedule accordingly. If you are having a great day and feel like moving some mountains, use that energy to tackle the really important tasks. If nothing is going your way today, select items for your schedule that you can really accomplish. If you are coming down with a cold and feel exhausted, slow down and take care of yourself. Maybe you can get to one priority item but not three. This approach saves you time in the long run since you will get well sooner. Taking care of yourself also spares you the stress of banging your head against the proverbial wall of trying to accomplish tasks that take more energy than you have.

External Prime Time

External prime time will also dictate when you can best do certain activities. External prime time refers to accessing resources when they are most convenient to use, or reaching people when they are most available. Know the best times for reaching your professors, supervisor, and co- workers. Ask professors for help during their office hours and they will usually give you all the time and help you need. Try calling them at home at 11 p.m. when you are stuck on a homework problem and the response will not be so pleasant. Need help from a tutor? You will need time to develop a schedule for working together, so don't expect to find someone the week before your final exam. You take advantage of external prime time when you avoid busy hours at the laundromat and rush hour traffic, or when you try to reach someone at a time other than lunch hour. An awareness of external prime time means not trying to print your paper at the computer center an hour before it's due, when everyone else is trying to do the same thing.

    The more complicated your life gets, the greater the importance of scheduling around internal and external prime time. Alyssa, a student and mother of two young children, compartmentalizes her activities into three external prime time categories: (1) things that must get done when she is on campus, (2) things that can be done at home while the kids are in school or asleep for the night, and (3) things that can get done with the kids around. Within these parameters, Alyssa takes advantage of her internal prime time, getting important assignments done in the morning when she is most energetic and saving the less demanding assignments for the evening.

MAKE A SEMESTER PLAN

At the beginning of every semester, make a schedule of due dates and prioritize all assignments (Longman & Atkinson, 1988). A notebook is not enough; you'll need a calendar, too. Take note of holidays, school vacations, and extracurricular events: plays, concerts, athletic events, whatever you are involved in. Record exam dates and due dates for all assignments. Which weeks look the busiest? Are there any weeks with two big papers due? Plan ahead. Set your own deadline to get one done early, or ask the professor ahead of time for an extension. Your sister wants to come visit. When is the best time? Not the week that you have three midterms.

Once you have penciled in all events and deadlines, you will want to estimate when to begin various projects. This requires figuring out approximately how long a project will take, a task that is especially difficult if you are in your first year in college. Ask experienced students for help. In general, estimating time needed for a project involves the following steps (adapted from Girdano, Everly, & Dusek, 1993):

1. Define the task, what it's worth, and reasons for doing it.

2. Break the task down into steps.

3. Describe the goal or finished product.

4. List people whose help may be needed and possible problems getting that help.

5. List materials needed, anticipating costs and obstacles.

6. Hypothesize all other possible obstacles and problems that could come up and develop contingency plans for them.

7. Assess the time each step in #2 will take.

8. Add 10% to 15% to this total.

9. Schedule the task on your calendar.

SCHEDULING ExamPLE: TERM PAPER

This planning method can be applied to any type of project or activity. Since term papers are a common assignment, let's see how this plan might work for writing a term paper.

1. Define the task, what it's worth, and reasons for doing it.

Fifteen-page term paper due in English worth 25 percent of my grade. I am writing it because it is required, but I also hope it will improve my writing skills.

2. Break the task down into steps.

a. Decide on a few possible topics that sound interesting. Skim the text and readings and get the professor's okay for these.

b. Go the the library and see how much material is available on these topics. Briefly skim some of the material and choose the topic that would be most interesting and accessible. Copy the articles that look good for my chosen topic.

c. Gather, read, and take notes on articles for my topic.

d. Organize notes and write an outline. Get more sources if needed.

e. Write the paper.

f. Ask a writing counselor to help me revise the paper, since I have some difficulty writing and this is a new kind of paper for me.

g. Revise the paper, print it out, hand it in.

3. Describe the goal, or finished product.

A good paper.

4. List people whose help may be needed, and possible problems getting that help.

a. I need the professor to approve my topics. Since it is a small class, I can probably catch her before class. If not, I'll go during office hours.

b. I want to schedule an appointment with the writing counselor. This has to be done about a week before the appointment, which in turn needs to be at least a week before the paper is due.

5. List materials needed, anticipating costs and obstacles.

I'll need to get to the computer center to type the paper, do the revision, and get it printed.

6. Hypothesize all other possible obstacles and problems that could come up, and develop contingency plans for them.

a. Difficulty getting the articles I need from the library-may need to travel to another library in the next town.

b. My brother may come visit the weekend before the paper is due so I should plan to have the paper pretty well done before then.

c. Having to wait to use a computer. Mornings are usually not a busy time, and I have Tuesday and Thursday mornings free before 10 A.M.

7. Assess the time each step in #2 will take.

1/2 hr    a. Decide on a few possible topics that sound interesting. Skim the text and readings and get the professor's okay for these.

1 hr.      b. Go to the library and see how much material is available on these topics. Briefly skim some of the material to see what topic would be most interesting and accessible. Copy the articles that look good for my chosen topic.

8 hrs.    c. Gather, read, and take notes on articles for my topic.

2 hrs.   d. Organize notes and write an outline. Get more sources if needed.

10 hrs. e. Write the paper.

1 hr.     f. Ask a writing counselor to help me revise the paper, since I have, difficulty writing and this is a new kind of paper for me.

2 hrs. g. Revise the paper, print it out, hand it in.

8.  Add 10% to 15% to this total.

With time, this sort of planning becomes easier. If you do something similar for all your semester assignments and plan accordingly, the semester should go more smoothly. Spreading the work out over the weeks helps avoid crazy weeks full of deadline stress, but this scheduling takes some discipline at first. Using future " phantom time" to put off doing assignments may give you a carefree day today but a high-stress one tomorrow. One stress management teacher has noted a common occurrence in the stress logs he receives. One day will read, "No stress today. Nothing due. Relaxed with friends, went to a movie in the evening. Perfect day!" only to be followed the next day with this, "Very stressful day. Worked all day on English paper due tomorrow. Major headache. Couldn't get on the computer to type in the paper. Stayed up until 4 A.M. trying to get it printed."

    Learning to divide up assignments into their component tasks takes some experience. Students often give each other good advice on how to study for exams, complete lab reports, write papers, and take advantage of campus resources.

ADDITIONAL HELPFUL HINTS FOR REDUCING STRESS WITH BETTER ORGANIZATION OF YOUR TIME

2. Concentrate on one thing at a time. The amount of time you spend on a project meaningless; it's the end result that counts. Uninterrupted, clear concentration produces a better product in less time. People with time management problems often flit from one activity to another, try to do several things at once, and have trouble concentrating because they can't decide which task they should work on next. Decide, then go with your decision. Don't waste time worrying about the other things you "should" get done. Work with your whole brain in gear and focus on one assignment at a time. You will learn more and enjoy your work more as well.

3. Use the 80/20,rule. The 80/20 rule can help you establish priorities. This rule has many applications, including the following: 80 percent of the benefit comes from doing 20 percent of the items on your "to do" list. Eighty percent of the exam will cover 20 percent of the material; 80 percent of your paper will come from 20 percent of your sources. Figure out the most beneficial 20 percent and make that your priority. 

4. Learn to say no. Just say no to low-priority items that beckon you away from what you really want to do and to requests for help with low-priority projects. No one can possibly do everything there is to do; we all set limits by setting priorities. Your schedule says study, but you would rather do the laundry. Is this the best use of your time right now? Say no to the laundry and get to work. Often, setting limits means finding a tactful but firm way of saying no. Friends call to chat while you are cruising on a high-priority task. Ask if you can call them back later in the day or at least limit the conversation to a few minutes. Your friend wants to work on your computer but you were planning to complete an assignment on it tonight. Send him to the computer center. In Chapter 8 we will discuss improving communication skills, including your ability to say no.

5. Avoid perfectionism. Striving for excellence means doing your best and learning from the experience. Striving for perfection means failure, for perfection is unattainable. Perfectionists feel that if they can't do a task perfectly, they may as well  not do it at all. Striving for perfection leads to fear of failure, procrastination, and then completing projects at the last minute. Since you ran out of time, you now have the perfect excuse for your lack of perfection! Striving for perfection can also get you stalled on low-priority tasks. Let's say your professor is giving you 2 points toward your final grade for writing a paragraph on a lecture you just attended. How much time should you spend on this? It might take a perfectionist all night for very little return on that investment of time spent writing, rewriting, and worrying about every detail. Instead, do your best, and then move on to more important assignments. 

6. Schedule time for a healthful lifestyle. A healthful lifestyle increases your stress resistance and keeps you healthy so you minimize the time you spend sick in bed or struggling through the day feeling brain dead. Schedule daily exercise, regular meals, and a good night's sleep. Remember how little gets done when you get sick or feel too stressed and tired to do anything. Activities that contribute to your health are good uses of your time. 

7. Take frequent breaks to relax and refocus. Get up, stretch, take a walk between activities. Check your schedule and reorganize as necessary to stay on target.

8. Use small chunks of time to complete routine tasks. If you have an extra ten minutes, attend to tasks such as household chores or reading the mail. Stuck in line? Use waiting time to brainstorm ideas for an upcoming project, plan tomorrow's schedule, or to simply read and relax.

9. Develop self-discipline to help you stay focused. How often do you begin a high-priority task with good intentions and then find yourself drifting away from those riskier, more challenging tasks into the comfortable routine of repetition and distraction? Here you sit, staring at a blank sheet of paper, while your schedule tells you to spend the next hour getting started on an essay due tomorrow. You get up, get something to drink, run into a friend and talk for a while, and then since you have only 15 minutes left before your next class, you decide to write a letter instead of the essay which you tell yourself you will do later.

    Later is often phantom time, time that seems to offer more opportunity than it actually holds. The essay will get done later, but you may also have left several other projects for later as well. School vacations are often phantom time, an excuse to put off as many assignments as possible. When your vacation finally arrives, you cannot possibly complete everything you have planned to do.

    Procrastination is discussed in more detail later in this chapter. At this point, let us simply consider the concept of self-discipline, which involves the ability to delay immediate gratification in order to be more fully gratified at a later time. You begin work on the essay today so you will have a better finished product and more free time this weekend. Self-discipline allows you to do something that's a little difficult now (writing that essay) to avoid something that will be more difficult in the future (writing that essay under too much pressure and without enough time or preparation). Self-discipline is cultivated with practice and continual reinforcement. Convince yourself it's easier and more satisfying in the long run to work in an organized, self-disciplined fashion, even though you may have to force yourself to do something you'd rather not do right now.

OBSTACLES TO ORGANIZATION

If poor organization is such a significant source of stress, why aren't people more organized? Here are three good reasons:

Sometimes a lack of organization is simply due to old habits: you never learned to be organized when you were young. Setting up a filing system seemed irrelevant and unnatural. Your memory was good enough to remember which pile that letter is in. When you are feeling out of control, you may find yourself organizing and cleaning your room. Many people improve their organization as they move into busier times and the growing number of details must be brought under control.

Some people have a philosophical resistance to structure. They are afraid that setting goals, preparing a schedule, or organizing their workspace will decrease their flexibility. Many stereotypes reinforce the idea that genius and organization are not compatible. The ones that come to mind are images of the absent-minded professor, artist, or composer-people with brilliant creative minds but who have no practical skills in everyday living, people who live entirely in the world of their own minds. Perhaps you have been to a home or office that portrays this lifestyle: absolute clutter and disarray, with a seemingly sane and productive occupant. Is organization merely a preoccupation with the mundane? Is a neat house a sign of a dull mind? As we discussed in the last chapter, a totally spontaneous lifestyle actually tends to limit your options over time since you often do not have the time or resources available to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves. The physical, economic, and social realities of daily life require some daily planning and organization-and long-term goals "happen" in daily life.

    People who can function at their best in total chaos are the exception rather than the rule. Sometimes a messy room is fine when you are a child and have a grown-up to keep the rest of the house in order, put meals on the table, and bring you clean clothes. Even a disorderly dormitory room is not too dangerous unless you have a neat roommate. A lack of organization becomes increasingly risky as life becomes filled with more responsibility, when you need to share a living or working space with others, and as you have more "stuff" to keep track of. Despite the stereotype of the absent-minded professor, in real life, successful people (including professors) tend to maintain a fairly high level of organization that supports their personal and professional growth and enhances their enjoyment of life.

    If organization is a stranger in your life, try adding suggestions that sound appealing and reasonable to you one at a time. We all have very different styles; the goal of this chapter is not to turn everyone into a superorganized efficiency freak but simply to take some of the stress out of daily life. Time management and organization are associated with academic success (Britton & Tesser, 1991; Macan et al., 1990). In fact, one interesting study found that time management and organization were better predictors of college grade point average than high school SAT scores (Britton & Tesser, 1991)!

    The first step toward improving daily habits that ease the stress of disorganization is awareness. One stress management student had spent his 40-something years developing a total lack of environmental connection-that is, he was a slob. His loving wife accepted him and his slovenly ways, and never nagged. One day, however, she pointed out to him that he had walked past the wastebasket with his empty ice cream container and set it on the counter instead. At that point, he realized that simply putting things where they belonged the first time often took relatively little effort and saved time later on. He had to admit that he did enjoy having the house look nice and decided to start trying to pick up after himself

Procrastination

Procrastination means putting off doing something you have decided to do until a future time. Almost everyone procrastinates about some activities occasionally. But chronic procrastination can develop into a self-defeating habit that prevents you from doing the things you want to do and from reaching goals you have set for yourself (Lay, 1994; Schouwenberg, 1992; Sommer, 1990).

    Procrastination can be a major source of stress. Chronic procrastinators often have low self- esteem combined with unrealistically high expectations for their performance (Ferrari, 1991). They berate themselves for procrastinating; but the thought of facing the task at hand is so overwhelming, they procrastinate some more, and thus create a vicious cycle of procrastination, self-denigration, low self-esteem, and further procrastination (Burns, 1980; Ellis & Kraus, 1977; Schafer, 1987).

    Procrastination can keep you from addressing many important issues, such as your study schedule, your job search, or your desire to stop smoking. "I'll do it later" gives you the false reassurance it will get done, so you can temporarily put the onerous task out of your mind. But the stress accumulates. That paper still needs to be written, and instead of completing it in a calm and timely fashion, you face enormous time pressure and frustration when things don't go smoothly (and they rarely do). More information on the causes of procrastination and practical advice on confronting procrastination are presented later in this chapter.

ORGANIZE YOUR ENVIRONMENT:
REDUCE STRESS BY REDUCING DAILY HASSLES

Many people find that most of their daily stress comes not from those big events that give you lots of life change units (see Chapter 4), like death and divorce, but from the little things that go wrong: the alarm clock that didn't go off, lost keys, trouble getting the materials you need from the library, or difficulty finding a parking space. Minor hassles such as these can cause a major stress response (Kanner, Coyne, Schaefer, & Lazarus, 1981). Organization increases your stress resistance because it reduces the time you waste on trivial activities (Richards, 1987).

    Would your feelings of stress be reduced with better organization? Review your stress log noting the stressors that occurred during that period of time. Think also about other stressors that have come up in the past few weeks. Could any of your stressors be eliminated or reduced with better organization? If you frequently become stressed because of losing or misplacing things, or running out of gas, supplies, and so on, a little focused organization and planning may be helpful. If so, make a list of your organizational hassles and brainstorm creative solutions. Here are some examples.

Problem: Trouble finding keys.

Possible solution: At home, always keep keys in top desk drawer. When out, always keep keys in same pocket.

Problem: Needing to shop for food once or twice a day.

Possible solution: Plan menus and shopping list so that one shopping trip gets enough food for several days.

Problem: Cluttered home.

Possible solution: Get rid of items that are not needed. Put things away after using them. Do a quick pickup in the afternoon before dinner. (With a roommate or a family, enlist the help of everyone.)

Problem: Difficulty getting out the door on time in the morning.

Possible solution: Get up earlier. Set out things you will need for the morning the night before. Make lunches night before.

Create a Stress-Free Home Environment

Personal needs for an organized environment vary tremendously. For any one person, these needs vary from time to time. You may have no problems with a cluttered work area until you feel stressed, when the first thing you do is clean off the desk. Similarly, you may not mind a messy bedroom but must have an organized kitchen.

    Many people find that making their home a sanctuary helps increase their stress resistance. While chaos may rage in the world outside, at least peace and serenity can be found in the home. Creating a peaceful room or corner of one's own can be an effective stress buffer.

Create a Productive Work Environment

Just as you need a place to relax, you need a place to work. You receive messages from your environment at both the conscious and subconscious levels. The television says "Watch me"; the refrigerator says "Have a snack"; the stack of dirty dishes says "Wash me." A work environment should be as free of distractions as possible and should suggest to you that now is the time to get some work done. Part of your response to a work environment is conditioned, or learned. By working at your desk, you learn to associate writing, reading, and studying with that environment. Like any habit, this association builds with time (Longman & Atkinson, 1988).

    A consultant who leads study skills workshops for college students once commented on the number of students who do not create a productive work environment. When asked, "Do you study at your desk?" a majority of students in her workshop reply "No." When asked why not, they say "Because it is too cluttered; there's no room to work." "So where do you study?" she then asks. What is the most popular answer? "In bed." "Don't you fall asleep?" she asks. "Yes," reply most students.

    A productive work environment means working smarter-getting more good work accomplished in less time so you have more time in your life for other things. Take a look at your work environment and analyze it for comfort, organization, and convenience. Once again, less is more; a cluttered work space is the most common barrier to productivity. When you work in an area with stacks of works-in-progress, you have more difficulty concentrating on the project at hand. The sight of other demands teases your concentration away from the project in front of you: out of sight, out of mind. Clear your desk. Put away everything but that current assignment. At the end of the work day, put away everything but that most important priority you plan to do first thing in the morning.

Get Support

Cultivate support for your organizational efforts, both at home and at work. Housemates and families can have a group meeting to organize efficient ways to deal with household chores. They can set up routines for mealtime and for keeping things neat. In reality, organizational systems never reach a state of perfection, but you will still feel less stress with each improvement, even small ones. Keep an eye on the future as you work for organization. Change always takes effort. In the short run, it is easier to "do it myself' than get your roommate, friends, or children to hang up their coats. But eventually even children (even roommates!) catch on. Decide which changes are most important to you, and begin.

STUDY SKILLS

Most college students get a good start on developing helpful study skills in high school, and these skills become further refined in college, although some research suggests that many students still have room for improvement (Brown, 1991; Turner, 1992). Good study skills evolve into good work skills later in life, so their development is essential to reducing stress throughout your lifetime, not just while you are a student.

Study habits are so named for a reason. A study routine becomes second nature. just as a work environment becomes associated with working, so does a "same time, same place" routine automatically put you in gear for that activity. Set up a realistic schedule for study or project time that takes advantage of your internal and external prime time as much as possible. After sticking to a routine for at least three weeks, your concentration during these times will improve. You will find it easier to get into your work and stick to it. Those around you will also get used to the routine and figure out the best times to catch you. A similar routine every weekday is easiest to follow, although this is not always feasible for students with irregular class schedules. You may at least be able to cultivate a regular Monday-Wednesday schedule and a regular Tuesday- Thursday schedule.

The amount of time spent studying for an exam or working on a project is almost irrelevant; it's the quality of the work that counts. One productive hour of studying is worth three hours of haphazard review combined with a moderate amount of daydreaming. Concentration improves with practice, and students generally get a lot of practice.

Some students have difficulty structuring blocks of uninterrupted time. Concentration is a fragile state, easily broken. Telephones ringing, friends and co-workers dropping by all break that flow of concentration required for working smarter. What sort of interruptions are a problem for you? When you are scheduling time for important projects, block out time periods that are least likely to offer interruptions and then make a plan to minimize interruptions that do occur. Some students find they get more done at a workstation in the library where their friends can't distract them. Another common strategy is for a group of friends to agree to study at the same time so they can get together and do something fun later.

    Practice tactful ways of telling people you are busy. When friends stop by to chat, let them know you'll have more time later. Take a look at the clock when the telephone rings and limit calls when you are working on that high-priority project. Return the call later, or let the caller know right away you have just a few minutes to talk. Let the answering machine or voice mail take the call. You don't always have to be this stingy with your time, just during those high-productivity periods when good concentration is a must.

Go with Your Flow

It pays to take advantage of your mood whenever possible. Perhaps you have two or three top priority projects for the day, and you are beginning a three-hour block of time you've reserved for one of these projects. Pick the top priority job that appeals to you most and tackle it. Do you have good ideas in the shower, on the bus, in the middle of the night? Jot them down. It's Saturday afternoon and you had planned to do your shopping, but you feel like working on that paper. Go ahead. Break your schedule whenever doing so makes sense. Inspiration is important for any project, so take advantage of it when it arrives.

    Similarly, keep going when you're flowing. If a project is going smoothly, it is easy to be lulled into false security and take a break, assuming the work will always go this well. But often when you return, you've lost the spark. Don't take productive periods for granted. Rearrange your schedule to get the most out of this current flow.

    Concentration and productivity are always better when you like the project you are working on. If you dislike a project, completing it will take longer-and seem to take even longer than it does! Besides, life is too short to waste time on things you dislike. Find something to value or enjoy in every project you do. Pick a topic of interest for your research papers, find something in that lab report to enjoy, and remind yourself why you enrolled in a course or program to begin with. And remember: challenges build character and skills.

Student Behavior

There are many things you can do to make your life as a student easier, like staying caught up with your work and scheduling assignments appropriately so that you avoid last minute overload. The next sections offer a few other suggestions.

Attend Class and Take Notes Do we really have to say this? Successful students rarely miss a class. Of course, there are always a few exceptions. Perhaps you know someone who never attends class, studies like crazy for a few days before the exam, and still gets good grades. These examples are rare. The great majority of A students consistently attend class, sit near the front, tune in to what the teacher is discussing, and take good notes.

    Why is class attendance so important? The lectures and discussions reinforce the important material-the part most critical for your understanding of the class and, of course, the material most likely to be on the exam. If you have to miss a class, get a copy of the notes. Most students, however, find they learn much more by listening to the lecture and discussion and taking their own notes than by studying someone else's notes.

    Students are expected to take notes during a lecture or class discussion to help them remember important material. Notes are also a great exam study guide. Successful note takers develop some sort of shorthand that allows them to write down ideas quickly. Since you can't possibly write down every word the teacher says, you must try to focus on brief phrases that capture the important points. Many students spend some time recopying or filling in their notes after class, when their memory of the class is still fresh. This is an especially good practice for courses in which you are experiencing some difficulty. Going over your notes soon after class reinforces the material and helps you clarify half-completed thoughts and illegible handwriting.

Stay Involved in Class Get the most out of the time you spend in class by staying involved. You are wasting your time if your mind keeps wandering during the lecture and discussion and you miss a lot of what the class was about. Taking good notes is one way to keep your mind on what the teacher is saying. So is talking in class. If the teacher asks a question, volunteer an answer. If something is unclear, ask a question. The adrenaline rush of putting yourself on the spot and speaking up in class keeps you awake and attentive. It helps your mind work better. Talking in class gives you valuable feedback, too. Whether your answer is right or wrong, you will learn something. Maximize your mental involvement in each class to retain more information and understand important concepts.

Do Your Homework Homework such as reading assignments, completing problem sets, or writing essays enhances learning. Even if the homework is not graded, it helps you stay involved in the class and learn important material. You get more out of class if you are prepared. You are probably afraid of asking questions in class when you haven't done all the assigned reading. You're less afraid to talk to the professor when you have a good idea of what he or she is talking about. Since you already know something about the lecture topic, it's easier to take notes.

Talk to Your Professors When you have questions, talk to your professor after class. Visit during office hours. Make an appointment to meet if you are not free during office hours. Send an e-mail message. If you're having trouble with a course, ask for help. Most professors have sympathy for students who show them they are trying. Let your professor know you care and are doing your best, even if your marks don't reflect your hard work.

    Professors can be wonderful sources for career counseling. If one of your professors is in a field of interest to you, arrange a time to get information about graduate programs or advice on your job search.

Reading and Studying

Students spend a lot of time reading and studying. You know that some reading and studying time is very productive; other times you may stare at the same page of text for an hour with nothing sinking in. Organize your reading and studying time and approach this period with concentration and involvement. Be sure you get to the high-priority assignments. Outline important readings; make study cards from your notes. Devise memory games to help you remember important concepts. Answer imaginary exam questions you will be likely to encounter on a real exam.

    What about study groups? If you study in a group, be sure your group stays on track. Agree on priorities and stick to high-priority topics. Study groups can be very helpful, as members take turns teaching each other important concepts. As with any form of studying, stay involved, concentrate, and participate fully.

Preparing for Exams, Taking Exams, and Scheduling Your Work:
The 80/20 Rule Revisited

We've already discussed how to select priorities and design a realistic schedule. The same procedures can be applied to preparing for and taking exams and scheduling your homework. Apply the 80/20 rule to allocate your time: 80 percent of the benefit comes from doing 20 percent of the work. When preparing for an exam, you may not have the time to reread and study every assigned reading, to outline your notes, and redo every homework problem. What is the 20 percent that will at least get you a B on the exam? Memorizing the class notes? Answering the study questions? Whatever it is, begin with that. Do your best with the time you have, then move on to the next priority. The same goes for taking an exam. Spend the most time on the questions with the most points. Don't agonize over a few questions worth only 2 or 3 points each, but keep going. Be sure you have enough time for the essay question worth 25 points at the end. The same goes for allotting time to assignments. Many students make the mistake of spending a great deal of time on a small assignment that may count for only a small proportion of their class grade and not leave enough time for a major term paper that may represent 50 percent of their grade in some other course.

Most campuses have resources to help students experiencing academic distress (Cone & Owens, 1991). Some offer study skills and time management workshops. Some offer help editing term papers. If you- have problems studying for a particular course, you may be able to get help finding (and funding) a tutor. Don't forget to talk to your professors and classmates, residential staff, and counselors. Different study strategies work for different students. Each person has preferred ways of processing and memorizing information (Henry & Swartz, 1992). Gaining an understanding of your particular learning style can be helpful (Griggs, 1990).

All this information on setting priorities, designing schedules, and practicing good study skills sounds logical and reasonable. Why is it still so hard to plan ahead and stick to a plan? Procrastination. We've even put off dealing with this topic until the end of the chapter!

    Procrastination can stem from deep personal problems, especially fear of failure (Beery, 1975; Schouwenburg, 1972; Williams & Long, 1991) and fear of success (Burka & Yuen, 1983). An aversion to the tasks needing completion and an inability to persevere when faced with difficulty are also problems for many procrastinators (Ferrari, Parker, & Ware, 1992; Lay, 1992; Rothblum, Solomon, & Murakami, 1986; Solomon & Rothblum, 1984). Chronic procrastination has been linked to various types of anxiety, including test anxiety, social anxiety, and self- consciousness (Ferrari, 1991a; Lay, 1994; Milgram, Dangour, & Raviv, 1992; Milgram, Gehrman, & Keinan, 1992) and feelings of dejection (Lay, 1994). Some people use procrastination to protect their self-esteem: they didn't have enough time to do a good job (Ferrari, 1991b; Lay 1990).

Procrastination Can Be a Good Idea

Sometimes there are very good reasons for procrastinating. The task might be something you don't really need to do: a low-priority item. Cross it off your list! Sometimes you simply need more information before you begin. Getting that information becomes a lead-in to the project. For example, difficulty starting a lab report may be overcome by getting help from the professor or another student in the class.

    Sometimes the project doesn't "feel right." You may have doubts about the approach you are considering; you're afraid the project is doomed to failure, that it will be a waste of time. Group projects are especially vulnerable. You may be procrastinating because a project needs more shaping and research before you begin on your part of the task. If your committee has decided to design a campus newletter of some sort and you fear it is a half-baked idea, take your concerns back to the committee. Why waste time writing a column for a newsletter that will never be printed? Your procrastination may have a serious, worthwhile message. Listen to it (Lakein, 1973).

Listen to Your Self - Talk and Question Irrational Beliefs

When you are feeling stressed, listening to the conversations you have with yourself inside your head can provide insight. If you listen carefully, you may catch words or phrases like "I'll never be able to do this," "That teacher is a jerk," or "Writing that paper will be too much work." Sometimes this internal dialogue will reveal your reasons for procrastinating.

    Chronic procrastination often stems from irrational beliefs that you hold about yourself and the world and the way things ought to be (Ellis & Knaus, 1977; Schafer, 1987). The belief that one must do everything perfectly is an irrational belief, irrational because achieving perfection is not possible. This belief contributes to perfectionism, the need to do everything perfectly. Research supports the link between perfectionism and procrastination (Flett, Blankstein, Hewitt, & Koledin, 1992). Perfectionists have several stressful traits. They tend (1) to have unrealistically high personal standards, (2) to perceive their parents to have very high expectations of them and to be very critical of them, and (3) to doubt the quality of their own achievements (Frost, Marten, Lahart, & Rosenblate, 1990; Flett et al., 1992).

    Another irrational belief is that one must continually strive to win everyone's love and approval. Obviously this is an impossibility, but it can be a driving force in many of our lives nonetheless. It's easy to see that people can have difficulty studying for an exam if they feel they must do everything perfectly to make everyone like them or life will be horrible! Beliefs like these contribute to low self-esteem and create feelings of anxiety, depression, and hopelessness. How can you possibly be productive when you feel this way?

    Two other common causes of procrastination that stem from irrational beliefs are low- frustration tolerance and hostility (Ellis & Knaus, 1977). Low-frustration tolerance grows out of a belief that one cannot deal with anything boring or difficult. Take studying for example. Studying can be boring and difficult. It takes time and keeps you from doing things you might rather do. Most students, however, have accepted the value of delayed gratification. They believe a little time and effort today will bring future rewards. They would respond, "So studying is not always great, but there are some advantages. Sometimes I learn interesting things, and I really want to pass this course and get my degree. If I don't study I will do poorly on the exam, have to take the course again, and waste the time and money I've already put into the course this semester." The disadvantages of not studying outweigh the disadvantages of studying. But the serious procrastinator with a low-frustration tolerance has a different train of thought. "Studying is boring and difficult. I can't deal with boring and difficult tasks. Therefore I can't stand studying. Things I can't stand should not exist. I shouldn't have to study. I just can't bear to sit down and memorize this stuff. Professors are mean and horrible to require studying. I'll show them-I'm not about to waste my time studying for their stupid exams!"

    Where does a low-frustration tolerance come from? Some writers have argued that it is supported by our culture and that it goes along with addiction (Ellis & Knaus, 1977; Peele & Brodsky, 1975). The underlying belief is that life should be fair, things should come easily, and there should be a quick fix for any problem that might crop up. Life might be like that in stories, television, and movies. Advertisements advise us to buy a product to solve a problem: the right cigarette will bring you romance, the right soft drink will make you the life of the party. Trouble sleeping? Feeling anxious? Need more energy? Take a pill. A quick solution is more desirable than confronting the issues causing insomnia, anxiety, or lethargy. In real life, difficulties and tragedies arise. Everyone experiences painful emotions from time to time. Stress is a part of life. You must learn to cope effectively with challenges; you must not run away from difficult issues but grow through them-behavior that reduces stress in the long run.

    Hostility often goes with low-frustration tolerance (Ellis & Knaus, 1977). Irrational beliefs underlying hostility include the idea that "Other people must treat me nicely and do what I want." People who don't live up to your expectations are evil, horrible, and deserve to be punished. Consider students who procrastinate because they really do not want to be in school. Their thinking might go something like this. "I shouldn't waste my time studying for this stupid exam. I don't even want to be in this class, or even this school. I hate this place. Why did my parents make me come here? Good parents don't make their kids do stuff they don't want to do. Why did I end up with such horrible parents? I don't deserve it. Why should they make me study for this exam? I'll show them who's in charge!" Procrastination accompanied by hostility is a form of nonassertive behavior, in which the real issue (in this case, conflict with parents over education) is not addressed, but the procrastinator acts out against the problematic people by procrastinating. This "communication method," if you can call it that, is ineffective and damaging-most of all to the procrastinators themselves. We talk more about effective communication skills in the next chapter, and about irrational beliefs in Chapter 12.

Confront Procrastination

Once you have explored your reasons for procrastinating, you will need to confront your behavior. Sometimes changing your behavior means changing your thoughts and feelings as well. Get to the source of your tendency to procrastinate and cope with the problem. If irrational beliefs and negative self-talk are problems, replace them with realistic self-statements. Instead of perfectionism, tell yourself "I will do my best with the time I have; that's all anyone can do." Instead of "I can't do this," try "Many other people probably find this difficult, too. I'll keep working on it and get help if I need it." Instead of blaming others for your frustration, accept the reality that challenges are a fact of life. It may seem at times that others are to blame, but the blaming process is futile and gets you nothing but anger. Acknowledge the situation and try to solve the problem.

    Sometimes you can effectively confront procrastination by analyzing your choices. When you convince yourself that the future difficulties that will result from your procrastination will be worse than completing the job at hand, you may become motivated to stop putting it off (Brown, 1991; Lay & Burns, 1991; Milgram, Gehrman, & Keinan, 1992). Which is easier: taking the car in for routine service or locating and paying for emergency repairs when the car breaks down in a strange town? Looking for an interesting summer internship now or enduring a convenient but boring job you grabbed in June?

Break the Procrastination Habit

People with a mild or occasional procrastination habit have found many behavioral techniques helpful in reinforcing their decisions to not procrastinate. These include the following (Lakein, 1973):

1. Block off escape routes. Close your door, turn off the telephone, tell your friends you won't be available for that high-priority time period. Make your workstation work so you don't need to get up to get more paper or the books you need or to spend the first hour clearing a spot to work. Become aware of the distractions you use to avoid working: getting a snack, checking your mail six times a' day, or walking down the hall to talk to friends.

2. Break projects down into manageable chunks. Start with a five-minute task. Maybe you can't face writing a paper, but you wouldn't mind skimming the text for topic ideas. Finding a job feels overwhelming, but you can pick up the telephone and make an appointment to speak to a career counselor. Warning: five-minute tasks can help get you started on a difficult project but will rarely be all you need to complete it. Eventually you will need to schedule some high- concentration productive time.

3. Reward yourself for completing tasks. Let yourself call a friend once you have selected three possible paper topics. Go out for ice cream after the essay is written.

4. Get help. If you are stuck, get help from campus resources: your professor, other students, tutors, advisers, and counselors.

1. A schedule helps you accomplish the action steps that move you toward your important goals. To relieve rather than create stress, a schedule must be realistic, include activities that move you toward your important goals, and fit your lifestyle. 

2. Internal prime time refers to your personal energy rhythms. External prime time refers to the rhythms (and constraints) of the rest of the world. You use your time more effectively when you work with these rhythms and around the constraints.

3. Making a semester plan can help you distribute your work more evenly throughout the semester.

4. You use your time better when you focus completely on what you are doing; concentrate on one thing at a time; address priorities first; say no to unimportant tasks; avoid perfectionism; schedule time for a healthful lifestyle; take breaks to relax and refocus; and use small chunks of time for routine tasks. Developing self-discipline to stay focused on your priorities is essential for sticking to your time management action plans.

5. Common obstacles to organization include habit, resistance to structure, and procrastination.

6. Small changes in your level of organization at home and at school can reduce the daily hassles resulting from misplacing things, forgetting assignments, having no clean socks, and so forth. An organized study environment can help you accomplish more in less time.

7. Study skill improvement helps reduce stress for many students. Creating productive work and study habits helps you concentrate and improve the quality of your work.

8. While almost everyone procrastinates on certain tasks, chronic procrastination can stem from deep personal problems and create a great deal of stress. Chronic procrastinators usually need to work with a professional to uncover their reasons for procrastinating and overcome this behavioral pattern.

9. Chronic procrastination often stems from irrational beliefs that result in perfectionism, a low tolerance for frustration, and frequently expressed hostility.

REFERENCES

Beery, RG. Fear of failure in the student experience. Personnel and Guidance Journal 54:190-203,1975.

Britton, BK, and A Tesser. Effects of time-management practices on college grades. Journal of Educational Psychology 83: 405-410, 199 1.

Brown, RT. Helping students confront and deal with stress and procrastination. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy 6: 87-102, 1991.

Bukowski, C. The shoelace. Bukowski Reads His Poetry, Takoma Records, Santa Monica, CA, 1980.

Burka, JB, and LM Yuen. Procrastination: Why You Do It, What to Do about It. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1983.

Burns, DD. The perfectionist's script for self-defeat. Psychology Today 14: 34-52, 1980.

Cone, AL, and SK Owens. Academic and locus of control enhancement in a freshman study skills and college adjustment course. Psychological Reports 68: 1211-1217, 199 1.

DeLongis, A, S Folkman, and RS Lazarus. The impact of daily stress on health and mood: Psychological and social resources as mediators. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 54: 486-495, 1988.

Ellis, A, and 1AJ Knaus. Overcoming Procrastination. New York: Signet, New American Library, 1977.

Ferrari, JR. Compulsive procrastination: Some self-reported characteristics. Psychological Reports 68: 455-458, 1991a.

Ferrari, JR. Self-handicapping by procrastinators: Protecting self-esteem, social-esteem, or both? Journal off Research in Personality 25: 245-261, 1991b.

Ferrari, JR, JT Parker, and CB Ware. Academic procrastination: Personality correlates with Myers- Briggs Types, self-efficacy, and academic locus of control. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 7: 495-502, 1992.

Flett, GL, KR Blankstein, PL Hewitt, and S Koledin. Components of perfectionism and procrastination in college students. Social Behavior and Personality 20: 85-94, 1992.

Frost, RO, P Marten, C Lahart, and R Rosenblate. The dimensions of perfectionism. Cognitive Therapy and Research 14: 449-468, 1990.

Girdano, DA, GS Everly, and DE Dusek. Controlling Stress and Tension: A Holistic Approach. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1993.

Griggs, SA. Counseling students toward effective study skills using their learning style strengths. Journal of Reading, Writing, and Learning Disabilities, International 6: 281-296, 1990.

Henry, SA, and RG Swartz. Use of accelerated learning techniques in education. International Brain Dominance Review 8: 6-12, 1992.

Holmes, TH, and RH Rahe. The social readjustment rating scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 4: 189-194, 1967.

Kanner, AD, JC Coyne, C Schaefer, and RS Lazarus. Comparison of two modes of stress measurement: Daily hassles and uplifts versus major life events. Journal of Behavioral Medicine 4:1-39,1981.

Kanner, AD, SS Feldman, DA Weinberger, and ME Ford. Uplifts, hassles, and adaptational outcomes in early adolescents. A Monat and RS Lazarus (eds). Stress and Coping: An Anthology. New York: Columbia University Press, 199 1.

Lakein, A. How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life. New York: Signet Books, New American Library, 1973.

Lay, CH. Working to schedule on personal projects. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 5:91- 103,1990.

Lay, CH. Trait procrastination and the perception of person-task characteristics. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 7: 483-494, 1992.

Lay, CH, and P Burns. Intentions and behavior in studying for an examination: The role of trait procrastination and its interaction with optimism. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 6: 605- 617, 1991.

Lay, CH. Trait procrastination and affective experiences: Describing past study behavior and its relation to agitation and dejection. Motivation and Emotion 18: 269-284, 1994.

Longman, DG, and RH Atkinson. College Learning and Study Skills. St Paul, MN: West Publishing, 1988.

Macan, TH, C Shahani, RL Dipboye, and AP Phillips. College students' time management: Correlationships with academic performance and stress. Journal of Educational Psychology 82:760- 768,1990.

Mackenzie, RA. The Time Trap. New York: AMACOM, 1972.

Milgram, NA, W Dangour, and A Raviv. Situational and personal determinants of academic procrastination. Journal of General Psychology 119: 123-133, 1992.

Milgram, NA, T Gehrman, and G Keinan. Procrastination and emotional upset: A typological model. Personality and Individual Differences 13: 1307-1313, 1992.

Peele, S, with A Brodsky. Love and Addiction. New York: Signet, New American Library, 1975.

Richards, JH. Time management-A review. Work and Stress 1: 73-78, 1987.

Rothblum, ED, LJ Solomon, and J Murakami. Affective, cognitive, and behavioral differences between high and low procrastinators. Journal of Counseling Psychology 33: 387-394,1986.

Schafer, W. Stress Management for Wellness. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1987.

Schouwenburg, HC. Procrastinators and fear of failure: An exploration of reasons for procrastination. European Journal of Personality 6: 225-236, 1992.

Simons, DJ, and KM Galotti. Everyday planning: An analysis of daily time management. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society 30: 61-64, 1992.

Solomon, LJ, and ED Rothblum. Academic procrastination: Frequency and cognitive-behavioral correlates. Journal of Counseling Psychology 31: 503-509, 1984.

Sommer, WG. Procrastination and cramming: How adept students ace the system. Journal of American College Health 39: 5-10, 1990.

Turner, GY. College students' self-awareness of study behaviors. College Student Journal 26: 129- 134,1992.

Williams, RL, and JD Long. Manage Your Life. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1991.