Page 78 - Keys to College Success

There is a saying that goes, “The river needs banks to flow.”
Within those banks—the reasonable limits you set on activities
that tend to eat up time—you can be the thriving, healthy river,
flowing toward the goals that are most important to you. With-
out the banks, and without the limits, you (the river) can spill
out all over, losing the power to head in any single direction.
How can you make reasonable trade-offs that will
empower you and provide balance? Consider the following:
■ Know what distracts you. Be honest with yourself about
what draws your attention and drains your time—chatting
or texting on your cell phone, watching reality TV, visiting
Facebook, reading tweets, and so on.
■ Set boundaries. Determine when, and for how long, you
can perform these activities without jeopardizing your
studies. Then schedule them with built-in boundaries: “I
will spend 10 minutes on Facebook for every 50 minutes
of studying.” “I will choose one TV show per day.” Stick
to your limits—use a cellphone alarm if you need it. You can even set up innovative
browser plug-ins, such as LeechBlock (for Firefox) or StayFocusd (for Google
Chrome), to block certain time wasting sites for specific periods of time.
■ Think before you commit. See “yes” and “no” as equally useful tools. Whatever
you are asked to do—whether social, family-related, in connection with a school
organization, or another activity—consider how the commitment will affect your
schedule now and in the future. If you determine the reward isn’t worth the risk,
say “no” respectfully but firmly.
■ Be realistic about time commitments. Many students who combine work and school
find they have to trim one or the other. Overloaded students often fall behind and
experience high stress levels. Determine what is reasonable for you; you may find
that taking longer to graduate is a viable option if you need to work while in school.
You may also decide that you can handle easing up on work hours in order to spend
more time on schoolwork. Goals, Time, and Stress Management

Be Wary of Multitasking

Many modern college students think of themselves as master multitaskers and deliber-
ately cram ever more activities, communication, and information into their days. How-
ever, multitasking is not without its price. Recent research has shown that the brain is
biologically capable of doing only one thinking task at a time—at best, it can switch
rapidly between tasks. When you think you are doing two tasks at once, you are actu-
ally “switch-tasking,” not multitasking, meaning that you are interrupting the first
activity with the second and then switching back. 8
The time it takes to switch from one thinking activity to another is called switching
time. Switching time increases errors and the amount of time it takes to finish tasks by an
i
average of 50%. This means the more activities you juggle, the more your brain is nterrupted,
the more switching you do, the longer it takes to complete your activities, and the more
mistakes you make. The cost to the quality of your work may not be worth the juggling.
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In the modern world, it is almost impossible not to do several things at once when
managing constant input from texts, calls, emails, tweets, websites, blogs, visual media,
and more. So how can you maintain the type of focus that will save you time, mistakes,
and stress? Know what input leads you to multitask, and control it whenever you have
a job that demands time and focus. Are you working on a big paper? Find a quiet corner
of the library and put your phone on silent. Are you studying for a test by reading online
materials? Use a browser plug-in to prevent yourself from surfing Facebook until after
your study time. Minor risks in the moment will reward you with learning and accom-
plishment (and you will still find time to play).

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