Writing Workshop: Responsibilities

Figure 1. A planner is a convenient place to store information related to your schedule and regular responsibilities.

To start, open The Working Document and begin in the section titled, “Responsibilities.” Make a list of all your regular responsibilities and commitments this week (for example, class time, commuting time, work, etc.). These are the things that take up your time. No need to reveal everything about your personal life; keep it clear enough that it makes sense to you without getting too much into your private business. Your list may look something like this:

• Class
• Work
• Exercise/gym time
• Volunteer
• Commuting
• Church
• Counseling
• Intramural volleyball
• A&P study group
• Volleyball game
• Babysit
• Birthday party
• Spend time with significant other
• Work on transfer application

Writing Workshop: Fixed Time

Now that you’ve reviewed the concept of fixed time, go back to your list of responsibilities on The Working Document, and assess which ones are fixed and which can be scheduled during free time. You might want to note responsibilities or activities that are not altogether fixed but need to be done during specific periods of time. Let’s mark these as F (fixed) or SF (somewhat fixed), or O (open).

• Class – F
• Work – F
• Exercise/gym time – O
• Swim – SF
• Volunteer – O
• Commuting – SF
• Tutoring – SF
• Church – F
• Counseling – F
• Intramural volleyball – F
• A&P study group – SF
• Volleyball game – F
• Babysit – SF
• Birthday party – SF
• Spend time with friends – O
• Work on transfer application – O

Writing Workshop:  Calendar

Now, let’s fill out a grid with all of your fixed activities on The Working Document. The grid below begins at 7 and ends at midnight because sleeping is super important for students (and ideally you can get somewhere between 7 and 9 hours), but if you need to adjust your grid, feel free to do so.

Okay, so you’ve put in all your fixed time responsibilities. Now, add in your somewhat fixed time responsibilities and your open time responsibilities. For example, if you plan to swim at the university pool three times a week, but it’s only open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, from 2-5, you will need to swim during those times.  Make a plan for when you will put in things (like swimming) that are really important to you and can only be put into your schedule at certain times.

See, for example, a student who wants to swim at the university pool which is only open on weekdays from 10-12 and 4-7. This student plans to swim twice a week, and we’ve put that into the schedule. The student also plans to try to attend tutoring during the break between classes.

It may end up looking something like this:

Writing Workshop: Reflection

What did you learn from this scheduling exercise? How useful was it? What did you learn about the amount of free time you have? What did you learn about how difficult it will be for you to find all the time you need to study while meeting all your other responsibilities? Were there any small activities you could get done during any waiting time that you have? Do you have enough time in your schedule for freetime? What strategies help you to feel most successful with your time management?

Write a few sentences of reflection on The Working Document.