Learning Guide Unit 7

Overview

Unit 7: Stress Management and Holistic Wellness

Topics

Personal time management methods

Goal-setting

Stress management techniques

Learning Objectives

By the end of this Unit, you will be able to:

Describe your time use and prioritization.

Apply methods for personal time management to become more efficient and self-motivated.

Describe previous experiences with setting goals.

List realistic and achievable goals.

Apply stress management strategies to effectively manage personal stress.

Tasks

Read the Learning Guide and the Reading Assignment

Participate in the Discussion Assignment (post, comment, and rate in the Discussion Forum)

Complete an entry in the Learning Journal

Time Management and Stress

Introduction

Let's begin!

Be sure to go through the entire Learning Guide.

Businesswoman juggling many objects and feeling overwhelmed

Last week, we talked about note-taking and study skills. This week, we’re going to look at another
important set of academic skills: time and stress management.
It’s no secret that balancing everything can be a tough job. As a student, your life is full of competing
priorities, multiple demands on your time, and plenty of stress. On top of school, you have to
balance work, family, and find time for your hobbies. What’s the secret to managing everything -
how do you cope when you have so many different things to do?

READ: College Success Chapter 2: Staying Motivated, Organized, and on Track. You have already read
this in Unit 3. Pay special attention to section 2.1, Setting and Reaching Goals

Licenses and Attributions

Santa Maria, G. (n.d.). Working Woman Busy [Online image]. Thrive Global.
https://thriveglobal.com/stories/what-if-i-don-t-even-know-what-i-want/

Time Management and Stress

Time Management Factors

student at a desk writing notes on paper with laptop open

For every hour in the classroom, college students should spend, on average, about two hours on that
class, counting reading, studying, writing papers, and so on. If you’re a full-time student with fifteen
hours a week in class, then you need another thirty hours for rest of your academic work. That forty-
five hours is about the same as a typical full-time job. If you work part time, time management skills
are even more essential. These skills are still more important for part-time college students who
work full time and commute or have a family. To succeed in college, virtually everyone has to
develop effective strategies for dealing with time.

Tips for Success

Time management for successful college studying involves these factors:

Determining how much time you need to spend studying

Knowing how much time you actually have for studying and increasing that time if needed
Being aware of the times of day you are at your best and most focused

Using effective long- and short-term study strategies

Scheduling study activities in realistic segments

Using a system to plan ahead and set priorities

Staying motivated to follow your plan and avoid procrastination

Time Management and Stress

Time Management

As you may have noticed, the secret to success, in school, and after your graduate, is excellent time
management. Especially in online classes, you need to be both organized and self-motivated to
complete your work on time. Everyone has the same number of hours in a day - you cannot add
more time to your day. You can, however, choose to make more effective use of your time.

Watch: How to Gain Control of Your Free Time

Watch: Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator

Tim Urban knows that procrastination doesn't make sense, but he's never been able to shake his
habit of waiting until the last minute to get things done. In this hilarious and insightful talk, Urban
takes us on a journey through YouTube binges, Wikipedia rabbit holes and bouts of staring out the
window -- and encourages us to think harder about what we're really procrastinating on, before we
run out of time.

Did you know?

Maintaining strong time management and organizational skills can prevent you from becoming
overwhelmed and stressed when managing multiple priorities. When we feel overwhelmed, many of
us have the tendency to procrastinate. This causes us to fall further behind, thus resulting in an even
greater accumulation of stress. As such, managing our time better helps manage stress levels.

Time Management and Stress

Time Management Strategies

Whenever possible, try to apply time management strategies to help you prioritize your work and
stay on schedule.
Watch: Time Management

Knowledge Check

Read each question below and then select the response to reveal the answers. Each response will
provide tips to help support your time management strategies.

1. When you try to manage your time, what’s your biggest issue?

I procrastinate.

Procrastination is something that we all do, but focusing on the important tasks you need to get
done each day, and then checking them off one-by-one is a good way to combat procrastination.
Think about what really needs to get done in a given day or week (maximum 7 tasks for the day) and
then estimate how long each task will take, then divide your day into manageable chunks.

Always over-estimate rather than underestimate the time required and consider your energy cycle
to determine when you will be the most productive . But remember, sticking to your plan is as
important as making the plan itself. Also, make sure to also keep a calendar of all of the assignments
you have due and any important events so that you are able to plan your time accordingly. Writing
them on a paper calendar will give you a constant visual reminder, but phone apps like todist are
also effective.

Starting early on things will give you time to work and play hard. For more study tips check out the
Exam Prep Toolkit or try the UBC Assignment Calculator to help you determine how long a given
assignment will take.

I'm too busy

The reality of life is that everyone is busy. What is important is to make the most of your time so that
you are able to get the necessary things done. Scheduling your time is an important part of being
productive. Make sure to keep a calendar of all of the assignments you have due and any important
events so that you are able to plan your time accordingly. Writing them on a paper calendar will give
you a constant visual reminder, but phone apps like todist are also effective.
Keeping a weekly and daily schedule is also important to getting real things accomplished. Think
about what really needs to get done (maximum 7 tasks for the day) and then estimate how long
each task will take, then divide your day into manageable chunks.

Always over-estimate rather than underestimate the time required and consider your energy cycle
to determine when you will be the most productive. But remember, sticking to your plan is as
important as making the plan itself. For more study tips check out the Exam Prep Toolkit or try the
UBC Assignment Calculator to help you determine how long a given assignment will take.

I forget deadlines

Keeping track of deadlines is an integral part of time management. At the beginning of every
semester write down all of the assignments you have due and any important events on a calendar so
that you are able to plan your time accordingly. Writing them on a paper calendar will give you a
constant visual reminder, but phone apps like todist are also effective. Keeping

a weekly and daily schedule is also important to getting real things accomplished. Think about what
really needs to get done (maximum 7 tasks for the day) and then estimate how long each task will
take, then divide your day into manageable chunks.

Always over-estimate rather than underestimate the time required and consider your energy cycle
to determine when you will be the most productive. But remember, sticking to your plan is as
important as making the plan itself. For more study tips check out the Exam Prep Toolkit or try the
UBC Assignment Calculator to help you determine how long a given assignment will take.

2. When you are studying, what do you waste the most time doing?

Using my phone.

Getting rid of distractions is important when studying or working on assignments. It’s best to only
have the things you actually need to complete your assignments when you’re doing school work,
which means putting away your phone or even turning it off all together (your friends will still be
there when you turn it back on). If you waste a lot of time on specific apps try an app blocker.

Surfing the internet.

Getting rid of distractions is important when studying or working on assignments. It’s best to only
have the things you actually need to complete your assignments when you’re doing school work,
which means putting away your computer if you don’t need it, or turning off the wifi if your
assignment doesn’t require online research. If you waste a lot of time on specific apps try an app
blocker.

If you’re not even sure where your time is being wasted, read this article from College Info Geek
which gives you information on various ways to track your productivity.

Socializing

While it is nice to study with friends, sometimes we get the most work done when we do school
work in isolation. Finding a quiet place to study or work will allow you to limit the amount you are
distracted by your friends. If you study in short bursts and take frequent breaks, you can use you
‘break’ time for socializing, while still being productive.

I don't even know.

If you’re not even sure where your time is being wasted, read this article from College Info Geek
which gives you information on various ways to track your productivity.

3. Multi-tasking is the best way to keep on top of all the things you need to get done.

True

Sadly we all like to believe that multi-tasking is the best use of our time, but the fact is that we all do
better work when we work on one thing at a time. When we multi-task we always give one activity
more of our attention despite thinking that we are doing two (or more things) well at once. Doing
just one thing at a time has become increasingly difficult with the connectivity that the internet and
cellphones afford, however staying focused will allow you to use the time you do have more
efficiently, leaving more focused time for having fun.

False

Correct. Unfortunately many of us like to believe that multi-tasking is the best use of our time, but
the fact is that we all do better work when we work on one thing at a time. When we multi-task we
always give one activity more of our attention despite thinking that we are doing two (or more
things) well at once. Doing just one thing at a time has become increasingly difficult with the
connectivity that the internet and cellphones afford, however staying focused will allow you to use
the time you do have more efficiently, leaving more focused time for having fun.

Licenses and Attributions

Chapman Learning Commons: Managing Your Time. License: CC-BY-4.0

Time Management and Stress

Stress Management

Unfortunately, even the best time management skills can’t eliminate all stress. Some stress is
inevitable. We will always worry about doing well on our work and doing well on our studies, and
money is often a source of stress as well. Stress can interfere with our ability to stay happy and
healthy. As such, it is a good idea to learn how to manage our stress levels, so this week we will also
learn some stress management strategies.

READ and TAKE NOTES on the following articles to learn ways to manage your stress:

Stress Management

Stress Management Tips for Students

Watch: All It Takes is 10 Mindful Minutes

Discussion Forum

Stress, both good and bad, is a part of life. In the discussion forum discuss the following:

Why is stress management important? How has stress affected your life?

Identify three stress management techniques you are going to use to decrease your stress levels.
How can you apply these strategies to your life? How will these strategies help you manage your
stress?

Discussion Requirements

Your post should be between 150 and 300 words. Remember to post as early as possible, preferably
by Sunday evening, in order to allow time for you and your classmates to discussion.
Discussion Responses

It is your responsibility to respond to three classmates by providing comments, asking questions, or

having a conversation about their main post. Feedback should be appropriate, meaningful, and
helpful. For instance refer to how your own experience supports/contradicts the opinions developed
by your peers. If you think they are too general or not rooted enough in personal experience, you
may also ask for more detailed examples supporting these opinions. In particular make sure that the
examples provided are properly referenced and that you are able to access them. Overall, your
comments should contribute positively to the conversation by broadening or clarifying it. Feedback
should be at least 3-4 complete sentences (100 words).

Rating Discussions

After posting an appropriate, meaningful, and helpful response to your three classmates, you must
rate their posts on a scale of 0 (unsatisfactory) to 10 (Excellent). The rating scores are anonymous;
therefore, do NOT mention in your remarks the separate rating score you will give the peer. The
instructor is the only person who knows which score matches the comment given to a peer. Some
classmates may worry that some peers will not provide a fair rating, or be unable to provide
accurate corrections for grammar or other errors. It is the instructor’s responsibility to ensure
fairness and accuracy.

10 (A) - Excellent, substantial, relevant, insightful, enriching, and stimulating contribution to the
discussion. Also, uses external resources to support position where required and/or applicable.

8 - 9 (B) - Good, quite substantial and insightful, but missing minor details which would have
otherwise characterized it as an excellent response.

6 - 7 (C) - Satisfactory insight and relevance, but required some more information and effort to have
warranted a better rating.

4 - 5 (D) - Limited insight and relevance of the material; more effort and reflection needed to have
warranted a satisfactory grading.

0 - 3 (F) - Unsatisfactory insight/relevance or failure to answer the question, reflecting a poor or

limited understanding of the subject matter and/or the guidelines of the question.

Feedback and Rating

Here are some questions to consider as we think about the feedback and rating to give our
classmates:
Did the peer respond to everything asked by the assignment prompt?

Was the peer’s overall response organized and logical? Was it easy to follow and smooth?

Was it easy to understand the ideas the student was trying to communicate, or did you have to
make assumptions to make sense out of what the peer wrote?

Did the peer use their own words, or if they borrowed from somewhere else, did they give credit to
the source they used?

Were there consistent errors in grammar and punctuation that made it hard to understand or make
sense out of the writing?

Academic Integrity

If at any time you suspect that a post in this Discussion Forum violates UoPeople's rules regarding
plagiarism and/or any aspect of UoPeople’s Academic Code of Conduct, please notify your instructor
immediately.

NOTE: Your instructor will be reviewing responses, ratings, and comments. Your instructor will adjust
ratings if he/she believes that they do not seem warranted or supportable.

Learning Journal

Reflection Topic: Goal-Setting

Goal-setting is an important strategy to manage your time and stay on track with your education.
Reflect on the importance of goal-setting, and answer the following questions:

Briefly, share a time when you set a goal and did not accomplish it, and then share a time when you
set a goal and successfully achieved it. Why weren’t you successful in your first example? Why were
you successful in your second example?

Why does effective goal-setting help us achieve goals? What are the characteristics of good goals?

Based on your answer to questions 1 and 2, set three goals: one short-term, one mid-term, and one
long-term

Your writing for this week should be between 300 and 500 words.

Learning Journal Rubric

The rubric detailing how you will be graded for this assignment can be found within the unit's
assignment on the main course page.
Reading and Other Resource List

Below is an annotated APA list of all the reading and other resources found within this unit's learning
content.

Chapman Learning Commons. (n.d.) Managing Your Time. University of British Columbia.
https://learningcommons.ubc.ca/student-toolkits/managing-your-time/

Managing Your Time [PDF].

College success. (2015). Minnesota Libraries Publishing. http://open.lib.umn.edu/collegesuccess/ or

download the College Success [PDF].

Read Chapter 2: Staying motivated, organized, and on track.

Malik, S. (2016). Stress management tips for students. PsychCentral.

https://psychcentral.com/blog/stress-management-tips-for-students/

Puddicombe, A. (2012). All it takes is 10 mindful minutes [Video file]. TED.

https://www.ted.com/talks/andy_puddicombe_all_it_takes_is_10_mindful_minutes

All it takes is 10 mindful minutes Transcript [PDF].

Robinson, L., Smith, M., & Segal, R. (2018). Stress management. HelpGuide.org.
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/stress-management.htm

University of the People. (2018). Example study plans [PDF].

Urban, T. (2016, February). Inside the mind of a master procrastinator [Video]. TED, Made available
through Kaltura

Inside the mind of a master procrastinator. Transcript [PDF].

Vanderkam, L. (2016, October). How to gain control of your free time [Video]. TED.
https://www.ted.com/talks/laura_vanderkam_how_to_gain_control_of_your_free_time

How to gain control of your free time Transcript [PDF].