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Hands on Help

If you would like to schedule a one-on-one time management/academic success strategy session with a SOAR Academic Success Strategist, you can do so by emailing SOAR@dickinson.edu and providing at least three options of when you would be available for a one-hour meeting.You can also get help with writing support from the Writing Center, math-related support from the Quantitative Reasoning Center, and request peer tutoring or advising support from Advising, Internship, and Career Center.

Popular Time Management Resources

• Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Weekly Planner - use to plan your study times (an Excel version of the Class Scheduling Worksheet)
• How to use the Weekly Planner
• Semester Calendars
  • Spring 2025 Semester Calendar  (2 pages) (Word document download)
  • Spring 2025 Semester Calendar (1 page) (Word document download)

• Time Management Words of Wisdom
• 5 Tips for ADDers to Stop Procrastinating
• Tips for Being On Time and Organized
• Tips to Stop Procrastinating and Just Do It!

Take it from the Pros

Take about 10 minutes and watch this really useful and encouraging video with . You'll be glad you did. 

Apps to Help You... 

(Click to learn more!)

OTHER TIPS AND SUPPORT TO GUIDE YOU!

USE A RELIABLE CALENDAR OR PLANNER

Whether physical or digital, using planning tools to plan your days and weeks is critical to a successful semester. There are a number of tools on the Time Management page (including apps found under "Plan your time") that can help you in managing your time effectively. You can also use Apple's iCal, a Google Calendar, or -- very conveniently -- the calendar that's built into Outlook through Office 365 (when you're in your email, just click the icon of the calendar to switch to it). All of these digital calendars enable you to enter and keep track of any work that needs to be completed, so that you can then create daily task lists of what you need to accomplish each time.

After entering your scheduled classes, designate times when you'll work on each class, as well as other commitments and times to exercise and de-stress. You can always revise your plans, but better to create a daily study schedule than to be unsure of "what to do when" or "when to work on what." It's a good idea to allocate time every Saturday or Sunday to enter what, specifically, you'll need to do that week (e.g. "write introduction to reflections paper," read pages 50-75 of x," review notes to prepare for Friday's ___ exam," etc.)

It's also important to use your class syllabi to enter all of your test dates, presentations, and assignment due dates. From there you can create reminders to make sure that no test or due date "creeps up on you." 

Taking the time up front to plan how you'll spend your time each day and week will best enable you to stay on top of everything -- and have more time for your non-academic life!

REDUCE DISTRACTIONS

Trouble concentrating on what you're reading?
Use the free text-to-speech software program "Sensus Access." It automates the conversion of documents into a range of alternate formats including digital Braille, DAISY structured audio books, e-books and BeeLine Reader. It also enables you to save digital texts to a read-aloud MP3 file that you can listen to while you're out getting some exercise. 

Struggling to focus long enough to write a paper?
If you use the free app , as explained in this , you can enter a set amount of time or number of words that you need to write and it won't let you access anything else on your computer until you've accomplished that. (There's also a 20% student discount for the paid version.)

Tendency to stray to YouTube 
Ever find yourself sucked into social media or a rabbit hole of videos when you've got work you should be doing? Help is here! Find some great apps on this "Distraction Blockers" page that will enable you to better focus on your work so you can get it done sooner...and enjoy those diversions as a reward. 

DEVELOP A ROUTINE

While developing your calendar or planner, be sure to plan in routine activities to maintain a consistent schedule day to day. Go to sleep and wake up at consistent times, schedule specific times for different activities (including studying, exercise, and "just for me" time), and get dressed in the morning as if you are going to class normally. One of the best ways to maximize your "alert hours" would be to treat your academic day like a (roughly) 9-5 job where you devote yourself to your academics and then reward yourself with the freedom to do your own thing in the evenings. 

FIND QUIET STUDY SPACES OUTSIDE OF YOUR BEDROOM

If you study in your room, you won't have a separate space to go when you've finished studying. It's helpful to leave your room and go to a space where you won't be tempted by the distractions in your room (or outside your door). Your brain will associate your room as the place where you sleep, socialize, play games, so keep it that way and do your studying in a quiet room in the library or a classroom that no one else is using.

TAKE ONE THING AT A TIME

Don’t get trapped in one task for too long. Finish today’s reading assignment, stand up, get a good stretch, then move on to the next thing waiting on your to-do list. Save checking Instagram and those comedy videos until an evening reward for when your "day of work" is done. 

SCHEDULE BREAKS

It's important to plan breaks to exercise, eat, stretch, and even to engage in activities in which you aren’t looking at a screen. Schedule breaks as you would a meeting or class, and maybe set an alarm on your phone to remind you to take them. Maybe consider relocating to a different room for your next academic task. A change of scenery is good for the brain and the body. 

ENGAGE

Actively participate in online forums. Not only is this an opportunity to interact with your peers (which is important these days!), participating in a class’s online forum will help you better understand the course material – just like actively participating in a classroom environment. It also goes a long way in letting the professor know you are actively engaged in the course. Take time to collaborate with your professor and classmates. It may feel as though you’re on your own, but you’re not! Post comments. Ask questions. Unclear about an assignment or a concept you’re learning? Reach out to the professor! Those virtual office hours are there for you! 

ENSURE YOU’VE DOWNLOADED FREE COMPUTER RESOURCES

If you haven't already downloaded Office365 to all your devices, now's the time! In addition to getting Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for free, there are many other cool apps that come with it, like Planner, which everyone on the SOAR Team uses to create checklists of everything that needs to get done. It will also be helpful to install  for viewing PDFs. Finally, this  provides links to an array of free and discounted software available to all Dickinsonians, as well as a schedule of upcoming software tutorial sessions.

ORGANIZE YOUR LIFE WITH ONE NOTE

With so much to now manage online, why not use a free app that helps you organize it all? OneNote lets you save all your notes (typed or handwritten) -- plus drawings, web articles, and even class videos – in digital notebooks that you can access from any device. It can not only type up what you say, it can read anything typed or uploaded there! Here is a OneNote Reveal, previewing many of its great features. (See if you can spot Fido’s favorite!) And here is a . To get started, just go to: Gateway --> Office365 --> All apps --> OneNote.

MAXIMIZE YOUR ACADEMIC RESOURCES

Here are 10 excellent suggestions for how to do so as offered by the . (Click outside the pop-up window and scroll down to see the article "Are Your Classes Online? Set Yourself Up For Success For Virtual Learning!")

If you've found a tool or an app that you think we should pass on, let us know by emailing SOAR@dickinson.edu. 

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