Select from the following:
Chapter 16: Time Management
Chapter 17: Procrastination
Chapter 18: Academic Motivation
The concept of time has long intrigued poets, philosophers, and scientists alike. “Time is a measure of motion” and all change and motion occur “in time,” Aristotle claimed. For centuries thereafter, classical physics likened time to a container or receptacle in which change and motion occurred (Abel, 1976).
A fifteenth century scientist, Nicolas of Cusa, was one of the first to voice what would later become the mainstay of modern scientific thought when he proposed that space and time are creations of the human mind (Jeans, 1981). The notion that we are the measurers of time and that we give time its meaning has become one of the most discussed topics of modern day philosophy and science.
So, too, in literature, time and its passage are often presented as creations of human choice and action. With the exception perhaps of love and death, few topics have sparked the poetic imagination more than the illusive nature of time. In Shakespeare’s sonnet sequence, a few lines of which are cited in the preamble to this chapter, the first grouping of poems allude to time repeatedly.
As literary convention would have it, time is personified as the great enemy against which we have no defense. Youth and beauty are forewarned to guard against the future so as not to feel too harshly the cut of time’s sharp scythe.
Later in the sonnet sequence, a shift in emphasis occurs as the poet-speaker begins to explore ways to conquer the “injurious hand” of time. A protective shield is finally raised as the Bard’s own poetry is elevated to immortal words that cannot be
silenced by time’s passage.
Shakespeare would not have used the term “time management,” but he undoubtedly understood well that looking back at time wasted is painful. Perhaps what inspired him to write the first of his 154 sonnets was the belief that the words of fine poetry would outlive those of the actor.
In a very real sense, time management involves halting the “injurious hand” of time long enough to reflect on those aspects of life that are most important to us and then focusing our time and energy in those areas. If we think of time management as a way to overcome a sense of time wasted by attaining goals that have value to us, managing time suddenly loses any mechanical connotation we might at first be tempted to associate with it.
Yet, the most important outcome of good time management is doing the things that we judge to be of value. Time schedules are meaningful only insofar as they enable us to structure our activities so that our values and goals are realized.
To manage time well is to follow a course of action that is guided by decisions in keeping with preestablished priorities. In other words, time management is a continuous series of decisions or choices based on priorities that we feel good about and act upon in order to reach both our immediate and more distant objectives. Therefore, time management requires an assessment of how affect, behavior, and cognition contribute to and interfere with reaching our goals.
Some feelings, behaviors, and thoughts help us use time effectively; others can sway us from our goals. Managing time also contributes to the development of new feelings, behaviors, and thoughts.
People who manage their time well feel, behave, and think differently than those who manage their time poorly. They view (C) time as something they can control and use to their advantage. They feel less anxiety and stress (A) about deadlines because they generally complete tasks on time. They engage in pleasurable activities more frequently (B) because they refrain from wasting a lot of time, and tend to do things they enjoy. They also think more positively about themselves (C) because their goals are being achieved on a regular basis.
Later on, we may become angry or upset (A) at ourselves because now we have to rush to complete the assignment on time. Our annoyance might even be compounded by the anxiety (A) that comes with the realization that our grade will suffer.
Unless we understand the cause of our change in mood, we may repeat the same scenario. In this instance, positive affect (excitement) contributed to the formulation of a study schedule, but the lack of positive affect (listlessness) was a deterrent to completing the assignment on time. Then, negative affect (anger and anxiety) served to increase the amount of time already wasted.
Such strong negative feelings are time wasters. Negative sensations such as fatigue and tension can also interfere with the best of intentions to follow a schedule. A lack of positive affect toward a particular activity makes managing time difficult.
Following a schedule requires effort, and much of this effort centers around managing feelings. So, to manage time, we first identify the feelings deterring us from our goals. We then learn how to change them so affect works for rather than against us.
Watching television, taking naps, gazing out the window, and talking on the telephone are common time wasters, unless of course these behaviors relate to our goals. As we get good at time management, we may actually begin to identify some time savers and gain additional time for other activities.
By using a daily checklist, we can get tasks done more quickly. Doing two things at once can also be a tremendous time saver. For example, listening to lecture tapes while driving to work (B) makes driving time more productive. Similarly, studying (B) with others combines time with friends and study time, making the hours spent studying more fun.
While it may seem obvious that managing time involves managing behaviors, the extent to which these changes touch every aspect of our lives can come as a surprise. Using time effectively impacts our relationships as well as our professional and academic careers.
When prepared to do a particular task, we may find it difficult to say “no” to competing demands. Saying “no” to requests of friends and family members or asking people to leave us alone is very difficult for unassertive people.
Thus, devoting time to goal-related activities requires strengthening skills in other areas such as self-esteem, motivation, and assertiveness because these skills will enable us to do what our time schedule calls for at a particular time.
Next, we establish our goals (what we want to achieve). Then, we can decide how much time to allocate to goal-related activities (what we want to do). Because it is not easy to clarify values or make goals explicit, many people skip these steps and prematurely allocate time to activities without connecting them to their values and goals. The lack of any connection between values and scheduled activities makes the task of following a schedule unlikely. For this reason, we will discuss the structuring of a time schedule after focusing on values clarification and goal setting.
Procrastination is not a modern pastime. For centuries, it has been perceived as “the thief of time.” In fact, some rather unusual images of procrastination have been put forth.
A nineteenth century caricature of a procrastinator personified procrastination as a fool with a parrot sitting on his head and a magpie on each hand, crying “cras, cras, cras.”
The caricature makes little sense to us today, unless we translate the bird calls. “Cras” means “tomorrow” in Latin and is the root of the word “procrastination,” which means “to put forward until tomorrow.”
Putting off until a tomorrow that never comes is a phenomenon that is more or less common to us all. Many students complain that procrastination is a major difficulty in their personal and academic lives. It is usually seen as a motivation problem because students say they cannot get themselves to move in the direction they would like. The following statements are somewhat typical:
I put off starting my term paper until a week before it was due, and then had to rush like crazy to get it done. I just wasn’t motivated to get started earlier.
I know I should clean the room now before my roommate gets on my case, but I don’t feel like it. Knowing me, I’ll wait until she starts yelling, and then I’ll do it.
It would be smart to put my snow tires on before it snows, but right now I’d rather watch TV. Maybe it won’t snow this winter!
Students contend that they would be less “stressed out” and more productive if they could just stop procrastinating.
This chapter will show how the ABCs, motivation, and methods for change can be applied to the practical problem of procrastination, which will also help in time management. Concepts and methods we have already covered will be integrated in order to provide a systematic approach for dealing with procrastination.
We will begin with a brief explanation of what procrastination is, discuss how to identify it, and conclude with an exercise that will help in resolving a specific procrastination problem. To get the most benefit from this chapter, focus on a particular procrastination problem to be resolved.
Before determining how procrastination can be managed, we first need to establish what it is. The dictionary offers these definitions:
All of these definitions are somewhat misleading. The third definition comes close to how procrastination works, but it is still not specific enough to be of much use.
To “delay needlessly” must be qualified further, for needless delay only presents a procrastination problem if the delay hurts us in some way. At times it is smart to postpone an action, as for example getting married to someone after the first date.
Procrastination is to delay needlessly something that we believe would be to our benefit. We know when procrastination is presenting a problem by its negative effect on us; we anticipate a procrastination problem by recognizing this effect in advance. For example, if we know that by beginning a research project early in the semester, we are more likely to get the results we want, then a delay of this research signals that we are experiencing a procrastination problem.
Furthermore, if by delaying the paper, we place ourselves under a lot of stress a few days before it is due, this delay is causing us still greater harm emotionally and physically. Unless the stress is managed, it can exacerbate the procrastination problem and set a vicious cycle in motion.
In sum, if we determine that a delay or postponement of some action is creating or will create difficulties for us, then we have a procrastination problem.
Now that we know what procrastination is, we are in a position to determine what it is we procrastinate about.
We obviously do not postpone doing everything. We may procrastinate in our personal but not our professional life, do things for ourselves but not others, start certain activities but not stop others. We need to specify the problem and gain greater understanding of it by identifying the conditions under which procrastination occurs.
Consideration of the 4Ws (who, what, where, and when) discussed in Chapter 10 can assist us with this.
“Seek for truth in the groves of Academe.” We might not be inclined to take the advice of a Roman poet who lived nearly two thousand years ago, but those who have immersed themselves in his poetry come to know and love Horace as a man of good reason with a passion for living and learning from life.
Edith Hamilton (1973), a scholar of ancient Greek and Roman culture, describes him as the kind of person we “wish could have lived forever,” one who had “that most delightful gift of enjoying keenly all life’s simplest pleasures” (p. 123). She calls it wisdom. We can call it motivation.
To borrow Gibran’s metaphor, Horace’s “reason and passion” were the “rudder and sails” that led him to the “groves of academe.” While our discussion of motivation in Chapters 7 and 8 was much less poetic, this metaphor reflects the principles of motivation laid out in that chapter and the spirit of the pages that conclude this text.
ABC elements that are the reason (C) and passion (A) moving us toward any goal were previously discussed, but no systematic application was made to academic motivation — a topic of considerable importance to college students. This chapter provides the application.
If we wish to manage this motivation systematically, we must draw on all that we have already learned about the ABCs of self-management.
A review of the research literature on academic motivation uncovers many assessment methods and change techniques that can help us with our motivational problems. Unfortunately, they are not presented within the context of a self-management model, nor are these methods and techniques directly connected to a specific aspect of a particular motivational problem.
In this chapter we attempt to address these deficiencies by situating academic motivation within the context of motivation in general and the ABC self-management model. Techniques previously discussed are applied directly to the specific motivational problem that they are intended to help us overcome.
All of this should become clear as the ABC model, the principles of motivation, the problems of academic motivation, the assessment methods, and the techniques for change are logically related to each other throughout this chapter.
In addition to providing a greater understanding of academic motivation, the material presented here will enable each of us to:
A review of Chapters 7 and 8 is strongly recommended before reading this chapter. It will help in determining whether your academic motivation is primarily positive or negative and in identifying the ABC components to improve or sustain your motivation.
With respect to cognition, we identify the benefits and costs of trying to achieve our academic goals. We then identify the personal skills that will enable us to reach them.
With respect to affect, we identify the emotions and sensations we experience in college that keep us motivated academically.
With respect to behavior, we identify the things we do and say that contribute to these thoughts and feelings as well as to attaining our academic goals.
Because cognition and affect are the key elements in motivation, it is helpful to focus on them first before addressing specific behaviors.
After reading this chapter, you can gather the personal information needed to understand the ABC components of your academic motivation by doing the concluding exercises.
If your motivation for academics is primarily positive, you should complete Exercise 18.1 and then complete Exercises18.3 and 18.4. If it is primarily negative, complete Exercise 18.2 before doing the other two exercises. If unsure whether you are more positively or negatively motivated, doing both Exercises 18.1 and 18.2 will help clarify the matter.
From years of experience in school, you may already know which ABC component is the “ignition key” that starts your motivation for academics. You may know that you are only motivated to learn when you perceive a meaningful payoff that you are confident you can obtain at minimal cost. In this case, cognition is the trigger.
Or, you may only be motivated when you are “revved up” or very relaxed, after which you focus on a specific academic objective. In this case, affect is the trigger.
Or, you may only be motivated when you are actively engaged in doing something, which then leads you to think and feel positively or negatively about some school-related objective. In this case, behavior is the trigger.
If you do not know the firing order of your academic motivation, you can determine it by doing Exercise 18.3 at the end of this chapter.
