Undergraduate Students’ Current Time Management Trends

People’s lack of interest in the tasks set before them, whether homework, chores, or everyday tasks, leads to procrastination. Since procrastination negatively affecting “over 75% of university students,” this points to “a lack of appropriate self-regulatory skills among students” when it comes to performing tasks that are not immediately gratifying or desirable (Wolters et al., 2017)(Häfner et al., 2014). Time management strategies range from a paper agenda to a Google Keep list, from color coding to no scheduling at all. Everyone discovers a time management method that works for them. Some people time block and others set weekly goals, it all comes down to the individual. Reflecting the multitude of customizable approaches, the literature I reviewed included many forms of time management practices such as goal-directed activities, planning out work days, metacognitive strategies, and breaking down large goals into smaller tasks (Oreopoulos et al., 2022).

Source Articles:

Häfner, A., Oberst, V., & Stock, A. (2014). Avoiding procrastination through time management: An experimental intervention study, Educational Studies, 40:3, 352-360, DOI: 10.1080/03055698.2014.899487

Oreopoulos, P., Patterson, R.W., Petronijevic, U., & Pope, N.G. (2022). Low-touch attempts to improve time management among traditional and online college students. Journal of Human Resources, 57:1, 1-43. https://www.muse.jhu.edu/article/842088.

Wolters, C.A., Won, S. & Hussain, M. (2017). Examining the relations of time management and procrastination within a model of self-regulated learning. Metacognition Learning, 12, 381–399 https://doi-org.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/10.1007/s11409-017-9174-1