FACULTY OF INFORMATION SCIENCES

AND ENGINEERING

TIME MANAGEMENT
(MPU2263U3)

SESSION: JULY 2020

ASSIGNMENT 1

TOPIC: INTRODUCTION TO TIME MANAGEMENT

PREPARED BY:

Name ID Number Programme

Sivabalan Arumugam 012020071889 B.Computer Science

PREPARED FOR:
MADAM NOR KAMALIAH KHAMIS
 TABLE OF CONTENT

Introduction. ................................................................................................................................3

Time management is a life-success skill. ....................................................................................5

University students facing difficulties with time management. .....................................................6

Time management and stress, levels of productivity and procrastination. ...................................8

My common time stealer. ..........................................................................................................11

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................14
 Introduction

Time Management refers to managing time effectively so that the right time is allocated to the
right activity. Effective time management allows individuals to assign specific time slots to
activities as per their importance. Time Management refers to making the best use of time as time
is always limited. It is rightly said, “Time & Tide wait for none”. Time is the most important thing
because time and energy are limited resources. In a nutshell, the fundamental concept of Time
Management is to make an individual understand the value of time for him or her to succeed in
all aspects of life.

Few reasons time management is crucial especially in the service industry. Firstly, we can
accomplish more with less effort. When we learn to take control of our time it will improve our
ability to focus. And with increased focus comes enhanced efficiency, because we don’t lose
momentum.

Moreover, improved decision-making ability. Whether we rely on a time-chunking technique or

discover the power of list-making, we’ll soon find that a nice side benefit of good time management
skills is the ability to make better decisions. When we feel pressed for time and have to make a
decision, we’re more likely to jump to conclusions without fully considering every option. That
leads to poor decision making. Effective time management, we can eliminate the pressure that
comes from feeling like we don’t have enough time. We’ll start to feel tranquil and in control. When
the time comes to examine options and make a decision, instead of rushing through the process,
we can take time to carefully consider each option, and when you’re able to do that, we diminish
the chances of making a bad decision.

Next, the ability to reduce stress. When we don’t have control of our time, it’s easy to end up
feeling rushed and overwhelmed. And when that happens, it can be hard to figure out how long
it’s going to take to complete a task. Besides it is better for our own health, we have a clearer
picture of the demands of our time. We’re better able to estimate how long a given task will take
to complete and able to know that we can meet the deadline.
Furthermore, time management is essential for maximum health and personal effectiveness. The
degree to which we feel in control of our time and life is a major determinant of our level of inner
peace, harmony, and mental well-being. A feeling of being “out of control” of our time is the major
source of stress, anxiety, and depression. The better we can organize, the better we’ll feel,
moment to moment, the more energy we’ll have, the better we’ll sleep, and the more we will get
done.

Lastly, less procrastination, having proper time management in place lets us work smarter rather
than harder. It gets rid of procrastination by making sure that we are well-versed on the tasks in
the to-do list and when they need to be completed. Efficient time management can have a positive
impact on work output and life.

In conclusion, if we manage ourselves minute by minute, the hours and days will take care of
themselves. The more tightly we manage your time, the more guaranteed we are that it will
translate into a great life, hallmarked by purpose, power, control and worthwhile
accomplishments.
 Time management is a life-success skill.

Time management skills are important because they help us structure in a way that allows us to
accomplish goals. "When I was in college I wanted to be involved in things that would change the
world. Now I am." — Elon Musk. This illustrates that we are going to fill a large part of life after
college and make a change in this world. The responsibilities in working life are different than
when we are in university.

Life skills are abilities for adaptive and positive behavior that enable humans to deal effectively
with the demands and challenges of life. Life is boarder than college. We have to deal with people
from different backgrounds, ages, qualifications, and cultures. Therefore, it would be easier for
people with good socializing skills, and especially time management.

The main purpose of learning and practicing time management skills is to enhance and improve
the overall quality of your life. It is to increase the amount of pleasure and happiness we
experience. Another statement from Elon musk is that college is ‘for fun’ and not for learning.
Another perspective to view this statement is the more responsibilities and challenges we are
going to face right after college. In a nutshell, time management is a life-success skill rather than
a college-success strategy.
 University students facing difficulties with time management

I love to share my stories and insights from my creative journey as a Graphic Designer, especially
on Time Management. I didn’t realize it during college, but after many years of meetings, clients,
and deadlines in the workplace, I am able to manage and prioritize important tasks, which
optimizing my life. I’ve been able to accumulate a lot of tools, habits, and processes to help me
get my best work done. This makes me rethink that most students didn’t realize time management
during the college period. After entering the real world, I create “Keep a prioritized to-do list” which
able to create high prioritize tasks such as Business Development, Client meetings and etc.

Secondly whether I’m getting a graphic design degree or teach myself graphic design, the initial
education is really only the beginning. “You will never stop learning,” Mathison says. “I see this
as more of a positive, but it can be daunting trying to keep up with an industry that evolves every
day.” Besides, the more you learn, the more versatile and valuable your work will be, which leads
to time management. Proper time management able to get extra time in a day which helps me
feel energized and focused. Unfortunately, during the college era, most of the students tend to
mismanage their time including myself. This is due to a lack of self-esteem, being a follower of
trends, and lack of responsibilities. Most students tend to mismanaged to finish the assignment
and class. Well, it doesn’t work in a real workplace where everything needs to be done as soon
as possible. Being new at college is a wondrous experience.

One reason the difficulty usually occurs is that the students are not prepared for the major
academic differences between high school and college life. Another reason is that many college
students are living away from home for the first time. These students are not used to the freedom
of managing their own time and often fall into routines that are unproductive. Many students waste
their time without even realizing it including myself during my diploma. Before they know it, their
assignments and projects are due and it is exam time. This often results in long stressful days
and nights of working on papers and cramming for exams.
Everything and everyone is exciting. And so it’s easy to say yes to every party, yes to going out
to eat or to a concert or to a movie, but once you entered the real world, where you start to think
about your vision and mission and start realizing that you getting older and life is short. As Steve
Jobs says “Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by
dogma”
 Time management and stress, levels of productivity and procrastination

Procrastination is the tendency to defer, postpone, or suspend an activity that can be done now
to a future date. Procrastination usually results into a tendency given that when new tasks are
deferred they become stressful to accomplish on time. Procrastinating behaviors normally result
from the availability of time to complete a project or if the task appears too difficult to accomplish.

Secondly, low frustration tolerance may make an individual to stop working on an assignment and
set it aside prior to completing it. Finally, procrastinating behaviors may result from self-downing.
This occurs when we have feelings that a project is difficult to accomplish effectively based on
the stipulated time

There are numerous ways of preventing procrastination. These include mixing boring,
challenging, and enjoyable activities; sparing time for the unanticipated events; effective and wise
utilization of the free time; rewarding oneself after completing a given project on time; allocating
time for socialization, relaxation, and exercise, as well as setting realistic and attainable goals.

Good time management is essential if we are able to handle a heavy workload without excessive
stress. Time management helps to reduce long-term stress by giving us direction when we have
too much work to do. Poor time management is a major cause of stress. I’m sure we have all had
the feeling that there is too much to do and not enough time. We can start to feel panicky and
anxious and lose focus.

Every work or activity in one’s life needs some time and everything needs time to materialize.
With time management, each task is given enough time to be finished. By giving a sliver of time
for each of your goals and accounting for it wisely, you will be able to achieve them, plus make
time for other activities.
With the help of effective time management you would be able to finish more jobs with less effort.
If you are allotting a certain amount of time for each activity, you don’t have to worry about the
next thing that you will do. With time management, you become more organized and the things
you do become more habitual than panic-driven. By making it a habit, you can increase your
efficiency and productivity.

Thus time management increases chances of success as it will make you productive using
improved time management skills and tools, and can accomplish more with less effort and time.
It will help you reduce wasted time and energy, help you become more creative and productive,
and enable you to do the right thing at the right time. Definitely it would increase chances of you
success. Time management will enable you to do more things in your life. Once you have
established a list of tasks and prioritized them, you will find that you can get much more
accomplished. By tie management you feel that you have a greater control over your life.

When you are prioritizing and getting tasks completed, you have more time for things that you
want to do. Time management skills and techniques help a person to identify and set ones
priorities. Time management makes it easy you make conscious choices, so you can spend more
of your time doing things that are important and valuable to you. By managing time you can also
can learn to find the time for the things that are important to you. Unexpectedly a small amount of
time once a day, or even once month, will take you closer to your goals and objectives. It Reduce
stress because by managing time you can do what you want to do .Hence it will make you more
happy and reduces stress as Stress leads to long-term health problems.A good time management
leads to productivity. Priorities should be set on a daily basis. Write down all the things we plan
to do tomorrow and then rate them by importance. Even though planning does consume time on
the front end, it overcompensates both by bringing in better results and by saving time in actual
performance of activities.
By scheduling your time effectively through prioritizing, you learn to avoid overcommitting
yourself. Learning when and how to say "no" becomes important for your over-commitment dilutes
your effectiveness. By analyzing time use, by setting goals and priorities, we become organized,
and overcome a major obstacle to the efficient running of an office, business or home. By being
better organized in the office or at home we can have clearer insight as to what is the more
important job that needs actions first. Countless numbers of hours are wasted every day by the
disorganization visible in most offices. We should be able to see the top of your desk at all times.
To be really effective at your desk, clear off all.

Many people have big goals to feel fulfilled. But without understanding the importance of time
management, these goals could sit on the shelf indefinitely. For example, perhaps one of our
goals is to lead a healthier lifestyle but can’t seem to carve out time for gym sessions. Chances
are, the time we need already exists. You just have to find it. By making the time to attend to
health, can make necessary and desirable changes quickly.

As we discussed earlier, knowing how to manage time means that we are able to accomplish
more in shorter periods of time with less effort. Think about how much more you accomplish when
we truly focus. Prioritizing and matching tasks to blocks of available time is one way to do more
with less effort. Instead of trying to do deep work in the ten minutes between meetings, complete
a minor task. This frees up larger blocks for projects that require concentration. If we find an extra
hour of productivity in your day by using your time wisely, that gives more extra time to accomplish
more projects in future.

Moreover ,as a working professional, Productivity also helps to motivate the workplace culture
and boost moral, producing an even better company environment. Productivity is not solely
dependent on the performance of employees but also about the operation methods being used.
It is not just solved by simply asking workers to do more and in less time. Actions to develop the
work process should also be considered. Improving this area of the organization also causes
productivity to improve which, in turn, saves time. Saving time allows employees to perform other
tasks that will help benefit them in the long run such as planning ahead and creating work
strategies. It is a cycle that benefits itself that ultimately makes the company run smoother.
 My common time stealer

One of my time stealers is Procrastination and Indecision. Procrastination is a way of coping with
challenging emotions and negative moods induced by certain tasks such as boredom, anxiety,
insecurity, frustration, resentment, self-doubt, and beyond.

It’s a vicious cycle: if we avoid a task because we associate it with a negative emotion such as
self-doubt, anxiety, insecurity, we only make the problem worse, because those negative feelings
will still be there when we eventually have to deal with the task later. After getting my first job, I
was still lack of certain skills such as video editing and motion graphics. I was trying my best to
learn but unfortunately, I keep postponing my task tomorrow and tomorrow and it goes on.
Probably my limbic system wins most of the time. The limbic system is a set of brain structures
containing the pleasure center, while the prefrontal cortex controls planning and decision making.
The prefrontal cortex is less developed and thus weaker, so often times the limbic system wins
out, leading to procrastination.

Unconsciously, I have a fear of failing and “What if things don’t work”. This fear of failure causes
me, unconsciously sabotage my chances of success, in a variety of ways. Neuroscientific
research shows that when people procrastinate, the unconscious brain, the limbic system has an
argument with the planner brain, the prefrontal cortex. And usually, the limbic system wins. If we
find something to be unsatisfying, our brain immediately steps in to distract us with something
more pleasant.
 Figure 1: Comparison of Prefrontal Cortex and Limbic System

Social Media or Digital Heroin is the biggest time stealer in my experience. On daily basis, I spent
around 4-5 hours on social media. Social Media floated with colorful and interactive photos and
videos which makes our brain attracted to it and kept us engaged for a while. In 2018, I came
across Simon Sinek's interview on Millennials in the Workplace which makes me realize the side
effects on Social Media. The use of mobile tech and social media has been proven to release
dopamine - the "feel good" chemical - in our brains. We receive a text, we get a hit of dopamine.
We get a Like on Facebook, we get a hit of dopamine. Someone has commented on our Instagram
post, we get a hit of dopamine. Dopamine is a type of neurotransmitter. Our own body makes it,
and the nervous system uses it to send messages between nerve cells. That's why it's sometimes
called a chemical messenger. Dopamine plays a role in how we feel pleasure. Again this linked
to Limbic System as mentioned earlier in which the brain tends to be pleasant. In a nutshell, Social
Media or Digital Heroin is one of the biggest time stealer and regrettably most of us is unconscious
about it.

Third, Unclear communication in the workplace. Most of the creative people, including myself
facing unclear communication from the client. This ended up 2 or more work done for the same
project. Usually, the brief from the client unclear, they seem to thinking a different perspective and
we as creative people ended up creating something different.
Personally, I’ve spent almost 3 days on the same project due to unclear communication from the
client. Clients giving feedback after seeing the full design work and enquire to change or revise.
This leads to time stealer were doing the same project over and over again due to unclear
communication

So, How do we eliminate the time stealers? Well after realizing that I am wasting time
unconsciously, I started Identifying my time stealer. Firstly, train my mind to do the opposite and
get used to it. Whether the result is success or failure, just do it. By practicing this, I managed to
accomplish more than before. Still practicing not to procrastinating at maximum level. Secondly,
minimizing the usage of social media like uninstalling from the mobile phone. This works pretty
well, because now if I want to use social media, I need to open my laptop or computer. It delays
and reduces the usage of social media. Now, Social media just for important news. Next, turn off
the notification on the phone, which unable to distract me anymore.

Lastly, create a list of details of work or requests from the client to avoid unclear communication.
Furthermore, sending a brief design like a first look to get an idea of the entire project to the client
for better understanding to avoid repeat work. By doing this, I managed to save a lot of time on
the project and able to move to the next project as soon as possible.
 Conclusion

Time management is the process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount
of time spent on specific activities especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency or productivity.
In conclusion, we can say that the first matter to consider for avoiding procrastination is to clarify
your objectives, make sure that what we think we want to do is what we really want to do. The
second recommendation is to develop the habit of planning each day.

The well-organized life leaves time for everything, for planning, doing and follows through. Time
is not use up in regretting or in trying to live like retroactively, or in explaining why something
needed has not been done. Learn to use good time management practices to improve your use
of time. The real point of managing your time effectively is to carve out as satisfying and rich a life
as we possibly can.
 References

1.Brian Tracy 2017, Time Management Tips That Will Make You A Productivity Master,
<https://www.briantracy.com/blog/time-management/time-management-tips/>

2.Guy Winch 2013, Signs of Fear of Failure, <https://www.psychlogytoday.com/us/blog/the-

squeaky-wheel/201306/10-signs-you-might-have-fear-failure>

3. Smitha Bhandari 2019, Better Information, Better Health, Web MD,

<https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-is-dopamine#1>

4. Interactive schools, 2018, Effects of dopamine.

<https://blog.interactiveschools.com/blog/dopamine-how-does-this-digital-heroine-impact-our-
tech-lives>

5. Neurosurgery, 2015, The Science Behind Procrastination,

<https://share.upmc.com/2015/07/the-science-behind
procrastination/#:~:text=The%20limbic%20system%20is%20a,wins%20out%2C%20leading%2
0to%20procrastination>

6. Dr. Kalanithi,Paul (2016). When Breath Becomes Air. Random House.

 Appendix

Assignment Description

Introduction to Time Management Time Management refers to managing time effectively so that
the right time is allocated to the right activity. Effective time management allows individuals to
assign specific time slots to activities as per their importance. The main purpose of learning and
practicing time management skills is to enhance and improve the overall quality of your life. It is
to increase the amount of pleasure and happiness we experience. Most of the University students
facing difficulties with time management due to a lack of awareness of the time. Time is very
limited to everyone. Good time management leads to great productivity and reduces the amount
of stress. Poor time management is a major cause of stress. I'm sure we have all had the feeling
that there is too much to do and not enough time. We can start to feel panicky and anxious and
lose focus. It's important to note that you can have this feeling even if there's hardly anything to
do at all. On the other hand, a common time stealer is procrastinating due to emotions and lack
of self-esteem, etc. Moreover, social media one of the biggest time stealer where it produces
dopamine in our brain to feel good and slowly consumes our time. In a nutshell, we addicted to
social media and tend to spend more time on it, In conclusion. awareness plays an important role
in managing time, a well managed time produce a great work.
 ASSIGNMENT 1 REPORT RUBRIC

Name: Sivabalan Arumugam Matrix No.: 012020071889

Below
Attribute Poor Satisfactory Good Excellent Score
Average

High evidence
Shows effort
Minimal effort of original
Originality of Complete Modifications of producing
to indicate work. Due
Answers (30 plagiarism into ‘own’ effort originality
originality credit given to
marks) work
original source
5 10 15 20 30
Very accurate;
Complete Moderate;
Not enough shows the link
Accuracy of deviations Acceptable answers are
point of between
Answers (30 from effort relevant to
answers questions and
marks) questions the questions
answers
5 10 15 20 30
Flow of Evidence of Good linkage
ideas Not well linkage between Very well
Shoddy work
(20 marks) planned between points points of thought out
of argument arguments
1 5 10 15 20
Writing style Poor
Poor Good,
(10 marks) expressions Simple and
command of Uneven understandable
and full of easy
language writings
jargons

2 4 6 8 10
Grammar Full of Acceptable
Too many of Minimal No
(10 marks) grammatical level of
grammatical grammatical grammatical
error grammatical
error error error
error
2 4 6 8 10
 Total
100 marks
100