The research also showed that there is a gender different on the view of time management. More female felt support by the planning of time than male in ratio. Effective time management in female reduce stress level more (Wohlgemuth 371). The reason of feeling lower level of stress also contained gender different. More male suggested having more free time than female, which could show the different in point of view between two genders.
However, there were some feedback stated that an effective management could not reduce stress level. The report by Misra and McKean’s study suggested that there were other factors to increase students stress level such as emotional effect, problem-solving effect, etc. Therefore, the research could show that time management is related to lower the students’ stress level but it was not the only factor related.
2.2 Background information
From the graph, 24 out of 50 students slept at 0100-0200. Only 5 of them could sleep at 2200-2359. 23% of the males who had a planning habit slept at 0000-0059, and 54% of them slept at 0100-0200. 28% of the males who did not have a planning habit slept at 0000-0059, and 44% of them slept at 0100-0200. 58% of the females had a planning habit slept at 0000-0059and all females who did not have a planning habit slept later than 0059. 86% of them slept at 0100-0200 and 14% 25% of females who had planning habit slept in this period. 50% of the females had a planning habit slept at 0000-0059. 6 students chose others and the sleeping time of them were later than 0200.
The distribution of sleeping time of males was similar between the two groups, with planning habit and without planning habit. However, most of the females who had a planning habit could sleep earlier than the females who did not have a planning habit.
There is a gender difference in the result. Planning habit affected females in their sleeping time more than males. As females may want to finish the job before they sleep but males prefer to sleep and leave the job to the next day.
Only 3 students felt that they always had too much time, and they all did not have planning habit and 4 male students felt frequently. 14 students felt sometimes, which included 10 males and 4 females. 10 students felt rarely, 5 of them were male and 5 were female. 19 of them felt never, included 10 males and 9 females.
There were different trends between two genders in the feeling of too much time. For males, who had a planning habit were more likely to feel having too much time than who did not have. However, it was opposite for females. Females who had a planning habit felt having too much time less frequently than those who did not have a planning habit.
This result showed that males and females who had a planning habit felt differently towards having too much time. The reason may be the different attitudes of planning. Males may feel relax after finishing a task in their plan when the females still concern about other tasks. Therefore, females were less frequently to feel having too much time than males.
According to Macan (1990), there are four factors affecting the effectiveness of performance and stress. Four factors included: establishing the goal and priorities, conventional time managements methods, mindset in the control of time, and preference for disorganization. We set a questionnaire base on this idea and made some arrangements. Firstly, we assume that every interviewee had prioritized the activities in their minds no matter they have planning habit or not and asked the interviewees to fill in their priorities. Secondly, we thought that preference of disorganization is irrelevant to our survey and eliminated from the questionnaire. We only focusing on the effects of time management and the perception of control of time.
2.3 Effect of time management
In order to investigate the effects of time management, we are looking to effect in proximal variable which is the accuracy of time prediction and the actual performance which is the grade point average. And also, there is different base numbers of students various groups, we found that using percentage to represent the proportion of students could have a more obvious result.
Accuracy of time estimation
We have interviewed students for the actual time and expected time spending on different activities. The activities include study, leisure, family meeting and social gathering. We compared the time in order to find out the number of students who could meet the scheduled time successfully. In the survey to males who have planning habit, 23% students met the expected time spent on studying. 38% of students achieved the expected time spent on entertainments which is same percentage as social gathering. 31% of students could accomplish their expected time spending on family meeting. Compared to males without planning habit, the percentage slightly rose to 33% in studying but we got contrary result in entertainment, the percentage dropped slightly to 33%. In the time communicating with their family members and friends, the percentages rose rapidly to 55% in both areas. Summarizing the result, we found that males without planning habit have a higher ratio in all areas except the entertainment. This result indicates that the conventional time management methods couldn’t help the males to control the time. In the hypothesis that males and females have similar working efficiency, males must relied on others things to control the time spent. Strang(1981) suggested that males’ rate of progress depended on the value of time controlling which means the actual time spent easily affected by atmosphere. Males can meet the targeted time when they think that time is under control.
In the survey to female interviewees who have planning habit, there is an increasing tendency in the activities, the percentages are 17%, 33%, 50% and 70% respectively. Compared to female interviewees who haven’t any planning habit, same percentages of students could meet their expected time in studying and family meeting and also there are same percentages of students spent the time as same as their expected time in entertainment and social gathering. They are 14% and 43% respectively. In the two groups of female, students who have planning habit had higher percentages in all activities except the entertainment, this result is contradict to the male. This result is similar to the finding from Strang(1981) that the ability of control the time helped females to finish the work at scheduled time.
Academic performance
For the male group, 8% of the males with planning habit had GPA lower than 2, both percentages of them having GPA between 2 and 3 and between 3 and 4 were 46%. Also, males without planning habit had GPA between 2 and 3 and between 3 and 4 were equal. For the female group, 33% of the females with a planning habit had GPA between 2 and 3, while 67% of them had GPA between 3 and 4. About 29% of the females without a planning habit had GPA between 2 and 3, and 71% left had GPA between 3 and 4.
From the graph, we found that the distribution of GPA among students with planning habits and those without planning was very similar, for both male and female group. It could not show any relationship between having planning habit and the academic performance.
The results between planning habit and GPA could not support our hypothesis, which is time management leading to a greater academic performance. According to the study done by Jamie C. Denlinger, students enrolled in demanding majors had a greater academic performance level because they had a higher level of time management. However, the result from our survey could not show a direct correlation between time management and GPA. Students’ GPA had a very similar range, which was between 2 to 4. There may be some other factors which could affect students’ GPA, such as students’ intelligent, different subjects, different goals etc. A research done by Michelle Richardson, Charles Abraham and Rod Bond suggested that there were 5 factors which may affect students’ GPA, including personal traits, motivational factors, self-regulatory learning strategies, approaches to learning and psychosocial contextual influences. That may explain why students’ performance were similar between having a planning habit and not have a planning habit. Therefore, we could not concluded that there were any relationship between time management and GPA based on data collected.
2.4 Perception of control of time
In our research, we asked students what is the percentage they could follow the plan and defined the result as students’ perception of control of time.
Different planning methods
In this figure, it showed the percentage of how good students can follow their plans. In the survey, among students who do not have a planning habit, 28% of the students could follow more than 75% of their plans, while 12% of the students could follow 51% to 75% of their plans. The remaining 60% of the students were those who could follow half of the plan or less. When comparing among those students who have a planning habit, 96% of them could follow more than half of their plans. It shows that students believed they could manage their time more effectively when they have a planning habit.
For different planning methods, there were a tendency of decreasing percentage in following the plan greater than 75%. The highest percentage was students using timetable, 50% of the students selecting this method could follow over 75% of the plan. For students using schedule and list, the percentages dropped to 25% and 10% respectively. It could conclude that students using timetable inclined to have a better control of time in their perception comparing to the other two methods. The method which could show a clearer time relationship enabled students to perceive control of time in a greater level.
Different planning styles
There are three types of planning styles: labelling with a title only, enclosing a short remark and having a long description. All students who selected a long description could follow 51% to 75% of the plan. When students used a short remark to jot down the important things, it helped 79% of the students to follow 51% to 75% of the plan and 14% of the students followed more than 75% of the plan. For students who chose with title only in their planning method, 30% of the students could follow more than 75% of their plans. This planning style shows that students could catch up with their plans the most in their mind.
Drucker(1967) stated that sometime students cannot finish the planning work entirely even they have had plan before. If students described more detailed in their plans, they had a higher chance to miss some of the tasks they had mentioned before. Writing the plan with title only had the simplest things for students to do; and students were more easily to perceive the control of time.
Different planning times
To find out the effect of time to have a plan on how much students follow their plan, we had asked “When do you prefer to plan your time?” and “How well could you follow your plan?” According to the results of the questionnaire, 4 respondents planned their time in the morning and 7 planned in the evening. 9 students plan in both morning and evening and 5 stated that they planned whenever they felt free.
All interviewees who planned in the morning could follow their plan 51% to 75%. For those who planned in the evening, only 1 could follow more than 75%. Other 6 interviewees could follow 51% to 75%. For those who planned in the morning and evening, 3 of them could follow over 75% and 6 could follow 51% to 75%. Only 1 male planned at any time could follow more than 75%. The other 4 could follow 51% to 75%.
The result shows that students planning in both morning and evening have the most ideal outcome while students planned in the evening have a better effect than in the morning. According to Lakein’s idea, both planning in the morning and evening have their specific benefits, students could gain all the benefits when they choose to plan in both morning and evening, so the result is acceptable. For example, students who planned in the morning are more energetic to start their planning in a clear mind. When students planned in the evening, they could utilize the past experiences and the consequence of today activities to make a better estimation of time duration. Burt & Kemp suggested that memory is an essential factor in estimating the duration of future activities. This explains the phenomena that planning in the evening have a better result; and it appears consistent to Buehler’s advice; students inclined to use singular information in the morning such as possible situation, it has a worst effect than using distributional information in the evening which is the past experience. Lakein also stated that planning in an appropriate time is important. Students plan at any time disorderly that cause no planning when necessary.
3. Conclusion
To conclude, students could estimate their time with their friends but not studying, most of them want to spend more time on studying. Time management cannot affect the performance of students but it helps students use their time more efficiently and reduce their stress. Also, it is important for students to plan in suitable time and as detailed as possible, which make them managing their time better.
4. Recommendation
Students usually think that they do not have enough time to study, relax and complete assignments. Then, good time management strategies may help students to wisely spend their time each day. According to Duke University’s Effective Time Management, there are 6 advantages if students apply time management skills in aid of studying and performing. They are gaining time, having motivations and initiations, reducing avoidance, promoting review, eliminating cramming and reducing anxiety respectively.
Knowing the benefits of planning, students can follow the 10 strategies provided by the University of Georgia. Among those strategies, we believe that setting priorities is the first important part. Students having deep understand of what their tasks will be are capable of prioritizing tasks depending on the difficulties and urgency. It helps students distinguish what tasks should be done first. In addition, stop procrastinating is also essential. Students sometimes do tasks when the deadline is approaching which is too rush. Breaking the large tasks into smaller ones can let students start the tasks earlier and provide them sufficient time to finish. Having enough time, the quality of the work done can be guaranteed.
Reference:
Britton, Bruce K. and Abraham Tesser. “Effect of Time Management Practices on College Grades.” Journal of Educational Psychology 83 (1991): 405, 408-409. Print.
Buehler, R., Griffin, D. and Ross, M. “Exploring the ‘Planning Fallacy’: Why people underestimate their task completion times.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 67 (1994): 366-381. Print.
Burt, C.D.B. and Kemp, S. “Construction of activity duration and time management potential.” Applied Cognitive Psychology 8 (1994): 155-168. Print.
Denglinger, Jamie C. “The Effects of Time Management on College Students’ Academic Performance.” Ball State University. 2012. Web.
Drucker, P.F. The Effective Executive, New York: Harper & Row, 1967. Print.
“Effective Time Management.” Duke U, n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. Academic Resource Center. Dartmouth U. 17 Jul. 2012. Web. 5 Mar. 2014
Lakein, A. How to get control of your time and your life. New York: New American Library, 1973. Print.
Macan, T.F., Shahani C., Dipboye R.L. and Philips A.P. “College Students’ Time Management: Correlations with academic performance and stress.” Journal of Educational Psychology 82 (1990): 776-768. Print.
Misra, Ranjita and Michelle Mckean. “College Students’ Academic Stress and Its Relation to Their Anxiety, Time Management, and Leisure Satisfaction.” American Journal of Health Studies 16 (Winter 2000). Print.
Richardson, Michelle, Charles Abraham, and Rod Bond. "Psychological Correlates of University Students' Academic Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis." Psychological Bulletin 138.2 (2012): 353-87. Print.
R. Michael, W.C. Sue. “10 strategies for better time management.” The University of Georgia, 2008. Web. 5 Apr. 2014.
Strang, H.R. “Sex differences in perceptions of self-pacing.” Perceptual and Motor Skills 52 (1981): 174. Print.
Tracy, Brian. “Mastering Time Management and Organizational Skills to Increase Productivity” Brian Tracy’s Blog. Brian Tracy International, 2 Aug. 2012. Web. 5 Mar. 2014.
Wohlgemuth, E. and N.E. Betz. “Gender as a Moderator of the Relationship of Stress and Social Support to Physical Health in College Students.” Journal of Counseling Psychology 38 (1991): 371. Print.
Appendix 1
Time management strategies among HKU SPACE Community College students
We are now doing a research on the time management strategies among HKU SPACE Community College students. Please take a moment to complete this questionnaire. Personal information will be kept strictly confidential. Thank you for your cooperation.
Gender: □ Male □ Female Program: _____________________________
Part 1: Time Management Style
- Do you have a planning habit?
□ Yes □ No (skip Q.2-5) □ Others:__________________________
- What method do you used most for planning?
□ Make a list □ Write a schedule □ Make a timetable
□ Others:____________________________________
- How detail the information is in your planning method?
□ With a long description □ With a short remark □ With title only
- What time do you prefer to plan your time?
□ Morning □ Evening □ Morning & Evening
□ Others:___________
- How much space time do you have between each activity in your plan?
□ More than 1 hour □ 30-59 minutes
□ 6-30 minutes □ Less than 5 minutes
-
Prioritise the following activities by using 1 (the most) – 5 (the least):
□ Study □ Entertainment □ Exercise
□ Family meeting □ Social gathering
Part 2: Effective use of time
- How well could you follow your planning?
□ More than 75% □ 51-75% □ 26-50%
□ 0-25% □ Others: ____________________
- When do you usually sleep?
□ 10-11:59 p.m. □ 12-12:59 a.m.
□ 1-2 a.m. □ Others: _____________________
- How often do you feel that you have too much time?
□ Always □ Frequently □ Sometimes
□ Rarely □ Never
Part 3: The importance of time management
- Do you think time management is important?
□ Yes □ No □ Others: _____________________
- Do you think a timetable/ list/ schedule could help your daily performance (such as academic results and relationships)?
□ Very helpful □ A little bit helpful □ Neutral
□ Slightly unhelpful □ Very unhelpful
- Do you think a good planning of time can reduce stress?
□ Yes, students will become less busy. □ Yes, less mistakes are made.
□ Yes, more times are saved for doing the favorite things.
□ No, students will become more rush.
□ Others: Yes/No, _________________________________________________
Part 4: Time management for different activities
- What is your GPA in the most recent examination?
□ less than 2.00 □ 2.00-3.00 □ 3.01-3.99 □ equal or higher than 4.00
- On average, how much time do you spend on different activities each day?
Study: ______________________ Leisure: _________________________
Family meeting: ______________ Social gathering: __________________
- What are your expected time for doing different activities?
Study: _____________________ Leisure: _________________________
Family meeting: ____________ Social gathering: _________________
Part 5: Open-end questions
- Do you have any special time management and strategies? ( Please specify)
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- Do you have any ideas you want us to know?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Thanks for filling out this survey. Your input is greatly appreciated.