Time Management
GT 1000 · Lecture 3
2026-09-11
Checkup
How are things going for you during your first few weeks at Georgia Tech?
A few things to get you started:
- What has gone better than you expected?
- What has been harder than you expected?
- What advice do you have for others?
Time management
xkcd #874 “Time Management” · CC BY-NC 2.5 · (edited)
Time management
Full disclosure: I didn’t start this slide deck until last night.
I probably need to hear some of the stuff we’re going to discuss as well.
Reminder: Your resume is due tonight, Sept. 11, 11:59 PM ET.
The Fall 2026 All Majors Career Fair is Sept. 14–15.
The real “Freshman 15”
High school scheduled your time for you. College does not.
- Roughly 15 hours of class per week – and about 30 of work outside it.
- Nobody takes attendance in most of your classes.
- Nobody checks whether you did the reading.
- Nobody is helping you manage your sleeping or eating.
- The consequences show up weeks after the decision that caused them.
Discuss: Where is your unstructured time actually going right now?
Common strategies
- Keep a regular sleep schedule. Try to wake-up the same time, every day.
- Write things down. A TODO list beats memory.
- Go to class every time. Maintain structure and consistency.
- Schedule study time like an appointment or class.
- Schedule free time and leisure on purpose.
- Do not overwork. Burnout is real.
- Start big things early.
- Ask for help sooner than feels necessary.
Sleep is the top priority
If you get only one of these right, make it this one.
- Keep a regular schedule (Phillips et al. 2017; Okano et al. 2019).
- All-nighters trade tomorrow’s performance for tonight’s panic. The trade is bad.
- Sleep is when what you studied actually gets filed (Diekelmann and Born 2010; Rasch and Born 2013).
Discuss: What time did you go to sleep last night? What time did you go to sleep the night before?
Lists and calendars
Two different methods. Use both.
The list
What has to happen.
Everything goes in one place: assignments, emails, errands. If it’s only in your head, it will surface at 1 AM.
The calendar
When it will happen.
If a task has no time attached to it, it is a wish. Put the work on the calendar next to the class that assigned it.
What do you use? Paper, phone, online calendar, nothing? The tool does not matter; checking it daily does.
Lists and calendars – example
Study efficiently
One hour with a tutor beats three alone with a textbook you are not absorbing. All of this is free and already paid for by your tuition.
| Resource | What it is |
|---|---|
| 1-to-1 Knack Tutoring | Book a GT student who already aced your course |
| Drop-In Tutoring | Walk into Clough, no appointment needed |
| Peer-Led Undergraduate Study (PLUS) | Weekly small-group sessions for historically hard courses |
Even more resources: success.gatech.edu/tutoring
Go before you are behind. Tutoring is not remediation.
Protect your peace and joy
Free time you planned is restorative. Free time you stole from work is not.
- Sounds a bit lame, but put leisure on the calendar. A club, exercise, dinner with friends, a night off.
- Guard one block a week that is genuinely yours.
- Why Procrastinators Procrastinate might be informative reading.
- Use the Center for Mental Health Care if you need it.
Try one thing this week
Pick one strategy from today. Not five.
- Make it small enough so not to be intimidating.
- Attach it to something you already do every day.
References
GT 1000 · Fall 2026 · Section D03 · Georgia Institute of Technology