CS-CV0005 - Mind & Study - toolbox for being well in studies, Lectures, 26.2.2024-21.4.2024
This course space end date is set to 21.04.2024 Search Courses: CS-CV0005
Topic outline
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Introduction to the week
This week you get to examine your use of time: prioritization, goal setting and making a weekly plan, as well as breaking the circle of avoidance.
Pausing in this moment
Each course week will start with an invitation to pause in this moment. It means giving yourself a chance to calm down and become aware of what's going on with you right now, in this moment. This pausing can happen in many different ways, for example with a short guided relaxation-exercise or a relaxing stretching-break of a few minutes. For one person, for example, setting the phone to alarm in 3 minutes and just looking out of the window is very calming, while another may prefer to write down the thoughts running through their mind or maybe drink a cup of tea or coffee in peace without additional distractions. What could be a suitable way for you to pause?
One option is to do the familiar mindfulness exercise from last week, hour-glass-exercise:
This week's assignments are:
- Orientate yourself to the theme of the week: Goals as a support for time management
- Do the task: Prioritizing time management, or ABC task
- Check out (or do the task): Weekly plan
- Read: On the cycle of avoidance?
- Hand-in individual tasks: Choose the task suitable for your own level from three options
- Peer-group meeting (face-to-face or via video link) and returning the memo
- Finally: What will you take away from this week?
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Students mustMark as done
This ABC task is a useful tool to support prioritization. It may be that the task seems familiar to you - and yes, it is included in many of Aalto's programs as part of orientation in the fall of the first year. Even if you did it then, we recommend doing it again now based on the current situation. Afterwards, if you find it useful for yourself, you can also make it a part of planning-process for each upcoming week, month and period.
Instructions for this ABC-task can be found here. Reserve about 30-40 minutes for this task. You'll need a pen and post-it notes!
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Students mustMark as done
How to create a good and functional weekly plan? Here you can find help and support for that. Note, that all students of the course are expected to familiarize themselves with this section, and it is also recommended that you also make a weekly plan for yourself according to the instructions. However, please note that there are three different options in this week's individual assignment, and making this particular weekly plan is mandatory only for those who intend to return the level 1 homework.
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Students mustMake a submission
Individual assignment (book 1-2h)
Before starting with these assignments, read thoroughly the material and your notes for this week. Then answer the following questions in a free-form text. The most essential thing for you is to take the time to reflect on the questions on your own part.
This week, the individual assignments provide you three options for different levels of needs. Feel free to choose which option to do!
We course teachers realize that participants in this course may be at different levels in time management skills. Therefore, it’s not meaningful to give all of you the same assignments. So, take this opportunity to think which of the given options suits best for your current time management skills and would be most useful for you. Read through all the three options, reflect which of them would give you most, and make your choice. We encourage you to be honest with yourself and not just choose the easiest option. What would you truly benefit most from right now?
Option 1: Setting the base-level for academic scheduling skills (book 1-2h)
This assignment level 1 suits you in case you perceive that scheduling is challenging for you and you are not sure how to do it, or you haven’t earlier regularly planned your weeks that specifically.
Do the ABC-task and create your own Weekly plan thoroughly and as early in the week as possible. Aim at following your weekly plan for several days. Reflect on your experiences at the end of the week in a free-form text, and answer the following questions:
- How do you manage time, schedule and get things done in your studies? What do you do when you prioritize things? Additionally, describe in what kinds of situations you have recognized that you have learned skills on time management and getting things done.
- What observations did you do on the ABC-task and creating the Weekly plan?
- How did your plan come to reality? What went as planned?
- What kinds of challenges or problems did you notice in following your schedule? What did you use your time for, in case you didn’t do as planned?
- Was your plan realistic and usable? In case you jumped off the path towards your goals, did you do it on purpose or unconsciously?
- (What) did you learn from this assignment? How do you apply what you learned for your next schedule planning?
Option 2: You succeed with scheduling but face challenges in getting things done (book 1-2h)
This assignment suits you if you have knowledge on scheduling and can do realistic plans, but the problem has been in the implementation of the plans; you face challenges in getting things done or procrastinating.
Read through the material of this week and do at least the ABC-task and inspect with a “critical eye” the instructions for creating a Weekly plan. Then, do the ABC of getting things done with assignments. Take print screens on your answers, so that you can use them when answering the following questions in a free-form text:
- How do you manage time, schedule things and make them happen in your studies? What do you do when you prioritize things? Additionally, describe in what kinds of situations you have recognized that you have learned skills on time management and getting things done.
- The course material included instructions for the Weekly plan. What thoughts did the model provoke and (how) does it differ from your way of planning your weeks?
- What kinds of things did you learn from yourself on getting things done when doing the ABC of getting things done? Choose 1-3 useful points from the material and give reasons why you chose them.
Option 3: for masters of academic time management and getting things done (book 1-2h)
When choosing these level 3 assignments, you already have good time management and prioritization skills.
Read through all the course material for this week, do at least the ABC-task and investigate “with a critical eye” on the instructions for creating a Weekly plan.
Write a text in free form with answers on the following questions:
- How do you manage time, schedule and get things done in your studies? What do you do when you prioritize things? Describe your learning journey on mastering time management; in what kinds of situations have you recognized that you have learned skills on time management and getting things done?
- What kinds of challenges in time management may you face in the coming couple of years? How do you anticipate the challenges, prepare for them and how do you minimize the damages, when all challenges can’t be removed? How are you going to develop your time management skills in the future?
- The course material included the Weekly plan model. What thoughts did the model provoke and (how) does it differ from your way of planning your weeks? In case you have concrete examples of core time management tools (even digital ones) suitable for you, add descriptions of them in your text.
Finally,
Submit your answer via the “Add submission” button below. The submission format is online text instead of file submissions, because of your privacy. Teachers can read online texts in MyCourses, while files must be downloaded for reading them. We still recommend you to save your texts for yourself in a suitable file format.
Note that only course teachers can see your submissions. Please don’t include any sensitive information, such as time of birth, social security number or any personal health information, in your response.
After submitting the assignment, pause for a while to reflect, and answer the questions for the week!
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Students mustMake a submission
Instructions for the Week 2 group discussion:
At first, feel free to share something about your week and how you have been. In case you meet online, please turn on your cameras, whenever possible. Agree on turns for keeping notes and submitting the memo after the meeting via the "Add submission" button below. One of the best practices is to rotate this task on weekly basis.
Each of you is allowed to decide how much and at what level you want to tell about your individual assignment answers. The main point is that each group member has the opportunity to take part in the discussion and everyone is listened to. See the Guidelines for peer group discussions in the Orientation week material.
Discuss in free format at least about the following topics:
- what kinds of thoughts did this course week’s material and individual assignments provoke?
- reflect what meaningful use of time means for you
- to what issues can you influence on with functional time management, and what not?
- How has the balance (or imbalance) between studies, work and free time been visible in your everyday lives?
- Share tips on scheduling, using time and getting things done for each other!
The note taker makes notes and in the end of the meeting, go through together the most important points in your discussion. The note taker writes these down and submits the memo as soon after the meeting as possible. There are no minimum or maximum lengths for the memo, but it should cover the topics you have discussed.