When pursuing a career in healthcare, good time management is paramount to success. But what does good time management look like? Many times, we describe time management as finding time to “get it all done” - but without taking a step back to set clear goals, we can’t truly know if the choices we make are the right ones in regard to our time. In this way, goal setting and time management go hand-in-hand.
On Saturday, January 22nd, HCOP participants took part in a goal setting and time management workshop led by HCOP Academic Success Counselor, Christina Jelinek. Throughout the first portion of the workshop, students were encouraged to brainstorm and visualize some ideas for goals they could set for themselves in three areas of their lives - career, relationships, and self. Next, students learned how to set SMART(Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based) goals that can help avoid common pitfalls.
For the second half of the workshop, Christina Jelinek turned students’ attention to time management, and explained how once students set SMART goals, they can use scheduling and time management strategies to help achieve those goals. Students learned the benefits of scheduling tasks ahead of time and were encouraged to fill out a time diary for a week to see how they currently spend their time. To end the workshop, participants learned tips and tricks to help with successful time management, such as utilizing the Pomodoro method of study. Students were encouraged to bring their time management or scheduling strategy ideas with them to their academic success meetings, in order to receive additional input.