Calling All Procrastinators

Sandra de Koning has been leading this workshop since 2009 in conjunction with Student & Career Support. According to de Koning, life for international students can be more complicated than it is for Dutch students. She says that balancing studies with your personal life while living in a different culture takes more time and decisions can be more complex. With the right tools it becomes easy to balance time for your studies, sports, social life, family and friends.

The workshop is based on the principles put forward in the book “First Things First” by Stephen Covey. According to Covey’s website, the goal is to decide what activities are most important so that decisions are guided not merely by the “clock” of scheduling, but by the “compass” of purpose and values.

De Koning says that you need to examine several issues when you consider time management. First you have to look at effectivity – are you doing the right things? Next you need to look at efficiency – are you doing things in the right order? And, finally, you must learn how to set priorities. She says this workshop will introduce techniques to help people formulate goals and then translate them to a schedule. Participants will also take a look at individual learning styles and how to integrate them into time management.

“Changing procrastinating behavior is a process that can take two to three months,” states de Koning. But she knows that making positive changes is possible. “This workshop gives you tools to put into practice.”

Daan Wilmer, a student working toward a Masters of Computer Science, attended the seminar last spring. “I was having trouble getting jobs done on time, and I thought that this seminar might help me to get everything back on track,” he said. “I learned that time management is not that hard. There are some basic techniques, and when you apply them – actually sit down and use it – it helps to divide the huge workload into manageable chunks.”

The workshop consists of two half day sessions at the Library Learning Centre. It will be held Monday March 4^th and Monday March 18^th from 16.00 to 20.00. The cost of the workshop is €15 and a light meal is included. For more information, visit www.smartstudie.tudelft.nl.