Everyone is equal when it comes to time

Time is the one resource that every human has received in exactly the same quantity. It does not matter whether you are rich or poor, you will still have 24 hours in a day.

How you use these hours are up to you!

Learn the Principles

We cover time management principles in our Learning Management Programme in great detail.

We provide a framework for managing yourself more than managing your time. We use the principles of Importance and Urgency as popularised by Stephen R. Covey, the author of The Seven Habits of Highly effective people. We’ve used his principles as a guide and used our experience and knowledge to adapt it to the learning environment. Later in the programme, we also introduce you to the use of Mind Maps in Time Management.

Draw Up a Time Table

Once you have done the theory, you must apply it by drawing up a time table.

• Draw up a time table for both your working and your leisure time
• Allocate timeslots for each of the subject areas that you want to cover in a day
• Add the work that you want to cover in each timeslot
• Work your plan!

All of this is covered in detail in our Learning Management Programme.

Even though we are running the 30 Day Learning Challenge at the moment, you can enrol at any time and by following our Blog Posts, you will be able to catch up at any time.

So, off you go! Put that plan in place!

Now that you know the importance of motivation, you are able to go on to the next step, goal setting.

Goal setting is based more on the near future than the distant future.

Our module on Goal Setting in the Learning Management Programme uses the SMART method of Goal Setting. There are numerous books and websites on the subject. We’ve adapted the method for learning.

Setting AND achieving your Goals

The SMART method not only gets you to set goals, it also gives you the methods to achieve them. ‘Setting goals’ is not the same as ‘achieving goals’. You need methods to keep you on track and bring you back on track if you veer off course.

So many people set goals and never achieve them. A good example is the ‘New Year resolutions’ that are made every year. The goals are set on a whim and no method is put in place to ensure that the goals are reached. While they sound good, they are not achievable.

Ensure that you set goals that you can reach and put a method in place to ensure that your goals are on track and bring them back on track when you see it going off course.

Write down your goals

Now, before you do anything else, write down your learning goals for the next few months. Make a note in your diary to check your progress along the way.

And enrol for our Learning Management Programme to get all the details you need.

Motivation is one of the most important, if not THE most important aspect of learning.

In our Learning Management Programme, we give you an evaluation sheet to check your current levels of motivation, as well as a case study.

The case study goes through a typical study session of John. It also highlights the problems that John has with focusing and staying motivated.

You could do this yourself. Take some time and go through your typical study session. Make a note of how long you sit, what you do, how you study, etc.

You can then analyse your session to see whether you are studying effectively.

While we believe that using the posts on this blog together with our Learning Management Programme will give you maximum benefits, you could still get value by following our blog postings and using your own methods.

Do not underestimate the importance of good motivational techniques. It is often the difference between success and failure, or the determining factor in getting that ‘A’ symbol.

The motivation module then goes on to explain that the problem with motivation lies in two areas:

• The methods we use to learn
• Adequate Goal Setting

Remember the vision board?

By having a clear vision of what you are working for and the burning desire to achieve that vision will ensure that you will do whatever it takes to get achieve that vision.

While the vision looks at the big picture, often in the distant future, goals are more immediate and achievable in the near future. Our next session will therefore focus on goals and goal setting.

Build that vision, stay motivated!

The first module in our Learning Management Programme covers motivation and goal setting, but before you get to that I would like you to take a step back.

If you are not getting the results you want, the chances are great that you are not motivated to put in the effort to get the results you actually want.

This is often because you don’t know what is in it for you.

Write a short essay

I gave my son an exercise to help him with this. I asked him to write a short essay on the topic, ‘What will good results get me?’

I asked him to project forward in life. Think about living a good life. Think about the car you want to drive, the clothes you want to wear, the house you want to live in.

Do you want to go on regular holidays? Do you want a good job? Do you need to get into a good school, college, or university?

Based on this, write down a short essay describing your future life.

Create a vision board

Now that you have written down what you want in life, you can start with building your vision board.

Get some old magazines, from which you can tear, or cut out pictures. Look for pictures that represent what you’ve written in your essay.

Don’t be afraid. Let your imagination run wild. After all, it is your vision of your future, not of anybody else.

Once you have collected the pictures, get a big card, or a book, if you don’t want to use cardboard, and paste the pictures on the cardboard or in the book.

You could put a picture of yourself in the centre.

Once you have pasted the pictures in an order that makes sense to you, you can go about personalising it with words and colours of your choice.

You can even take some motivational words from a favourite song, or quotes from one of your sport stars or celebrities.

Once this is complete, you can hang this board on your wall, where you can look at it daily. If you used a book, be sure to look at it everyday on getting up and before going to bed.

Your subconscious will register your dreams

Without you knowing it, your subconscious will register your vision and will start working on it immediately. Your subconscious is awake even when you are sleeping.

Some people call it the ‘Law of Attraction’, but whatever you call it, you only get in life what you ask for. By filling your mind with positive thoughts, you will better be able to put in the effort to achieve the results you want.

It will enable you to work under difficult circumstances, even when you are tired, or your friends are goofing around.

Once you have completed your vision board, you will be ready to start with Module One of our Learning Management Programme.

You can either do this by hand, or by using software.

Hand Drawn Notes

I recommend that you start with hand drawn notes. While this may seem more difficult than using software, it has a few advantages.

You will most likely write you exams by hand, if you are at school, college or university. By doing your study notes by hand you will get the necessary practice writing.

To get the maximum out of this course, I recommend the following:

• A few A4 hardcovers. I prefer the use of a hardcover for my notes, as all my notes will be in one place. The disadvantage of this is that it is difficult to add or remove notes.
• If you don’t like hardcovers, a file and a pad with ruled pages could also be used.
• A large drawing pad. This will be used for Mind Maps.
• Coloured Pens. I recommend a good quality fel tipped pen. ‘Fineliners’, or coloured ball point pens can also be used.

Armed with this, you will be able to make your notes colourful and interesting.

Software

For the linear notes, any word processing software will do. The most common software is obviously Microsoft Office, but free software like OpenOffice has come a long way.

The only criteria for the software, is that it must be capable of creating tables.

For Mind Mapping, I highly recommend the Free Software, Xmind. Xmind is mature for a free, open source application. There is also a premium version available.

Instructions on how to used Xmind will be included in the course. For now, just download the necessary components and install it.

You can also use any of the commercial software, like MindManager, iMindMap and MindGenius, etc.

Having these tools and material available before you start the course, will make the process more productive.

Have you ever sat in front of a pile of textbooks, boring scribbled notes and tons of work to complete? Have you ever wondered ‘why am I doing this?’

Don’t fear! You are in the same boat as millions of other learners all over the world, both young and old. In order to become motivated, you first need to ask the question, ‘What’s in it for me?’

This week you will learn how to define this and how to manage your expectations.

You will build up a vision board of what your studies will do for you and what it can get you. You will explore your dreams and then build solid, down to earth plans to get there.

How do I do this?

You will then learn how to put this into a plan and how to work the plan. You will know how to organise and prioritise your time in a way that finally makes sense. Throw away those boring ‘to do lists’ and manage your time according to what’s important and what’s urgent using colourful Mind Maps.

You will set up your own Time Management Tool and use this tool to still find time to play!

Course Modules

• Motivation
• Time Management

These modules will allow you to manage your workload in a way that is colourful, effective and fun!