CHAPTER TEN

ACADEMIC SKILLS
Time Management
Time management is the ability to plan and control how someone spends the hours in a day to
accomplish his or her goals effectively. This involves deal with time between the domains of life:
work, home, social life, and hobbies. It is important to establish clear goals and priorities in order
to set aside non-essential tasks that can waste time, and to monitor where the time actually goes.
Good time management as deciding what someone wants to get out of life and efficiently
pursuing these goals. Time management does not mean being busy all the time. It means using
your time the way you want to use it which can include large doses of day dreaming and doing
nothing. Good time management brings with it increasing relaxation, less stress, more
satisfaction and greater accomplishment.
Time is a communal non-renewable resource for all human beings but abused by many
individuals.
People who practice good time management techniques often find that they:
 Are more productive,
 Have more energy for things they need to accomplish,
 Feel less stressed,
 Are able to do the things they want ,
 Get more things done,
 Relate more positively to others, and
 Feel better about themselves.

Finding a time management strategy that works best for individuals depends on their personality,
ability to self motivate and level of self discipline. By incorporating some or all of the ten
strategies Chapman and Burpured below, you can manage your time more effectively.
1. Know how you spend time 2. Set priorities
3. Use a planning tool 4. Get organized
5. Schedule your time appropriately 6. Delegate–get helps from others
7. Stop procrastinating 8. Manage external time wasters
9. Avoid multi tasking 10. Stay healthy
Note taking and Study Skills

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In order to succeed in learning, it is often necessary to take good notes as lecturers often provide
you with key information for the course. Staying organized while taking notes is just as
important as note taking itself because if you have good notes to study, you will be more likely
to do well in exams. There are several strategies which will help you stay organized and take
good notes. However, due to limitation of the scope the module, the following comprehensive
strategies are considered for better note taking during class room lesson.
Getting Organized
Before you go to class, you need to have the necessary materials such as note books and pen.
Ringed exercise book is usually the most suitable one to have organized system of note taking. It
allows you to place your syllabi in the front, insert handouts by date, and add notes as needed. It
also allows you to remove sections of notes and place them side by side to create a big picture
view of a main points, chapters, or sections. Moreover, in order to develop good notes, you have
to prepare yourself and select the best approach to take notes during class.
Before Class
Effective note taking begins prior to class by creating a frame work of reference. This strategy
provides familiarity with terms, ideas and concepts discussed in lecture and leads to an active
role in your own learning. Therefore;
• Determine the lecture topic and review past readings and notes
• Complete readings assigned to lecture topics and preview any other auxiliary materials
• Prepare questions you may have from the readings
During Class
Depending on the type of class and personal learning style, you will develop your own method of
taking notes. Here are some guide lines and methods to assist you with the process:
• Date your notes
• Keep the objective/ theme of the class in mind
• Record notes in your own words
• Make your notes brief and focus on the pain points
• If you fall behind, stop. Make a mark in your note book, listen for a few minutes until you feel
caught up, then begin taking notes again. It is better to listen and get the information later.
Common Note Taking Methods
The following are the three major note taking methods.

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• Cornell Method – a systematic and simple method for note taking that breaks the note page in to three
sections (Cue column, note taking column and summary) to allow for organized recording and review the
main points during lecture. You can also use it while reading your text books.
• Outlining – Recording the main ideas of the lecture to the left margin of the page in your
exercise book. Indent more specific information under neat hand further indent examples.
Charting - Charting is a good strategy for courses that require comparisons/ contrasts of specific
dates, places, people, events, importance and how the information relates.

After Class
• Immediately after class, remain in the class room or find a quiet space close by and review notes.
• To solidify your understanding and connect new concepts with previous concepts, review your
notes as soon as possible following class.
• Connect with another member of the class and create an interactive discussion about the lecture.
• Visit your professor during office hours with questions. Be specific, state what you understand
and ask if you missed any important concepts.
• Instead of recopying your notes, record yourself reviewing what you wrote (if possible).
Speaking out loud is an interactive process that leads to a more in depth understanding.
Additionally, you will have are cording that can be played back.
Test Taking Skills
Out of their experiences, every student practices certain type of test taking thump rules.
Depending upon what they think right, they prepare themselves for tests and approach the tests.
Similarly, there are no agreed upon test taking skills among scholars. However, there are some
suggestions that can help students in doing tests. Some of these suggestions are given below.
1. Attend all classes.
2. Take organized and clear lecture notes.
3. Plan your study time and set study goals.
4. Use SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Revise and Recite) study style.
5. Use memorizing techniques such as associating difficult material with something you already know .
6. Divide the review material in to logical sections and concentrate on one at a time.
7. Organize the information you must remember.
8. Know your teacher (e. g., Hi s/ her focus areas) and meet with your teacher out of class.
9. Make your presence known in class by your courtesy, cooperation and willingness to learn.

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10. Ask questions to increase your understanding of course material.
11. Make use of tutoring services and student support centers of the college.
12. Separate review time from daily assignments.
13. Start reviewing systematically and early, not just the night before the test.
14. Practice predicting and answering test questions.
15. Learn test taking terms and strategies.
16. Examine previous tests to ascertain what you did well and what you did not do so well.
17. Find out what kind of a test it will be: objective, essay, or a combination of both.
18. Find out when and where the test will be given; what you are expected to bring with you
(pens); and what you are allowed to bring with you (dictionary). Get to the test site early with
appropriate materials and do deep breathing exercises to relax. Do not, at this time, continue to
try to study.
19. Get plenty of sleep the night before the exam.
20. Get up early enough to avoid rushing and to eat a healthy breakfast.
21. Tell yourself you will do well – and you will!
Test Anxiety and Overcoming Test Anxiety
Almost everyone feels nervous or experiences some anxiety when faced with a test or an exam.
Test anxiety is a negative mood state characterized by bodily symptoms of physical tension and
by apprehension about a test/exam going to take place in the future. It can be a subjective sense
of unease, a set of behaviors (looking worried and anxious or fidgeting), or a physiological
response originating in the brain and reflected in elevated heart rate and muscle tension due to
negative thinking of taking a test.
Students with test anxiety will experience rushes of adrenaline before and throughout their test.
Adrenaline blocks the brain from thinking and triggers flight / fight responses. It can interfere
with students studying, and they may have difficulty in learning and remembering what they
need to know for the test. Further, too much anxiety may block performances.
Severe test anxiety can cause a host of problems in students. Although each person will
experience a different collection of symptoms with differing degrees of intensity, the symptoms
of sever test anxiety fall in to a few categories.

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  Physical - headaches, nausea or diarrhea, extreme body temperature changes, excessive
sweating, shortness of breath, light headedness or fainting, rapid hear t beat, and/ or dry
mouth.
 Emotional – excessive feelings of fear, disappointment, anger, depression,
uncontrollable crying or laughing, feelings of helplessness.
 Behavioral - fidgeting, pacing, substance abuse, avoidance
 Cognitive – racing thoughts, going blank, difficulty in concentrating, negative self talk,
feelings of dread, comparing self with others, and difficulty in organizing thoughts.

Therefore, in order to reduce test anxiety, students should exercise realistic thinking. Realistic
thinking means looking at oneself, others, and the world in a balanced and fair way.
The following are steps of realistic thinking that can be applied to reduce test anxiety.
Step1: Pay attention to your self-talk
Thoughts are the things that we say to ourselves without speaking out loud (self-talk). We all
have our own way of thinking about things, and how we think has a big effect on how we feel.
When we think that something bad will happen such as failing a test, we feel anxious. For
example, imagine you have a test in Math class. If you think you are going to fail, you will feel
scared and anxious. But, if you think you can pass, you will feel calm.
Step 2: Identify thoughts that lead to feelings of anxiety
It can take some time and practice to identify the specific thoughts that make you anxious. Pay
attention to your shifts in anxiety, no matter how small. When you notice yourself getting more
anxious, that is the time to ask yourself. Therefore, here are some important suggestions to
identify thought that can lead to anxiety.
• What am I thinking right now? • What is making me feel anxious?
• What am I worried will happen? • What bad thing do I expect to happen?
Step 3: Challenge your anxious thinking
Thinking something does not mean it is true or that it will happen. Often, our thoughts are just
guesses and not actual facts. For example, thinking that you will fail a test does not mean you
will actually fail. Sometimes, our anxiety is the result of falling in to thinking traps.
Goal Setting
Goal setting is like drawing map, which will help individuals to track their development towards
reaching their full potential. It is the process of imagining, planning and implementing the big

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picture of one‘s destination. Goal setting gives someone direction and motivation, as well as
increasing satisfaction and self-confidence in their performance. In the process of goal setting,
goals should be straight forward and emphasize what the individual want to happen in his/ her
life.
The goal should be specific, measurable, action, realistic and time bound (SMART).
The most important purposes of goal setting:
• Guide and direct behavior • Provide clarity
• Provide challenges and standards • Help to decrease negative attitude.
• Reflect on what the goal setters consider important • Help to improve performance.
•Help increase pride and satisfaction in achievements • Improve self confidence
• Increase the motivation to achieve
Career Development Skill
Career development is a lifelong continuous process of planning implementing and managing
one’s learning, work and leisure in order to achieve life objectives. It is a continuous lifelong
process of developmental experiences that focuses on seeking, obtaining and processing
information about self, occupational and educational alternatives, life styles and role options is
career development.
Career management skill is often used to describe skills aptitudes abilities and attitudes required
to manage life. In other language career management skills (CM S) are competencies which help
individuals to identify their existing skills develop career learning goals and take action to
enhance their careers.
The concept of career management assumes that individuals can influence their careers, that
there are a range of skills which help an individual to manage their career in ways that are
personally advantageous, and that at least some of these skills can be acquired through learning
and experience.

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