Interactive Vocabulary - Amy E. Olsen 2017

Chapter 3. Time
Part I. Education

Planning Matters

Orientation Handout #6

Planning Your Time

One of the most important lessons a college student can learn is how to deal with time constraints. This handout will help you hone your time management skills. You will become the one in control of your life.

Know your goals: Take the initiative and realize that you are responsible for your future. Only you know what you are aiming for. Make a list of goals you want to accomplish. Think about what you want to achieve in college and after college in professional and personal areas of your life. Make a to-do list related to your goals. Create short-term (weekly) and long-term (semester or yearly) lists of what you need to do to achieve each of your goals.

Plan your time: Learn how to allot your time to help you make wise decisions. Get a weekly planner to keep track of important dates, such as when papers are due and tests are scheduled. Use your planner to write in class times and work hours. Then fit in study, exercise, and social time. Use your planner to help you prioritize your to-do list. Decide what is important to do first and what can be done later. Placing items in order of importance will keep you from being disorganized. You will find that your life will no longer be in disarray when you take the time to prioritize.

Get started: You should be liberal with the time you allot for major projects. If you think it will take ten hours, give yourself twenty instead. If you find yourself procrastinating, ask yourself why you are afraid to begin a project. Maybe the job seems too hard. Break the task into smaller parts. It can help to do the hard part first, and when that part is over, the job won't seem so bad. Set deadlines and stick to them—that way you can't postpome a job forever.

Reward yourself: When you finish a project, give yourself a reward, even a small one: a slice of your favorite pizza, a CD, an extra thirty minutes on the court. You will be motivated to accomplish more by occasionally rewarding yourself.

Ask for help: Don't be afraid to ask others for help or give them jobs to do if appropriate. You don't have to take care of the kids, cook, and clean alone. You will have more energy if you ask your family or roommates to help with chores. If you don't know how to do something, ask for advice. Asking the right person for help can make you more efficient and save hours of wasted time.

Predicting

For each set, write the definition on the line next to the word to which it belongs. If you are unsure, return to the reading on page 22, and underline any context clues you find. After you've made your predictions, check your answers against the Word List on page 27. Place a checkmark in the box next to each word whose definition you missed. These are the words you'll want to study closely.

Set One

the first step

to sparpen

to give

limitations

the ability to control something

□ 1. constraints (line 2) ...

□ 2. hone (line 2) ...

□ 3. management (line 2) ...

□ 4. initiative (line 4) ...

□ 5. allot (line 9) ...

Set Two

generous

well-organized

to place in order of importance

confusion

postponing

□ 6. prioritize (line 12) ...

□ 7. disarray (line 14) ...

□ 8. liberal (line 15) ...

□ 9. procrastinating (line 16) ...

□ 10. efficient (line 26) ...

Self-Tests

1 Circle the correct meaning of each vocabulary word.

1. hone:    sharpen  dull

2. disarray:    confusion  order

3. efficient:    messy  orderly

4. liberal:    stingy   generous

5. initiative:    first step  do nothing

6. allot:    assign  remove

7. management:   unsure  control

8. prioritize:    random  order of importance

9. procrastinate:   put off  get started

10. constraint:   freedom  limitation

2 Match the description with one of the vocabulary words below. Context clues are underlined to help you make the connections. Use each word once.

Vocabulary list

initiative efficient  prioritize   allot   disarray

constraints liberal  procrastinate  management hone

1. I will give myself two hours to write a rough draft of my paper; however, I will assign a lot more time to revising it ... .

2. Since I have lost twenty pounds, I will continue to deal with the restrictions of this diet until I lose another fifteen pounds. ...

3. Jay puts off doing anything until the last minute. ...

4. Quiana took the first step and held a meeting to organize a food drive; we appreciated her getting us started. ...

5. It’s more important to study for my test than to watch TV tonight. ...

6. Isis is so organized that she never forgets any birthdays or anniversaries. ...

7. I would call myself an open-minded person. ...

8. I go to batting practice three times a week to work on my swing. ...

9. Carmela's life is so disordered that she forgets appointments and loses things. ...

10. It has taken awhile, but I finally feel that I have the ability to control my finances.

3 Complete the sentences below using the vocabulary words. Use each word once.

Vocabulary list

constraints disarray  initiative  efficient  liberal

allot  management hone  prioritize  procrastinate

1. The whole house is in ... since we began packing for our big move.

2. Due to budget ..., the college will not be holding its annual Spring Fair.

3. We need to ... what we want to do on our vacation. We only have five days, and there is so much to see in Washington D.C.

4. I took the ... and called everyone in my class to see if they wanted to start a study group.

5. Our history teacher gave us a(n) ... amount of time to complete the quiz. There were ten multiple-choice questions, and we had two hours to answer them.

6. The assistant was so ... that he had the report ready by the end of the day; his boss thought it would take a week to organize.

7. The clerk wasn't able to deal with my problem, so I asked to talk to the ... .

8. I ... thirty minutes each day to exercise.

9. I need to ... my speaking skills, so I'm going to take a speech class next semester.

10. I don't like to ...; I get too nervous if I'm not done with an assignment a week before it is due.

Identify the two vocabulary words represented in the photographs.

4 Circle the word that correctly completes each sentence.

1. I (allotted, honed) ten hours to read the novel, but it took me fourteen hours instead.

2. Since I have started to (prioritize, procrastinate) my homework assignments, I have not had to tum in one late assignment.

3. I was able to (disarray, hone) my singing skills by working with a coach for two years, which has given me the confidence to perform before an audience.

4. The volunteers are (liberally, efficiently) dishing out the ice cream. I don't think I can eat such a huge bowl.

5. Ye tends to (procrastinate, allot) often, which has brought his grades down because he usually turns in work late.

6. When the wind blew, it (prioritized, disarrayed) the papers on my desk, and now I can't find the receipt I need.

7. The company took the (initiative, management) and contacted me about doing an orientation workshop on the new software. That was a nice change since I usually have to make the first contact.

8. Since I have moved into (constraint, management), I have been able to make changes that have significantly increased the company's earnings.

9. When I am (liberal, efficient), I am always pleased because it gives me more time to do some­thing else.

10. The (constraints, initiatives) of this essay assignment are limiting my creativity.

Interactive Exercise

Write your answers in one or two sentences. Use at least one vocabulary word in each answer.

1. Which word best describes you or your life—efficient, disarray, liberal? Explain.

2. What do you see as your biggest constraint to developing better time management skills?

3. Describe a situation when you procrastinated or where you took the initiative.

4. What skill do you want to hone? Why?

5. Do you use a planner to help you allot your time and prioritize your responsibilities? Explain why or why not.

Conversation Starters

An excellent way to review the vocabulary words and help to make them your own is to use them when you are speaking. Gather three to five friends or classmates and use one or more of the conversation starters below. Before you begin talking, have each person write down six vocabulary words he or she will use during the conversation. Share your lists with each other to check that you did not all pick the same six words. Try to cover all of the words you want to study whether you are reviewing one, two, or more chapters.

1. What do you see as the major benefits of improving one's vocabulary?

2. Which of the resources at your college would you highly recommend someone use? Why?

3. What have you done to become a more organized student?

4. How is your semester or quarter going? What experience has been the most rewarding, and which has been the most difficult?

Words to Watch

Which words would you like to practice with a bit more? Pick 3-5 words to study, and list them below. Write the word and its definition, and compose your own sentence using the word correctly. This extra practice could be the final touch to learning a word.