Self-Regulation and Time Management
A Situation in which I used Self-Regulation to guide my Thinking and Behaviour
During my final year in college school, I used to go skating with my friends who had already joined college. With time, I was hooked to skating so much that it started affecting my studies. With my end of year exams fast approaching, I had to change the trend and self-regulation was important to this plan. My first step involved getting aware of the demands of the situation. The situation demanded that I dedicate maximum time to my studies with such activities as skating taking the least time.
Having identified what I was supposed to do, my next step involved monitoring my behaviour. I did this through reducing the amount of time I had allocated to skating. I allocated Saturday afternoons as the only time I would be skating. The last step involved consistently assessing how successful I was in meeting the demands of the situation and changing my strategies if need be. I managed this by reflecting on the amount of content I had covered each week and trying to cover more the following week.
Ways in Which I can use Self-Regulation to Manage Time in My Online Learning
I can use self-regulation in many ways to manage time in my online learning. One of these ways is by identifying a private workplace that will facilitate learning. This reduces chances of distraction and ensures that I remain focused on my learning throughout the period. Additionally, I can set up an environment that is free from noises such as music.
Planning on what I intend to study on the internet can also be an important way of managing my time. Planning ensures that I have specific goals that I need to have achieved at the end of the session. Considering that the internet offers a lot of information, planning makes it easy to get information I need within the least time possible. Additionally, I can schedule my time in such a way that I identify a particular time of the day when I work best and allocate my most complex studies to this time. This reduces the chances of feeling worn out during such sessions (Hoare, 2006).
Another way I can manage my time during my online learning is by creating mini-deadlines for my assignments. This will help me monitor my progress on the assignments and avoid a last minute rush. Additionally, writing due dates on an electronic calendar in my device can help me regularly refer to these dates and assess how much time I have to complete assignments. Consistently checking on these dates before agreeing to any work can also help me avoid making commitments that will conflict with my learning demands (Kitsantas &. Dabbagh, 2009).
Finally yet importantly of these ways is asking for help when necessary. Staying silent after failing to understand a concept can waste a lot of time. In order to manage my time better, I can opt to ask for help from peers or from my instructor (Kitsantas &. Dabbagh, 2009).
Hoare, C. (2006). Handbook of Adult Development and Learning: A Handbook of Theory, Research, and Practice. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Kitsantas, A. &. Dabbagh, N. (2009). Learning to learn with integrative learning technologies (ILT): A practical guide for academic success. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Pub.