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1. Introduction
In 2009 I decided spend a year studying for a Master of Education degree in the UK. Having studied abroad for two years， it is now crucial for me to reflect the experience. Therefore， this paper aims to highlight the importance of time management skills improvement. Instead of giving solutions of the challenges， this paper will discuss my personal experiences and reflections. First this paper will talk about the problems a Chinese student may face whilst studying abroad. Next it will review the literature related to essential time management skills. Finally it will give a more detailed description of my reflection of personal experiences of studying abroad which will be related back to the literature.
2. Current situation of Chinese students study abroad
Time management can be a problem which international students have to face. The term “cost of freedom” is used to describe the situation of the international students. Because the lifestyle is different in European countries time management skills may help Chinese students adapt themselves to the new situation. However， as most Chinese students lack of skills to manage their time and to maintain a healthy life style， many students may find that it is difficult to manage their time in an efficient way. Chinese students spend their time on surfing on internet， chatting and playing games. It is argued here that effective time management skills may influence students’ studies in a positive way. Therefore， it would be a good time for me to reflect on my personal experience of the problems and improve my personal skills after taking the module of professional skills.
3. Literature Review
3.1 Time Wasters
There are some factors which can have an impact on time management： environmental wasters and self-generated wasters. Environmental time wasters may consist： visitors， telephone calls and waiting for some one can be main factors which may have an impact on the time management of international students. First， unannounced visitors can be the main factor which may take up the time. Besides this， As most Chinese students are far away from home， making long-distance phone calls and emails can be crucial to get contact with the family members. This may take time to communicate with others on the phone. However， students can improving their time management skills by reducing the number of the calls they make.
The self-generated time wasters may include lack of organization， procrastination， trying to do much and lack of motivation. Displaced items can take up time， which can reduce the efficiency of using time. Besides this， procrastination can be another common problem for international students. Leaving things until the last minute is a common problem which puts students under an undue amount of pressure. Many students do too many things at the same time as a result they can not to concentrate on to the most important task. Finally， a lack of motivation may reduce the efficiency of the time management by reducing the effectiveness of the work and study. 3.2 The Skills of the Time Management
Reference reveals that there are four key aspects involved with effective time management， which are： “planning， delegating， organizing and evaluating.”First， it is important to set target in both long term and then break down the target into small goals to be completed in the short term. Besides this， it is necessary to find the priorities and list them on the top of the daily “things to do” list. Finally， it is important to be aware of the ‘time wasters’ when taking action of the list. Environmental time wasters can be out of one’s control， however， people can improve their time management skills by reducing the time spent on unannounced visitors and phone calls. People can avoid the self generated time wasters by enhancing their own understanding of the concept of time.
4. Reflections on my Time Spent Studying Abroad
Year 1 Spain
I have never imagined that I would have such a memorable experience studying in Spain. I can still remember the first day when I arrived there. I could not buy any food because it was Sunday and all the shops were closed. The different timetable in Spain might provide me a new opportunity to think about my time management. As the first sentence I had learnt in Spanish， “comer es para vivir； vivir no es para comer”， which means “eating food is for to live； life is not equal to eating”， the most important things in my daily “to do list” are cooking and study. I had calculated that the number of the hours I spent cooking was four hours， compared to study， on which I spent eight hours each day. The rhythm of life there was quite slow， which allowed me to have more time to reflect my latest personal experience. The most important thing I had learned of their life style was to enjoy life； the people in Spain were more likely to sunbathe in the square every afternoon. In this context， I became to more value the concept of the time. As time is priceless， having a balanced choice of taking use of time might help you to have a healthy lifestyle.
I had never paid attention to the time wasters which may influence my efficiency of time management. Waiting for someone was a biggest environmental time waster I met in Spain. Being late for two hours means more for me； I lost the motivation of taking part in activities which I had expected before. However， when I look back up after I finished my time management course， I realized that I had lost my time， which may brought possible stress for me. As a result， I had run out of my patience and lost the interest. The possible solution is that as the concept of time may be varies according to different cultures， I should learn more about other cultures. Besides， I should make use of the time when waiting for someone， as I could read the newspaper to obtain the recent news. Language can be one of my main self generated time wasters. As instead of spending one hour， I spent the whole morning on opening a bank account in Spain due to the language problem. As my language skills are improving， I realize that language can not only be a tool which I can communicate with others， but also a window for me to obtain the knowledge of the mainstream culture. Being able to understand the concept of time helps me to plan the time in a more efficient way. Year 2 UK
A one year master study in the UK helped me to realize the importance of planning how to use time. One year can be a short time. However， if I thought that if I plan and take use of the time， I could acquire more knowledge than I expected. The efficiency of time management， in terms of acquiring more knowledge in a limited time， can be improved by preparing ahead. Preparation ahead helped me to get more help from tutors by having appointment with them. In addition， setting targets in the long term can help me to break down the goals into the different tasks in different stages. One possible consequence is that preparation helped me to clarify my ideas and find the priorities to achieve the goals. Finishing tasks every day helped me to reduce pressure， which in turn made me more confident to make the choice of planning my time.
As the concept of time is different between the culture of Spain and Britain， I had acquired the basic skills to adapt myself easily to the new situation here. Instead of waiting for someone， announced visitors may become my main environmental time wasters. I am willing to communicate with others， which for sure will take my time. Working on my essays means I have different tasks in different stages. However， as a conversation may take me thirty minutes， I have to delay the deadline for putting my daily “things to do list” into practice. One possible outcome of this was that I may have to deal with extra stress when I have not completed tasks on time. Ability to say “no” can reduce the time of subordinate things. Therefore， there is a possibility to reduce the time spend on talking with announced visitors if they just drop in and want to have a talk. Besides， as language is not my main problem here in the UK， my concern is however about the self generated time wasters. Trying to do many things at the same time may result in the reverse outcomes. I am more likely to plan the things in a short time， which seems feasible to me. However， I found that this may place more pressure on me， as my time in the UK was limited. As a result， I have lost the quality of the task， which may makes me feel frustrated and may make me loose my motivation because of bad time management. After the time management course I realized that I needed to plan the activities in my daily life in a more effective way and pay more attention to my priorities.
References：
[1]Garratt，S.（1994）Manage Your Time.Glasgow：HarperCollinsManufacturing.
[2]Knight，B.（1991）Managing School Time.Essex：Longman.
[3]Wei Xiaoli，2010 graduated from University of Birmingham，was majored in International Studies in Education.She was responsible for Foreign Language Training and Consulting on study abroad.
作者簡介：Wei Xiaoli， 2010 graduated from University of Birmingham， was majored in International Studies in Education. She was responsible for Foreign Language Training and Consulting on study abroad.
In 2009 I decided spend a year studying for a Master of Education degree in the UK. Having studied abroad for two years， it is now crucial for me to reflect the experience. Therefore， this paper aims to highlight the importance of time management skills improvement. Instead of giving solutions of the challenges， this paper will discuss my personal experiences and reflections. First this paper will talk about the problems a Chinese student may face whilst studying abroad. Next it will review the literature related to essential time management skills. Finally it will give a more detailed description of my reflection of personal experiences of studying abroad which will be related back to the literature.
2. Current situation of Chinese students study abroad
Time management can be a problem which international students have to face. The term “cost of freedom” is used to describe the situation of the international students. Because the lifestyle is different in European countries time management skills may help Chinese students adapt themselves to the new situation. However， as most Chinese students lack of skills to manage their time and to maintain a healthy life style， many students may find that it is difficult to manage their time in an efficient way. Chinese students spend their time on surfing on internet， chatting and playing games. It is argued here that effective time management skills may influence students’ studies in a positive way. Therefore， it would be a good time for me to reflect on my personal experience of the problems and improve my personal skills after taking the module of professional skills.
3. Literature Review
3.1 Time Wasters
There are some factors which can have an impact on time management： environmental wasters and self-generated wasters. Environmental time wasters may consist： visitors， telephone calls and waiting for some one can be main factors which may have an impact on the time management of international students. First， unannounced visitors can be the main factor which may take up the time. Besides this， As most Chinese students are far away from home， making long-distance phone calls and emails can be crucial to get contact with the family members. This may take time to communicate with others on the phone. However， students can improving their time management skills by reducing the number of the calls they make.
The self-generated time wasters may include lack of organization， procrastination， trying to do much and lack of motivation. Displaced items can take up time， which can reduce the efficiency of using time. Besides this， procrastination can be another common problem for international students. Leaving things until the last minute is a common problem which puts students under an undue amount of pressure. Many students do too many things at the same time as a result they can not to concentrate on to the most important task. Finally， a lack of motivation may reduce the efficiency of the time management by reducing the effectiveness of the work and study. 3.2 The Skills of the Time Management
Reference reveals that there are four key aspects involved with effective time management， which are： “planning， delegating， organizing and evaluating.”First， it is important to set target in both long term and then break down the target into small goals to be completed in the short term. Besides this， it is necessary to find the priorities and list them on the top of the daily “things to do” list. Finally， it is important to be aware of the ‘time wasters’ when taking action of the list. Environmental time wasters can be out of one’s control， however， people can improve their time management skills by reducing the time spent on unannounced visitors and phone calls. People can avoid the self generated time wasters by enhancing their own understanding of the concept of time.
4. Reflections on my Time Spent Studying Abroad
Year 1 Spain
I have never imagined that I would have such a memorable experience studying in Spain. I can still remember the first day when I arrived there. I could not buy any food because it was Sunday and all the shops were closed. The different timetable in Spain might provide me a new opportunity to think about my time management. As the first sentence I had learnt in Spanish， “comer es para vivir； vivir no es para comer”， which means “eating food is for to live； life is not equal to eating”， the most important things in my daily “to do list” are cooking and study. I had calculated that the number of the hours I spent cooking was four hours， compared to study， on which I spent eight hours each day. The rhythm of life there was quite slow， which allowed me to have more time to reflect my latest personal experience. The most important thing I had learned of their life style was to enjoy life； the people in Spain were more likely to sunbathe in the square every afternoon. In this context， I became to more value the concept of the time. As time is priceless， having a balanced choice of taking use of time might help you to have a healthy lifestyle.
I had never paid attention to the time wasters which may influence my efficiency of time management. Waiting for someone was a biggest environmental time waster I met in Spain. Being late for two hours means more for me； I lost the motivation of taking part in activities which I had expected before. However， when I look back up after I finished my time management course， I realized that I had lost my time， which may brought possible stress for me. As a result， I had run out of my patience and lost the interest. The possible solution is that as the concept of time may be varies according to different cultures， I should learn more about other cultures. Besides， I should make use of the time when waiting for someone， as I could read the newspaper to obtain the recent news. Language can be one of my main self generated time wasters. As instead of spending one hour， I spent the whole morning on opening a bank account in Spain due to the language problem. As my language skills are improving， I realize that language can not only be a tool which I can communicate with others， but also a window for me to obtain the knowledge of the mainstream culture. Being able to understand the concept of time helps me to plan the time in a more efficient way. Year 2 UK
A one year master study in the UK helped me to realize the importance of planning how to use time. One year can be a short time. However， if I thought that if I plan and take use of the time， I could acquire more knowledge than I expected. The efficiency of time management， in terms of acquiring more knowledge in a limited time， can be improved by preparing ahead. Preparation ahead helped me to get more help from tutors by having appointment with them. In addition， setting targets in the long term can help me to break down the goals into the different tasks in different stages. One possible consequence is that preparation helped me to clarify my ideas and find the priorities to achieve the goals. Finishing tasks every day helped me to reduce pressure， which in turn made me more confident to make the choice of planning my time.
As the concept of time is different between the culture of Spain and Britain， I had acquired the basic skills to adapt myself easily to the new situation here. Instead of waiting for someone， announced visitors may become my main environmental time wasters. I am willing to communicate with others， which for sure will take my time. Working on my essays means I have different tasks in different stages. However， as a conversation may take me thirty minutes， I have to delay the deadline for putting my daily “things to do list” into practice. One possible outcome of this was that I may have to deal with extra stress when I have not completed tasks on time. Ability to say “no” can reduce the time of subordinate things. Therefore， there is a possibility to reduce the time spend on talking with announced visitors if they just drop in and want to have a talk. Besides， as language is not my main problem here in the UK， my concern is however about the self generated time wasters. Trying to do many things at the same time may result in the reverse outcomes. I am more likely to plan the things in a short time， which seems feasible to me. However， I found that this may place more pressure on me， as my time in the UK was limited. As a result， I have lost the quality of the task， which may makes me feel frustrated and may make me loose my motivation because of bad time management. After the time management course I realized that I needed to plan the activities in my daily life in a more effective way and pay more attention to my priorities.
References：
[1]Garratt，S.（1994）Manage Your Time.Glasgow：HarperCollinsManufacturing.
[2]Knight，B.（1991）Managing School Time.Essex：Longman.
[3]Wei Xiaoli，2010 graduated from University of Birmingham，was majored in International Studies in Education.She was responsible for Foreign Language Training and Consulting on study abroad.
作者簡介：Wei Xiaoli， 2010 graduated from University of Birmingham， was majored in International Studies in Education. She was responsible for Foreign Language Training and Consulting on study abroad.