The Welcome/Transfer Center hosted a workshop to help students improve their time management skills on Sept. 9 and 10.

Stressing the importance of time management, Contra Costa College counselor assistant DeEboni Noureddie said, “You don’t have to be ready to start, you just need to start.”

The workshop began at 5 p.m., and covered a variety of topics in time management. At the workshop, students learned how establishing and sticking to a routine can help improve their cognitive functions, improve their memory and has even been shown to improve a person’s motor skills.

Noureddie said, “We wanted students attending the workshop to see the smaller and larger pictures of time management and how important it is to remain organized.”

Noureddie co-hosted the workshop with minority retention specialist Ashley Patterson.

Each day, Noureddie and Patterson educated students on how time management could help them in many aspects of their lives, and can even help students retain information better.

They stressed how time management can help a student succeed in college and in life.

Jonathan Elias, a college student who holds his liberal studies degree and majoring in business management, said “Learning to set goals was helpful.” He said what he learned could help me succeed in his goal of one day becoming a senator.

During the workshop, students shared what their habits were currently, and how their lack of time management impedes their success.

Participants in the workshop utilized a color-coding method to graph their typical day hour-by-hour. Noureddie and Patterson then introduced students to the concept of setting SMART goals.

SMART is an organization technique where one categorizes their goals in a Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time efficient manner. Elias said this workshop was his first exposure to the concept, and that setting SMART goals would help him make more valuable use of his time.

The Welcome/Transfer Center is located in the Student Services Center. The staff inside are ready throughout the day to help students develop an ed. plan for college, help get students register for the necessary assessment tests and to help students toward the end of the community college career with the process of transferring from CCC to a four-year college or university.