Abstract

The study investigated the correlation between time planning and anxiety levels among postgraduate students during research work. A descriptive survey method was used to obtain data from 200 postgraduate students both males and females from six public and six private universities. The findings showed that most students had strong time planning skills and moderate anxiety levels, whereas there was a significant positive weak correlation between short-range and long-range planning of time with anxiety levels. In addition, there were no significant gender differences in time planning or anxiety levels. The findings highlighted the importance of flexible time planning practices in reducing anxiety among postgraduate students.

Key Words

Time Planning, Anxiety, Postgraduate Students 

Introduction

Management of time is both an art and a science. Everyone must get the necessary skills to manage their time because it cannot be reversed (Aduke, 2015). Pehlivan (2013) said that the keys to success are suitable time management and good planning. Time is an asset, which means it cannot be changed, bought, or stored to make it a personal thing. According to Jussila (2011), people with suitable time management skills can plan their time well, finish tasks on time, and reach their goals. To have a good life, one needs to know how to run things well with respect to time.

Anxiety, in Freud's definition, is "a feeling of immediate danger which can be dependent on either objective, psychological, or moral threats."  Anxiety was described by Sarason et al. (1980) as a conditioned reaction to perceived dangerous input, and this response might be acquired through learning or passed down through generations. In the same way, lacovou (2011) considered worry to be an example of maladjusted behavior. According to Einbinder (2014), anxiety is typically characterized by a condition of uneasiness that is combined with a sense of nervousness and a state of predicting the future that upsets and bothers the individual. Vitasari et al. (2010) supply another description of anxiety, which says that it can be caused by inner and external conflicts, meeting an unfamiliar scenario, item, person, situation, or thing that creates fear and obsessive thoughts.

Time management is also sometimes referred to as "self-management" or "independent working," which are two other names for the same concept. The ability to manage one's time well alleviates not only stress and anxiety but also depression. Students who can effectively manage their time are better able to allot specified amounts of time to activities according to their priorities (Beri, 2015). The level of anxiety can be decided by how much it delays a certain activity. It is possible that individuals who struggle with anxiety are not able to put their full effort into work if they have that condition. Because anxiety impedes the learning process. Anxiety can either constrain or stimulate the learning process. Working memory can be set back by depressingly prominent levels of academic anxiety (Abbasi et al., 2019).

The concept of time management refers not only to the use of available time but also to the investment of that time in such a way as to produce better academic results. The most efficient use of available time can be ensured by careful preparation of that time (Rashid et al., 2019). Time management has different behaviors, but planning behavior is the main root of time management. This behavior includes goal setting, planning, prioritizing, and scheduling (Jinalee, 2022). Due to the abovementioned facts, this study investigated the relationship of time planning factors with anxiety of the postgraduate students during research work.

Literature Review

Time management entails defining goals, which aids in fulfilling future demands, and to reach goals, planning and prioritizing are needed (Burrus et al., 2013). Planning is the systematic technique of recognizing the needs and then coming up with a better means of meeting the needs, inside a strategic process that allows students to find priorities and set their operational principles. Planning requires contemplating the future to prepare for it by acting now. Planning abilities are essential for the integration of new knowledge and the development of competencies, as well as the organization of the learning process (Romero-Pérez & Sánchez-Lissen, 2022).

Time, which has already had a profound impact on every aspect of life, has also begun to have a significant impact on education. Time management is the capacity to schedule activities that promote the completion of tasks to ambitious standards; i.e., allocating sufficient time to the right activities. It means making effective use of the time one must be as productive as possible (Gumusgul, 2018). Elizabeth and Nonye (2011) said that a student's time management skills decide how well he or she can use the time to reach goals, and these skills include setting goals, giving each activity a time limit, planning, setting priorities, and getting rid of tasks that are not important. Setting goals is a skill that is widely valued in the business world, and its importance in education cannot be overstated.

Adu-Oppong et al. (2014) said that people should set priorities for the day, plan assignments and assessments strategically, avoid putting things off, use a list of tasks, and keep work time and personal time separate. Tsai & Liu (2015) list the following as some of the most important: setting priorities, aligning focus, effective goal-setting, reducing interruptions, taking breaks, learning to say no to tasks that won't help one to attain the objectives, prioritizing what individuals actually want instead of multitasking and breaking down larger activities into smaller ones that are simpler to manage and complete so that one can better see and find the steps that need to be taken to reach a goal.

There is an equal amount of time for everyone. In reality, numerous people complain about the lack of spare time in their schedules. Still, few individuals get spare done in the same amount of time as others. It is important to figure out how this is possible (Bahadir, 2018). Individuals who effectively manage their time are aware of their priorities and develop strategies to achieve them in the proper order. Planning helps an individual arrange his or her life in two ways. The first shows how to get from where you are to the target point. The second specifies how to get to the specified point in the shortest shortest amount of time (Alpturk, 2015).

Students have the issue of wasting a lot of time and energy on unimportant activities rather than putting those efforts into enhancing their educational achievement. Many things can contribute to students' poor time management, which affects their academic achievement. These include disorganized work, procrastination, short breaks that are not necessary, poor study habits, insufficient quality control, and issues with clarification (Blair, 2013). When students learn how to manage their time well, their grades and productivity can change. So, skills like setting goals, planning, setting priorities, and making schedules are particularly important to how well students do in their studies (Nasrullah_PhD & Khan_PhD, 2015). Because of these skills, students can keep their concentration on their research work throughout the duration of the time, and they may also be satisfied with their unique aims.

Time management planning is divided into two categories: short-range planning and long-range planning. The later planning necessitates the development of long-term objectives and the implementation of disciplined processes. To gain a summary of the day-to-day tasks that must be completed, as well as time constraints and priorities, which enhances the sensation of control over time, planning eventually aids in the management of all activities. In some cases, it may be difficult to know how much work must be put in over the course of a few hours, days, or even weeks. It directs one to have a diminished view of their ability to regulate the passage of time (Nasrullah_PhD & Khan_PhD, 2015; Kelly, 2004). "Short-range planning" describes time management chores that have a daily or weekly period around them. These include organizing and prioritizing everyday behaviors, making work materials, and establishing goals at the start of the day (Yilmaz et al., 2010).

Anxiety is an emotional state of tension or uncomfortable disorder of the mind. It is a painful uneasiness of the mind caused by an unbending or expected illness (Beri, 2015). It is characterized by fear, guilt, insecurity, and a need for encouragement. Anxiety develops when an individual's ego demands are threatened. It is a natural reaction to unique circumstances. A general level of anxiety is normal, but high anxiety can be a big concern and cause illness in someone (Erdul, 2005). It has the potential to manifest as a debilitating mental disorder. People who suffer from anxiety disorders are plagued by persistent and overpowering feelings of worry and fear. They can even make it hard for them to move. No one knows for sure what causes anxiety disorders, but they are like other types of mental illness or physical weakness. It is caused by a mix of things, such as changes in the brain and stress in the environment (Beri, 2015).

Many students are anxious about studying these days. There are some studies that show that learning anxiety can be helpful, but it can also be bad. The level of anxiety matters as high-level anxiety is harmful (Abbasi et al., 2019). The assertion that anxiety has negative impacts is not supported by all available facts. Higher levels of anxiety have been connected to having a poor self-concept, a low level of self-confidence, and a lack of interest. Different people manage their time in diverse ways, depending on how much they know about time management (Beri, 2015). Students who do not know how to handle their time face anxiety because time affects everything in life. Research anxiety may be caused by to lack of interest in research ideas or confidence to conduct research. Time management skills are the ones by which students can minimize anxiety.

Students' knowledge of the connection between the idea of time management and research anxiety should be raised, and they should be made conscious of the fact that this connection exists. This is because both time and anxiety are active components of learning (Alpturk, 2015). Prioritizing tasks, creating both short- and long-term plans, and identifying "skills" such as concentrating on urgent and important tasks rather than those that are unimportant or do not advance your goals, making a list of decisions, persevering through setbacks, and not giving up are all necessary to reach the end goal. The student's capacity to finish the tasks given to them without stress, anxiety, or a feeling of inadequacy determines the outcome of every activity. Students frequently lack awareness of "proper" time management (Sainz et al., 2019).

Asher BlackDeer et al. (2021) investigated the effects of anxiety and depression on student grades. They observed anxiety and despair among undergraduate students, which affects their grade point average (GPA). They also discovered that students who received anxiety and depression therapies scored higher than those who did not. Roshanisefat et al. (2021) conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate the relationship between time management and anxiety among Iranian healthcare students. They discovered that time management had a strong negative link with academic procrastination, whereas exam anxiety had a large positive correlation with academic procrastination among students. They also discovered the effects of time management and test anxiety on procrastination.

Okoye and Oghenekaro (2020) concluded that self-esteem had a substantial positive Pearson correlation with academic achievements, whereas academic achievements had a significant negative correlation with academic procrastination and exam anxiety among postgraduate diploma candidates. They also stated that postgraduate diploma students should use time management techniques to boost their performance. Mankar et al. (2021) studied the literature on time management and its impact on life and time management skills. They discovered that suitable time management involves time planning and organizing, setting goals, prioritizing tasks, and using a to-do list. They prioritize planning because it has a fifty percent role in time management. They also emphasized the need to maintain balance and control over time to improve one's performance in today's fast-paced world.




Problem Statement

Humans nowadays are active in a variety of social, political, and business activities. Overwork, which is an additional demand in society, has caused many psychological problems for humans. Depression, anxiety, and irritability are some of the psychological difficulties that have become the norm of modern civilization. So, it is essential for workers to address these psychological concerns. The study found that this was attributable to modern societal needs. These psychological issues cannot be resolved. However, their severity can be reduced by time management skills (Alpturk 2015; Kaya et al., 2012). The same is true of postgraduate students. Postgraduate students experience anxiety during their studies, particularly when conducting research. Students' anxiety levels are exceedingly high as the deadline for thesis submission approaches. Given this tendency, the current study seeks to explore anxiety management using time planning skills because planning is the most dominant factor in time management.




Research Objectives

Objectives were the following;

1. To explore the time planning level among postgraduate students during research work.

2. To explore the anxiety level of postgraduate students during research work.

3. To find the difference in time planning and anxiety levels among male and female postgraduate students.

4. To investigate the relationship of time short-range and Long-range planning of time with anxiety levels among postgraduate students during research work.




Research Questions

1. What is the level of time planning among postgraduate students?

2. What is the level of anxiety among postgraduate students?




Research Hypotheses

Ho1: There is no significant difference in time planning and anxiety levels among male and female postgraduate students.

Ho2: There is no significant correlation of time short-range and long-range planning of time with the anxiety level of postgraduate students during research work.







Significance of the Study

The study's findings are expected to be beneficial to the researchers. It is vital for students in research because time management is the most crucial factor in success. When it comes to time management skills, setting goals, making schedules, planning, and figuring out what is most important will help students do better research work. They will be able to better manage their time and get more done with it. The study's findings will also aid supervisors in monitoring and analyzing the time students devote to completing their research work. Supervisors can help students finish tasks more quickly and with higher quality if they adopt suitable time-planning skills throughout the day.

Finally, the study has helped the researcher, who had gained new perspectives on time management because of his involvement. He had learned from other researchers, and the fact that he was able to talk to the respondents gave him useful information about how much a lack of effective time planning skills could hurt both the performance in research work and the overall progress in life.

Methodology

The descriptive survey method was employed in the present study. The population of the study included all public and private sector universities in Punjab, Pakistan. This study's intended population consisted of postgraduate students conducting research. A random sampling technique was used to choose public and private universities from the population. The researcher chose six public and six private institutions and collected participant responses using two instruments: time planning and anxiety level on a Likert scale.

Results

The analysis of the 200 participants 154 (77%) male and 46 (23%) female students was carried out using descriptive and inferential statistical methods such as frequency, independent t-test, and Pearson correlation using SPSS version 25.

Question 1: What is the level of time planning among postgraduate students?

 




Figure 1

Time Planning among Students


The frequency distribution of participants in the above Histogram revealed that students' time planning level was above average, implying that most students had strong time planning skills.
Question 2: What is the level of anxiety among postgraduate students?
 




Figure 2
Anxiety Level Among Students


The frequency distribution of participants in the above Histogram revealed that students' anxiety levels were moderate, implying that most students had anxiety levels slightly higher than average.

Ho1: There is no significant difference in time planning and anxiety levels among male and female postgraduate students.




 

Table 1

Comparison of Time Planning between male and female students

Variable		N	Mean	Std. Deviation	T-Value	Sig.	Effect Size
Time Planning	Male	154	3.90	.650	.274	.539	.047
	Female	46	3.87	.623

Note; p> .05

 

Table 2

Comparison of Anxiety Level between male and female students

Variable		N	Mean	Std. Deviation	T-Value	Sig.	Effect Size
Time Planning	Male	154	3.54	.602	1.721	.217	.267
	Female	46	3.39	.618

Note; p> .05

 




Tables 1 and 2 revealed that there was no significant difference in time planning and anxiety levels between male and female students. Therefore, the null hypothesis was accepted.

Ho2: There is no significant correlation of time short-range and long-range planning of time with the anxiety level of postgraduate students during research work.




 

Table 3

Mean, Standard Deviation and Correlation of Time Planning Factors and Anxiety

Variable	M	SD	Correlation	Short-range Planning	Long-range Planning	Anxiety
Short-range Planning	3.83	.73	r p
Long-range Planning	3.85	.62	r p	.759** .000
Anxiety	3.51	.59	r p	.310** .000	.341** .000

**p < .01 is significant

 




Table 3 demonstrated a substantial positive weak correlation between short-range and long-range planning of time and anxiety level while the short-range and long-range had strong significant positive correlation among themselves. Thus, the null hypothesis was rejected.

Discussion

The data analysis of this study found that most participants had above-average time planning abilities, which supported previous results that systematic time management can boost academic performance (Nasrullah et al., 2015). The analysis of the data also revealed that both male and female students demonstrated equivalent skills in time planning and there was no gender difference in this area, which is consistent with the previous study of Alpturk (2015). The anxiety level in this study was above average, which is consistent with prior research demonstrating that students frequently feel moderate to prominent levels of anxiety. Abbasi et al. (2019) found that a moderate level of anxiety is good for students' performance. The results showed that there was no significant difference in anxiety levels between male and female students consistent with previous research (Beri, 2015). The data also revealed a relationship of short-range and long-range planning of time with anxiety level. Both short-range and long-range time planning showed a significant weak positive correlation with anxiety. This finding of the study contradicted the finding of Kaya et al. (2012). They found that time planning had a negative relationship with anxiety.

Conclusion

The research found that most students had above-average time planning skills and slightly higher levels of anxiety than the average. The study's findings also revealed that time planning is vital in reducing anxiety among postgraduate students while conducting research. Although both male and female students showed similar time planning skills and anxiety levels, and a weak positive correlation was found among them, these findings suggest that time planning alone cannot adequately resolve student anxiety. Other aspects, such as institutional support and external influences, must be considered. Future studies should investigate these additional variables and test comprehensive solutions that combine time planning and anxiety-reduction techniques.

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