Time Management

On October 12, I attended my fourth workshop of the year. The interesting thing about this specific workshop was that the professor, who was supposed to teach the seminar, never showed up. Fortunately, a replacement did show up with 30 minutes to go in the seminar. Since the replacement only explained the steps involved with selecting new classes, I decided to write this blog on time management.

When you look at time management you automatically think organization. In fact, that is one of the biggest parts of time management. Organization can not only help people achieve present goals, but also help people with their long-term goals as well. Many people use things like action plans to achieve these goals. Action plans help to organize the work that needs to be done to achieve a longer goal . Plus, the plan establishes how long and how much each of the specific work needs to be done. Another time management device that helps with achieving a certain goal is Personal Goal Setting. I feel the most important part for keeping your time management plan working, is planning goals and activities you may like. It is known that if you really don’t want to do activities that you plan, you have a much greater chance of forgetting it in the future.
So the big question is. How do you make sure you don’t arrive late for that next meeting or cram for the next test? If you follow just four simple rules you will have success in not only arriving on time, but using your time for work more efficiently. The first rule is developing a plan for not only tomorrow’s agenda but also one for a month away. A calendar or an organizer can help to do this more efficiently and supply a material way of remembering things. It is true that some things in life are unexpected, but it is still important that you have a plan to get around on a normal day. Not all plans are set in stone, but are just there to set a base for the structure of the day. Remember, you are not a robot so you don’t have to follow everything that is written. It comes back to the fact that the plan is always your choice.

The second rule is that if you have free time during a certain day and that day is followed by a compacted day, you must use your sense and use that free time to work ahead. In other words, it is better not to procrastinate what you can do on a slow today than on a busy tomorrow. If you have that test in three days, take time to go over it moderately every day instead of cramming the night before the test. Trust me, it doesn’t work.

The third rule kind of fits into the previous rule. Go to bed early and use solo time in the morning for quiet projects. This rule is important when you need to concentrate on a certain task. Work like reading, writing, and future planning are ideal during this peaceful time because they require the most focus to complete. Even though the only thing a lot of people like to do in the morning is sleep, it is actually found to be the best time to do work. It is a period of the day that most of everything is reenergized from sleep. It is that point in the day that the brain is completely stress-free and without stress. Without stress there is no worry and without worry, there is no rushing. If we keep everything on a gentle pace, there is a definite guarantee that you will become more successful at both organizing your time and becoming more productive.

The final rule is the priority list. It is important that you set your duties according to how important they are at the time you are creating a plan. For example, if you have a paper due in a month and a test in a day, your priority will most likely be studying for the test. If you do not have your plans prioritized, they are basically just as good as not having a plan at all.

To wrap up this discussion I leave you with a few questions to think about. I want you to think about someone you know that has a continuous problem with procrastination. Is that person you are thinking about successful? Would you ever set him to be your role model? If your answer is no, then you are on the right track to having a successful future.