Time Strategies

Time management has always been tricky for me. My mood and energy levels typically dictate how I manage my time. Sometimes I have endless motivation and I am able to accomplish a ton of work ahead of time. Other times I procrastinate until a few hours before the deadline and have to use adrenaline and stress to fuel my work. While I have always managed to get the task done, my mood and energy levels make it difficult for me to plan. I admire those who have wonderful time management skills that are not based on anything except their own will power. I hope I can achieve that someday, and the tips in this assignment really help me understand how to get there.

I have never been a part of a course that tells me about how long an assignment should take. This is a wonderful idea that not only motivates me to get the work done but also helps me to know if I am spending too much or too little time on something. A time management strategy that has always been beneficial to me is looking at the class calendar at the beginning of every week. That way I can stayed organized and at least hope that I will allocate the time for each assignment listed. Also, working ahead has always been a favorite strategy of mine. Even if I eventually stop working ahead, the initial jump start puts me ahead and gives me the peace of mind that I will be fine if there is an emergency of some sort down the line. I would love it if other courses allowed for this.

The main three articles I read were "11 ways unsuccessful people mismanage their time", "3 Steps to Recapture Time", and "How to Beat Procrastination." While they listed information I have heard from TED talks and read in time management books, they also listed new information that struck an interest in me. One tip in the "11 ways" article was to schedule in "fun time." I have found this to be very necessary for myself. Sometimes I tell my roommates I can't watch a movie with them because I am too busy and stressed, but I end up procrastinating anyways. The time spent procrastinating would have been better spent with friends. If I do not allow myself the time to relax, my exhausted brain seems to force me to do it anyways. The "How to Beat Procrastination" article gave a tip I have never heard before but now realize I used to use all of the time. The article says you should "visualize how great it will be to get it done." Thinking about the feeling of accomplishment and the clear schedule I would have afterwards is definitely something that appeals to me. Instead of thinking about the task at hand, I need to retrain myself to think about the aftermath. A final favorite tip of mine that this article gave was pre-committing publicly. This is a great one, as I hate to let people down and have noticed how much more driven I am if I told someone I would do something.

Based on last semester's courses, I think my biggest time challenge will be making use of small bits of time throughout the day. Instead of having to use an entire morning to finish an assignment, I could have used ten free minutes 5-10 times per day. I really hope I can make this change because I have never liked using random slots of time where I have enough time to start something but not enough to finish it. I want to be able to use that time for something! As the image states, time is a resource. I want to use it in the best way possible.

(Time Management image from Wikimedia Commons)

A time management strategy that works well for me is where I tell myself I only have to work on something for 1 minute and then I can stop. (This might sound contradictory to the previous paragraph but it's an entirely different idea since in this case I have enormous amounts of time to get work done.) My short attention span loves this rule but I actually end up getting so absorbed in the work and feel that since I have already started, I might as well finish." I only skimmed "The Important Habit of Just Starting" but I believe this is what it discusses.