Time Strategies

Picture of an analog clock as time passes by user Djim Loic. Source: Unsplash.

As I posted previously in "Growth Mindset", time management has been a struggle for me throughout my time in university and I am making it a goal this year to overcome that. Using planners, calendars, phone reminders, etc. is what I have tried in the past, but those strategies have not been as efficient as I was hoping. Because of this, the two articles that I chose to read were Eat The Frogs First Thing in The Morning (And Other Better Work Habits) and How Checklists Train Your Brain To Be More Productive And Goal-Oriented. Both were useful in that the first one discussed a new way of being more productive throughout the day and the second one solidified what I believed to be true previously. In the first article, the author discusses getting the "worst" task done first thing whether you're at work, doing assignments for school, or finishing up chores at home so that you have that feeling of accomplishment and can focus on what you actually wanted to do for the rest of day. The second article discussed how checklists are good for people and motivate them to do their work since checking off a task is so satisfying (true for me since I make several to-do lists per day).

I believe my biggest time challenges this semester will be balancing schoolwork, extracurricular commitments, work, research, and enjoyment. Since it is my senior year, I plan on having fun with my friends before graduating, but I also realize that I need to focus on my (very) heavy load of schoolwork since I plan on applying to graduate school soon. Along with this, I am in charge of a mentorship program within my college, I hold two appointed positions within my sorority, and I have two jobs that I cannot put on the back-burner. Of course using checklists and a planner will be helpful with scheduling, but I am excited to try the technique of getting the worst tasks out of the way so I can enjoy some free time within my busy days.