Managing to manage your time?

Here’s Hopkins life in a nutshell:

Sunday night:

“Where did the weekend go?”

“It’s Monday already?”

“Wait, is there an exam tomorrow?”

“Should I go to class or study for this exam?”

“I’ll probably have to pull an all-nighter.”

6 hours later: “I’m just gonna take a short nap…”

7 hours later: “I’m screwed.”

Chances are you probably identified with parts of this scenario (hopefully not because it’s how you missed an exam). Lack of time management doesn’t have to mean that you barely have time to study for an exam. It comes in many forms.

Time management is one of the most important skills that college (ideally) teaches us. Yes, “us” because I, too, am learning how to manage my time. It didn’t take too long for me to adopt the non-stop, taking 18 credits, participating in four student groups, working two jobs, and whatever else lifestyle. Even if your schedule is a lot lighter, you can still be prone to a lack of time management.

Let’s think about it this way: if we don't manage our time, then we won’t get things done. If we don’t get things done, then we don’t progress. If we don’t progress, then we get frustrated. People have different ways of diffusing their frustration. However, if we are continually not getting things done, then the frustration remains, and it ends up impacting our mental health, at the very least.

I’d say it’s probably a good idea to figure out a concise way of implementing time management.

Don’t worry. I got your back; I did some expert googling and found a list of tips to improve productivity from MayoClinic. Here are some highlights:

1. Plan each day.

I know this sounds obvious, but the point is to plan what you’re going to do, and actually do it.

2. Prioritize your tasks.

However, this assumes that your priorities are correct. I’ll let you be the judge of that.

3. Say no to non-essential tasks.

Taking on more work may earn you more friends, but if you know you can’t complete the task, then don’t do it.

4. Delegate.

This is self-explanatory.

5. Take the time you need to do a quality job.

Give forth your best effort. This will boost your personal skills and your professional reputation. You may even get a recommendation letter out of it.

6. Break large, time-consuming tasks into smaller tasks.

I know it’s super tempting to wait until the last minute to write a paper. Even so, writing a draft a couple days before it’s due gives you time to have it reviewed by the Writing Center or by your TA, and then you’ll definitely get a better grade.

7. Limit distractions.

Facebook. Youtube. Twitter. Instagram. The list goes on. If quitting these distractions cold turkey is too shocking, then the goal would be to limit the amount of time you waste. This is a tough one for me.

8. Sleep, eat healthy, and exercise regularly.

I discussed sleeping habits in one of my previous articles, “Saying no to sacrificing sleep,” which can be found on the News-Letter website. I’ll fill you in on exercise and nutrition in the future.

9. Take a break when needed.

Fortunately, I’ve discussed this in detail, too, so while you’re checking out the article on sleeping, check out “Mastering the 24/6 schedule.”

10. Take a time management course

I hope someone with the power to make this possible is reading this article.

Just 10 steps.

You don’t have to do them all at once, but the point is to start somewhere and to make progress. We all remember “that one day, when I got so much work done, and I went to bed on time.”

Let’s try and make that day happen again, and again, and again.