Poor time management plagues a large majority of students yearly. It results in many issues in daily life such as poor academic performance, lack of sleep, procrastination, and even poor eating habits. Being a college student can easily derail someone who has yet to master any sort of time management skills. The freedom college presents can be tempting and force a student into activities not related to their academic life. Always keeping awake until late to complete assignments that should’ve been done days prior will cut into one’s sleeping schedule which will greatly affect in school performance. A closely related result of poor time management is a decline in academic performance. Many students try to deal with this issue by withdrawing or dropping classes. Which might be ideal for most, however not being able to maintain a passing grade point average can lead to being placed on academic probation. Although poor time management is a problem in a student’s life, a list of habits I will discuss such as, keeping tidy, rewarding oneself, and constructing a list, can help combat poor time management.
In ‘How to Improve Your Time Management Skills,’ it says that, keeping tidy, or being neat, is a habit anyone should adopt when struggling with poor time management issues. Many people find that being disorganized brings about deficient time allocation. Proficient coordinators suggest that you initially dispose of the disorganization. Sorted out spaces and documents can make life limitlessly easier. It supports self-esteem and notoriety as a result of the professional appearance of workspace and because it looks great when ready to find something fast. Alongside that, keeping a journal and pen convenient for notes is handy when writing things down to avoid writing on random papers that can get lost (‘How.’) Consequences of not being organized can lead to loss of time due to attempting to find an item or notes in a cluttered area. Many times, people lose precious minutes to hours trying to find an important item they have misplaced. Being neat and organized always allows a student to know where exactly all items have been placed. Not only will you always feel organized, but you’ll save yourself time from running late as well.
Rewarding oneself is an excellent way of improving time management, as it gives a little more of a reason to accomplish priorities first, rather than leaving it until the end. As Donna White states in ‘6 Tips to Improve Your Time Management Skills,’ ‘When you accomplish something, celebrate it! My word of advice is to keep whatever you choose to do healthy, make sure it’s something you really enjoy, don’t do it in excess, and don’t let it cause you to get further behind. Time management skills are an essential part of making your day just a little easier.’ As long as the reward is healthy it can severely improve time management skills and give that little boost necessary to complete the objective. These is an extremely useful habit to acquire as without it, it will lead to a lack of motivation. Motivation is what essentially drives somebody to meet whatever goal it may be. Implementing this habit into daily life can be quite simple. Find something worth looking forward to, lock it behind a barrier whether it be mental or physical, gain access to it once an assignment or any other objective is completed. Any little reward can give that incentive needed to finish an assignment, doing chores, or even making one’s bed.
A major issue I encountered in school was leaving my assignments until the very end. I realized I prioritized other things into my schedule than what was important, such as, playing video games or taking naps before finishing my assignments. It is perfectly ok and normal to do these things while taking classes but doing this with pending assignments isn’t the best idea. My sleeping schedule was horrible, and I started sleeping less. I grew more exhausted day by day and my grades wouldn’t be as good as I wanted them to be. I realized my time management was poor and I needed to improve it, so I started to reward myself after successfully completing my priorities. I would get home, finish my work, and reward myself by playing video games or taking a nap. I would consider these as rewards as I did them often and the only way to get to them was by completing my daily task. Slowly my sleep and grades improved in a great manner, and I felt less exhausted daily as a result of simply rewarding myself.
Constructing a list and jotting down what needs to be done in order of importance can greatly alleviate a time management issue. The thing about making lists is that they need to be utilized and unignored. Setting reminders on a phone or computer helps ensure that the list is being used (or at least reminds the list maker of its existence). If lists are utilized, one will see an improvement in their time management skills. One of the most significant elements of a list is making sure the list’s goals are achievable and not too ambitious. Nobody wants to see a huge to-do list towards a day’s end, so it is important to shorten the list to a completable degree. In case one is feeling somewhat lost, take a look at one’s routine and plan out what time slots are available for their list. This will assist one with recognizing available periods of their day and other times that are occupied. Doing this would allow one to inject activities into one’s calendar. However, if the list is constructed and not followed, it can be easy for somebody to go along their day completely ignoring it. If one falls victim to this folly, their list becomes counter-intuitive. List making is just one of the many habits that should be used by anyone who suffers from poor time management.
Poor time management can be a huge, stressful issue for those, like me, who have encountered it. Although it may feel like a difficult habit to break, there are many practices somebody can interject into their daily lives to counter issues like this. Time management requires discipline, arranging, a solid disposition, and the assistance of a couple of good tech instruments. Be that as it may, on the off chance that you hit the nail on the head, it will satisfy as far as higher efficiency and lower feelings of anxiety. Becoming tidy, being rewarded, and constructing a list are just a few key habits to adopt that can help greatly in winning against the struggles of time management.
