Most people hear the term "time management" and recognize it as a skill mastered by productive people. A lot of students go into each semester with the resolution to manage their time better, but what does it really mean to do so? In this article, I am not going to provide a How-To Guide or a Listicle of how to improve your time management abilities, but instead just talk about what it means to manage time. To do this, I need start from the foundation: time.
"Time is a social construct, it is not real." Nihilistically this may be true, but for functional people in society, time is real and an asset. A wise man once said that your time is also your life, essentially making them interchangeable. This simple idea really makes a lack of time management seem ridiculous. Time management is more than just using your time wisely: this skill is the ability to make the most of the life you have on the planet Earth. That alone is enough to motivate me to use my time wisely. To do that, I need to know what my roles are.
Each role a person fulfills requires its own attention and organization. A physical planner and weekly calendar are necessary to keep those responsibilities accounted for. The art of maintaining a planner is difficult to master and will require some trial-and-error. I have gone through three or four different forms of planning and time management before settling on one. The type of planner and management system you use will depend on the responsibilities of that time in your life. As long as there is enough room to write everything down, it should work.
When writing things down, make sure to break down some of the larger assignments. For example, if you have multiple chapters of a novel to read, split it up into smaller sections and individual chapters. Tackling smaller tasks is much less daunting than jumping right in and wrestling with the big ones. However, do not use completing small assignments or sections as an excuse to take dozens of breaks.
A good, general rule for working is the 60:30 minute ratio. If you work consistently on a project for one hour, you earned a thirty-minute break (the actual, scientifically proven ratio is something like 52:17, but that is too complicated). No matter how small the assignments, the most difficult part is getting started.
Like Kimmy Schmidt says, "I learned a long time ago that a person can stand just about anything for 10 seconds, then you just start on a new 10 seconds. All you’ve got to do is take it 10 seconds at a time.” There's a lot more to this idea than meets the eye. If you are struggling to get started on work, set a miniature goal for yourself to work for ten minutes and only ten minutes. Once you do that, it is much easier to continue working once those ten minutes are up. If you are really struggling, set a timer for ten minutes and start working. Once it goes off, set it again and keep working. It is all about momentum.
Combining these ideas can create a functional environment to practice time management. You will fail a few times, but that is okay. Keep trying and you can develop the necessary skills to manage your time and ultimately your life.
