Efficient time management is an essential skill for all ages. Whether you’re a student balancing your studies and a social life, or an adult with a career and a family to take care of, time management is an important skill to have. Throughout our lives we will be tasked with juggling various responsibilities and leisure activities, and in order to get the most out of these it is important to practice time management and scheduling. As a college student, I’ve learned many tips and tricks about time management that have helped me throughout the years. So today, I’d like to share a few of these tools of the trades in order to help others that struggle with time management.
One of the most common misconceptions about people that have poor time management is that these people struggle with finishing their activities in a timely manner. While this is a true statement, it does not apply to everybody. Some people struggle with having too much time on their hands, and not knowing how to properly make use of it (hence the phrase time management.) In my opinion, the best solution to this problem is to keep a schedule or a planner. There are a number of different ways you can approach a schedule. Some people outline every activity for every hour of every day, while others just jot down a general outline. Personally, I’m a fan of the latter. While I don’t always finish everything on my list (which is an unrealistic expectation), I almost always get to the most important activities. Another important aspect of keeping a schedule is giving yourself time to relax. Make sure you pencil in a bit of time to unwind and catch up on your favorite shows on Netflix.
Practice makes perfect when it comes to time management. You can do all the meticulous scheduling in the world, but it does not mean anything if you do not follow through with your plans. If you make plans to go to the gym at 4:30, make sure you do your best to meet that goal. Everybody who has experience making a schedule knows all too well that if you miss one activity on the schedule, it has the potential to have a huge domino effect on the rest of your day. This is also why it is important to be flexible with your schedule, and be able to improvise on the fly. Sometimes things will happen that are out of your control, such as an event being suddenly cancelled. In these situations, you should be able to look at your schedule and adjust accordingly.
Time management will always be an important skill to have, even for young children when they are deciding whether to play outside for an hour, or watch TV. Our daily lives can be difficult to manage, and at times will cause us serious stress. But with proper scheduling and practice, we can all be time management experts.
