Like many people in the world, I grew up being told the perils of horrible time management, and being taught the basics of managing time well. Still yet, none of these things managed to stick, and before I got my first waitressing job I was the definition of fifteen minutes late with Starbucks on a good day.
Grade school teachers were always right, and I wish I could've made it stick long before now. Using your time wisely is essential to being a successful human being no matter what your job is or if you're in school. Your age, your gender and anything else don't matter when it comes to the fact that time management is essential.
As school starts back up, time management is probably about to get a lot harder for some people, but others are pros and I congratulate you. Seriously. Time management is hard. I've written this article in hopes that maybe someone can learn from my mistakes with the time on my hands.
First things first, school is important, but so is your mental health as well as your job if you have one. Balancing things is absolutely one of the hardest things you can ever do, but I promise you can do it. Just remember, take things at your own pace, and if you have to schedule your whole day do it.
It never hurts to be over prepared, but it can hurt to be under prepared. Personally, scheduling out things that are planned in advance can be the easiest way to save time. Knowing when your classes are, how long they are and how to get there? It's a life saver. Now, everyone's late eventually, but it's best not to make a habit of it. Many teachers aren't very forgiving of it.
On another note, prioritize. Prioritize your homework, your work shift, your sleep and even groceries. Sometimes there really isn't enough time in a day to make everything happen, and most people cannot function on three hours of sleep. Yes, you have to take care of school, work and friends, but you are the most important thing on this time management struggle bus. If you aren't healthy, then everything else goes down the drain.
Time management can truly be as simple as buying a planner and at least thinking you have part of your life together. Sure, things are going to throw a wrench in your plans or maybe a whole cow into your plans sometimes, but it will be okay if one or two things slide for a little while. Hopefully you just don't end up snowed under.
May the odds be ever in your favor this school year, and your time management leave you at the top of your game.
