Time Strategies

"motivation, time management, inspiration"

Chris Florence. Web Source: flickr

    If I'm honest with myself, my habits about work are unhealthy. I either convince myself that everything has to be done immediately, which only leads to late nights, early mornings, and burnout, or I put it off so long that I feel constant stress until its' done. I felt (appropriately) called out by the articles I read, which were 'The Myth of "Too Busy"' by Tim Grahl and "Four Questions to Help You Overcome Procrastination" by Peter Banerjea. I'm a junior and I've spent the last four semesters telling myself that THIS semester will be the one I finally learn time management. Tim Grahl's article challenged me by pointing out that each decision I make is an active one. It can feel so passive to just keep scrolling on social media, and it's essentially designed to be a time waster, but that doesn't mean I have to let it be. Personally, I think it is a need to have "time wasters", since doing activities that are either mindless or stimulate me in a non-academic way is part of how I give myself breaks throughout the day. But, I think I can use the approach Grahl talks about and try and get better at building that time into my schedule.

    I really did like the tips in Banerjea's article, especially on prioritizing tasks and making myself stick to the plan. One of the ways I convince myself to procrastinate is by doing some other form of work. I tell myself that it's okay that I didn't start on the huge project that I'm supposed to work on all semester because I'm doing other work. To avoid being too self-critical, I do think I'm good at not doing this often, and I've only pulled one all-nighter, but I want to use the growth mindset this semester, which means acknowledging areas for self-improvement. And this semester doesn't need to be the semester that I master time management. But I will strive to improve and acknowledge those improvements.