Time Management 101 – University Style
Posted by Dr. Judy at 2:00 am
Planning, preparation, prioritizing, producing results…daunting for sure, yet all necessary for success! You’re in college supposedly getting ready to jump into the real world, but if you’re feeling like a circus juggler trying to manage your studies, job, relationship, friends, and extracurricular activities (whew!), you are not alone.
Even if you do have your goals lined up, Facebook beckons, and perhaps you procrastinate. Here’s how to get your stressed out time-demanding ducks lined up. You’re now enrolled in Organization 101, and there’s no tuition!
1. Sit down and write.
Carry a notebook or PDA and immediately write down every need-to-do. You will then have a sense of security and control. Praise yourself for managing your life. And don’t lose it! Not your mind, but the list!
2. Prioritize your need-to-do-list.
Make it a routine to look at your list everyday. Happily cross off what you have accomplished. Push up to the top all the need-to-do’s that need to get done ASAP. Do one thing and reward yourself for getting something done. One thing at a time. Rome wasn’t conquered in a day!
3. Plan your day, week, and month.
Use colored markers to make time management more fun. For example, note each course assignments with a different color, so at a glance you will remind yourself which class needs to be organized each day. And you can see what’s due soon and which professor is a drill sergeant!
4. Just say “NO!”
Want to get drunk? Want to get high? Want to do your work later? What to fail? It’s your choice. Whose life is it anyway? What do you want to accomplish? “Yes but I am stressed”, you may retort. But will you regret it later? Success or Failure. You decide.
5. Analyze your day.
Look at your last few days. What could you have done differently? What are you proud to have accomplished? Stop and appreciate yourself. Complete a task and then take some time to bask in finishing it. Talk to yourself about it, yes, tell yourself that you are relieved and happy. Positive self-talk will keep you sane.
6. Improve yourself with an attitude of gratitude.
Find ways to feel better about who you really are. Read a book or article you have been saving for later. Expand your horizons. Look for things you enjoy doing and reward yourself after you have completed a tough assignment. Volunteer to help someone and REALLY feel good about yourself. Ultimately, you get what you give.
7. Banish bad habits.
Make a list of all of your sabotaging behaviors, those time wasters that are preventing you from accomplishing your goals. Replace the bad habits with positive replacement behaviors like taking a walk or writing 3 positive things that happened to you each day. Don’t succumb to snacks or it will take even more effort to get your butt into gear!
8. Shush away all your “should’s, have to’s and musts.”
(No musterbating here!)
Guilt trips will not help you one bit! If you screwed up, accept responsibility and move on! The great baseball player Satchel Paige said when you are running the bases of life, don’t look back as someone might be gaining on you! Do, not think!
9. Pitch out perfectionism.
Yes, exactly right is grand perhaps but efficiency is also wonderful. Unless you want to publish something, just do the best you can do, re-read it, and get to the next task. Don’t spin your wheels if a task is kicking you to the curb! Ask someone to help you.
10. Buddy up.
Ask your roommate, close friend, or significant other to share all of these time management strategies. Compare and talk about what you each are doing. Hearing your list out loud will help solidify and anchor it in your brain. Consider making a deal to give each other a little friendly reminder if you see the other falling off the time management wagon. Remember your success goals.
Come on! You can do this! Even if you slid through high school, college is a whole new ball game. Suit up for your own game of life and make your time work for you in you. You CAN and WILL hit a home run!
