Don't Let Your Time Manage You!

Time management. These are two relatively small words yet something which is so hard to accomplish for college students. I am not sure how every other student functions, but I am always very busy and it always feels like I never have time for anything. Recently, this has affected my relationships both friendships and romantically. I want to say that my life is truly SO busy that I honestly don’t have time to fit EVERYONE into my schedule, but the truth of the matter is that I am terrible at time management. I have improved since I entered college, but I am still lacking at effectively managing my social and academic life while still fitting in a run here and there so I can stay active. (click here for more on staying healthy in college) I want to do everything and still spend time with everyone, but I have to choose. Because I am paying for my education anything associated with school usually wins over my social life. Honestly, this just kind of sucks. I don’t have time to invest in my relationships like I want to because I am trying to get an education to be successful. Does success really mean that I can’t have friends? I think for some people this is true. I mean there are plenty of movies about people who are too successful to actually have a social life, but those people are just bad at time management. There are people who go through their entire life being socially disconnected from their world, but I am determined this will not be me! How am I going to do this? Through constant persistence to not let my schedule rule me, but instead I will rule my schedule. There are a few helpful tips
that I have learned recently that will help me do this.

•    First, buy a planner AND use it! Just purchasing a planner will not help you manage your day, you have to actually open it and write in it. That’s right people pen to paper. Or you can use many of the technologies we have out there like your phone or iPad. There are even some cool applications with your email.
• Designate times for homework and social time etc. For me this means I know every night I will complete my most recent assignment and reorganize the folder or file that project is located in (this helps overall organization). Also, every Saturday is time for me to hang out with my friends and distress from the week. If my friends want to see a movie or go to dinner they know to ask for my Saturday.
•  Make to-do lists. This is so you can know what to work on and in what order. (The quickest approaching deadline should be at the top.)
•    Set achievable step by step goals for yourself so that you know what it is you do or do not need to work on.  For example, I will spend time with friends once this week or for the more realistic college student I will turn in ALL of my assignments this week. (Next week we can focus on turning them in on time this is a process after all.)
•   Finally, let someone you know hold you accountable to these goals. I recommend someone who is close to you like a roommate because if you ask your mom you and I both know you will lie to her and say you got everything done so she won’t yell at you)

I can’t guarantee that these things are going to work, but these are just some things that have helped me. I found this really awesome article over time management that has tips on organizing, prioritizing, and even motivation! Just click here to check it out. There is also another article that connects you to some really great articles but you need a membership. If you are serious about this though I say make a commitment and it might pay off in the long run, the articles look REALLY awesome! Just click here. Good luck!!!