Structure is Key

Having to take the time to research and analyze the positive effects of time management skills, I noticed I began to pay a lot more attention towards my own structure in a day. I drew from a lot of negative personal experiences in my life to make a strong connection with this skill, and subconsciously or not, I am beginning to improve with it. In a normal day for me, I typically have a lot going on; juggling classes with a part-time restaurant job, and a part-time internship can be really difficult at times. Being age 23, I really can’t live the typical college lifestyle, as it’s time to knuckle down and seriously handle the numerous daily tasks at hand.

Working my restaurant job can be difficult during the semester because my shifts don’t typically start until 5pm, and go until 10–11pm. Meaning, I have to complete most, if not all, of my school work for the day before heading into work. Scheduling and planning when I need to complete these assignments, have started to become a daily task for me. At first I was somewhat annoyed taking the time to daily plan, thinking this was just one more thing added to the list…but quite soon I began to reap the benefits.

Taking a short time, maybe ten minutes in my morning to structure my day and tell myself, “This is what I have to do and when I have to do it,” is the small first step in becoming a better manager of your time. With that being said, the key of this all, is to actually execute the plan, and STICK with it!