Step Five
In my last post, I described a strategy that can help get tasks done at a reasonable time (a time which you decide). By steering away from distraction, tasks will get done quicker, leaving more time to spend on yourself.
Let’s face it; if we don’t take care of ourselves, absolutely nothing is going to get done. As Patricia Thompson, PhD (Self Management vs. Time Management: What You Need to Know, August 14, 2017) said, “The fact of the matter is, you cannot control or manage time…However, you can manage yourself.” In other words, you must work yourself around your schedule. Due to the fact that we all have little control over how time ridicules our lives, we have to carefully decide how we’re going to manage ourselves around that time. In order to do this, you have to focus on yourself and focus on self-discipline.
Self-Discipline
Now that I’ve discussed how to deal with time management strategically, it’s time to mention some things about how it affects other things, such as patience and your inner values.
One of the biggest problems that revolves around not managing time well is stress. Stress can affect every aspect of your life, no matter where the source of the stress may be. Rather than just simply focusing on the tasks that need to be done, focus on how it may affect you and decide which way is the best route for you to take. Everyone handles stress differently, but if you learned to manage your time better, it will decrease your stress, helping your self-discipline and raising your patience levels, all because you will have more time to enjoy your own time.
Now that I’ve been working on my own time management skills for a while now, I realize that the better I do with my time, the better off I am. If I can get everything done, I’m happy at the end of the day instead of stressed because I couldn’t get all my work done. By being practical with my time and taking myself into consideration, my skill has adapted even further. It’s a slow process, but it can easily become a routine in time.
The following graph is from kon.org.
According to the graph above, you can see that time management and academics is the number one cause of stress in students (not surprising).
If we can better learn to manage our time, then that can positively effect your schoolwork and most, if not all, other aspects of your life.
Time Management is not a skill that can be perfected. As humans, we all make mistakes as we go, but if you aren’t happy and feel stressed more often than not, maybe it’s time to consider taking a hold of your life. A flexible schedule leads to a more productive lifestyle, and who doesn’t want that. Skip the excuses and just start by prioritizing. From there, you organize, then plan, then follow through. Although these steps may seem simple, you can probably tell by now that they really aren’t all that easy. Time management can make a really positive change in your life, and although it can be hard at times, you’ll thank yourself in the end.
Thompson, P. P. (2017, August 14). Self-Management vs. Time Management: What You Need to Know. Retrieved October 01, 2017, from https://medium.com/the-mission/self-management-vs-time-management-what-you-need-to-know-67a4063715e6
