At Darlington, if we had a dollar for every time someone said, “I don’t have time…” our $90 million capital campaign would have already surpassed its goal! Time is one of the most precious resources we have and we always seem to cram every moment with something (we think is important) to do.
All of us who work in Darlington’s Learning Center help students improve their academic skills, but we also focus on life skills like time management. Students who become better managers of time also become better students. Take a look at the problems and the solutions below.
Management Mayhem – What keeps us from doing what we are supposed to be doing?
- Surfing the internet.
- Social distractions.
- Not knowing where to start.
- Procrastination – We take time for granted because we think time is infinite. Don’t take a minute for granted by putting off today’s work until tomorrow.
- Shuffling piles of stuff from one stack to another.
- Working without taking well-deserved breaks.
Management Marvels – Simple tips that will keep us all more focused, productive and ready for the next challenge!
- We all LOVE the internet. It makes our life so much simpler and we want to believe it helps save us time, but it usually does the opposite. Even those of us who are focused and disciplined get sucked into the “pop ups” that appear on the screen. Rid your computer of pop-ups so you can get your work done! Check out this website that will show you how to eliminate or at least decrease pop-ups.
- Use an electronic or paper calendar to keep up with your projects, activities and events. If you can literally “see” them on your calendar, you are more likely to see what time needs to be committed to each.
- Be in control of your time. That doesn’t mean you get to choose when you go to school or violin lessons, but it does mean that you have to take control of your FREE time and plan it responsibly. If someone is always telling you how to spend your time, you never learn to manage it yourself (we could substitute the word “money” for time, couldn’t we?)
- Take breaks. None of our brains or bodies were built to work 24/7. Our culture expects us to work overtime in everything we do, but it is simply impossible to work productively without taking brain and body breaks. It is good to take a break from your work and to incorporate some exercise into those breaks. Check out this Web site to learn more about the brain advantages of exercise. Not only will this help your body and brain, but your productivity level will increase once your break is over and you get back to work.
- Do you know how to eat an elephant? One bite at a time! Break projects into actionable steps and record steps on your calendar. For example, when you have a project, don’t just write “project due” on your calendar. Break up the project into smaller steps.
- Prioritize daily obligations and projects. What deadlines do you have to meet? Which will take the longest? Which one takes the most mental energy? What would you like to do vs. what have you already committed to doing? Which project “counts” more? Weigh the answers to these questions, then create a sequential “to do” list.
- Create a Waiting Game. We spend several hours every week commuting in cars and waiting in lines or for appointments. Plan ahead and have work to do during those pockets of time. Reading a book, updating your calendar and reviewing flash cards for a quiz are simple tasks that can be accomplished in the car, in a line or in a waiting room.
Stop wasting time and try these tips! If you do, your procrastination and anxiety level will decrease and your production level will increase.
We are always looking for creative ways to help people understand the need for and the tools that develop good time management, so let us know what else should be added to this list.
