It can save your butt and kick it too. I have had both horrendous and pleasant experiences with time management, how I choose to allot my time. Near the end of my high school career, lack of wise time management took a toll on me; at times, I would get less than three hours of sleep per night. I knew going into college, that had to change. I would be working fifteen hours a week in addition to taking five courses; I would have to utilize my time in a productive manner or suffer the consequences. Fortunately, working while in school forced me to be smart with how I spent my time – examples include limiting the time spent on my phone and using weekends to get ahead on homework. These are simple actions that I could have benefited from while in high school and even middle school, but had to coach myself into taking. Teaching the art of wise time management is an essential and incredibly beneficial life skill that everybody should have the opportunity to learn and choose to master. It has honestly changed my life – physically, mentally, emotionally, and academically.
Choosing to spend a majority of my time doing what is necessary and productive is tough, but there are steps that can be taught and taken to overcome its initial hardships. Don’t get me wrong, I would much rather go on the internet and watch videos about how to make cheesy garlic bread. But the results of the wiser decision will yield incredible various benefits. Spending my time using good judgement is much easier when there is added pressure, something that must be done. In my case, it was working while in school. I had homework, midterms to study for, and what seemed like an endless sea of reading that needed to be finished every single day; getting home at 6 PM each weekday forced me to use weekends to get ahead on homework. That way, I would not be cramming the next day’s homework into one night (which would induce tons of unnecessary anxiety and stress). Most importantly, allotting my time wisely added hours to my sleep which gave me more energy to pay attention in class and feel more joyful throughout the day – results that positively impacted my grades and relationships. Although those tips really helped me, I’m sure that everyone could conjure up their own. Time management skills should be introduced and advocated at a young age so that they become advantageous routines instead of do-or-die skills in the future.
