Monday Motivation: Time Management
Need some Monday Motivation? How about a look at Time Management!
“I don’t have enough time for that!” We all think this to ourselves a dozen times every day. It seems like there are never enough hours in a given day to accomplish everything we want to do: studying, work, clubs, sleep, fun things, etc.
However, the truth is that sometimes it’s not really about how much time you have, but how carefully you actually spend it.
That’s where time management comes into play. Time management involves being more aware of what you spend your time on, planning out how you’re going to spend your time, and eliminating distractions and interruptions that keep you from completing tasks.
Like any other skill, time management takes practice. Here are some steps to becoming an expert time manager, and some resources to help you along the way.
If time management is the hero that saves you from wasted time and last-minute stress, then procrastination is the supervillain. Can you remember a time when you’ve thought, “I really need to get ____ done,” but for some reason, you can’t seem to make yourself finish it? There are a lot of different reasons why people procrastinate, and identifying what is holding you back might be the first step towards moving forward on your task. Resource: Six Reasons People Procrastinate
You can also fill out this flowchart to help yourself break free of the vicious cycle of procrastination. Resource: Procrastination Flow Chart
Sometimes you may avoid accomplishing a task because you “just don’t feel like it right now.” Finding the right motivation can help you find a way to check that box off your to-do list. There are a number of different strategies you can try, ranging from giving yourself rewards to committing to working on something for small blocks of time. Resource: Motivation Techniques
Setting goals is a great way to help you focus on the bigger picture even when the smaller tasks aren’t as much fun. Make sure that your goals are SMART:
Specific
Measurable
Action-Oriented
Relevant
Time-Oriented
Resource: Goal Setting Worksheet
Have you ever heard the phrase “work smarter, not harder”? Planning your work out ahead of time can make it easier to get everything done in a timely manner. It’s also essential to prioritize your tasks in order to make sure that the most important and urgent stuff gets taken care of first. Resource: Task Prioritization Handout
As a bonus, here’s a great to-do list tool to help keep you organized. Resource: Workflowy
Happy Time Managing!
Kate Hayworth interned with the Health Sciences Advising Center June-August 2016. At the time she was a graduate student at Florida State University studying Higher Education. Kate loves to motivate and help students in their journey through college!