Time management is an area that I have always needed to
address better. When I am looking to do
well on something, I tend to put it off for several reasons. The first being, I like to think things through
and saturate on the ideas a little bit and I also enjoy feeling the pressure to
finish up an assignment or to-do item.
I first started
noticing my lack of time management in college when I was given assignment that
required a lot of creative thinking. I
tend to overthink a lot of ideas, so it takes me a while to come to a final
conclusion on what it is exactly that I will be working on. Because I had so many projects set up like
this, I waited as long as I knew I could to think about the assignment before I
actually got started on it. In some
ways, this was beneficial for me because I was able to think things through
thoroughly, but on the other hand, I took away my room for error if something
suddenly came up. While I never missed
an assignment and felt I put my best work forward during those years, I still
wonder if that was successful time management for me, or if I was making my
poor time management work the best way I could.
I usually don’t feel stressed when I know I have something
coming up that I have put off, but I do recognized a more positive feeling when
I do the things I do not want to do first, instead of putting them off to the
end. Recognizing that some things need
to be prioritized first allows me to cut back on what I end up leaving for the
last minute. I also began to recognize
that when I do take away my margin for error, I should plan on doing the urgent things first, instead of the
trivial things. Getting one serious task
complete does take off stress that normally I would not have recognized.
The Leadership program has helped me develop more efficient
time management skills by incorporating The Brain. The Brain has helped me develop a better note
taking system when I am reading, which has allowed me to more easily distinguish
important aspects of the reading that I may need to revisit later, while also
allowing me to branch out in a way that makes sense to me and the way my
thoughts process.
Finally, one of the last time management skills that have
helped me increase my locus of control is the ability to understanding my
energy levels and when the best time is for me to tackle a big project versus a
little. Recognizing these attributes has
allowed me to better prioritize projects based on my energy and overall mood.
Areas that need improvement for me would be reaching closure
on one thing everyday. I tend to
fluctuate on how much work I do on one day versus another. A lot of that comes from having an open-ended
schedule, never knowing what my day is going to look like. Working on one thing and staying focused on
the one thing would be beneficial for me because when I procrastinate, I
realize that I get slightly overwhelmed and while I’m working on one project, I
am thinking about another that I need to do.
Tackling one item a day would help me to focus myself and not feel
rushed, but still add pressure to myself by knowing I need to complete one item
a day.
Another area that could use improvement is to not worry
about things on a continual basis. A lot
of this derives from my procrastination, so by tackling one item a day, I will
avoid that overwhelming worries of completing projects.
Finally, the last area that needs improvement is dividing up
large projects. I have tried to do this
in the past, but a lot of my problems come from not knowing exactly what my
plan is right off the bat. As I stated
earlier, I like to think about things for a while and really contemplate all
the ideas and methods I could use before I make a decision on a plan. Sometimes, I don’t even use a plan for a
project, I just go and whatever comes to me I run with. This can be an issue sometimes because I
overwhelm myself with little details instead of looking at the big picture. My mind goes off on tangents while I work, always
thinking of new ideas, which is why I struggle so much with developing plans to
follow. I worry if I begin with a plan,
then I will miss potential opportunities that I may not have thought of before. The risk vs. reward here is slim sometimes,
so developing a plan to allow me to adequately divide my time in a large
project would be beneficial to know.
The best start for an action plan to develop better time
management would first be to establish what is urgent and what is
important. Do the urgent things first,
that way they’re out of the way, and save the important things for last. Another step would be to spend 30 minutes a
day working on an item I normally would put off for later. 30 minutes is not enough to take away from
any personal time, and can add up to a lot of extra time I would normally spend
finishing up to-do items. Finally,
setting weekly goals can help me stay on track with my plan. Having a goal will put the “mental” pressure
that gets me motivated and going, but still keep the chaos in order by having a
loose plan of my tasks throughout the week.
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