You’ve most likely heard the sentence “To be successful in this class/workspace you will need to have good time management skills”, if not, likely some kind of variation, but it’s all the same. For some it may be difficult to manage time effectively, while others it comes easier.
One of the biggest things that people do to waste time is procrastinating. Procrastination is a killer for anyone, especially students (I’m not trying to single anyone out it’s just fact). The main issue with people’s lack of time is that either procrastination on every task they have or burn out and loss motivation to complete tasks effectively, this in turn can spiral off and cause a whole bunch of other personal problems.
Why would anyone burn out to begin with?
- For high school or college students that answer can be stress and stretching themselves to thin. It’s likely that most students with poor time management are always stressed from extracurricular activities, working, or potential mental health issues. (Not saying that no one is unable to effectively manage themselves or time, I know lots of people who are capable of it) However, it’s noticeable when people start to burn out over time from this repeated cycle of stress.
- For people not in school this could be a result of burnout from previous schooling, mental health issues or lack of self-motivation overall.
One common method to help reduce this problem is by knowing the difference between important and urgent tasks.
- Urgent tasks NEED immediate attention, but it depends if you give that attention or how much it really to you
- Important tasks matter, but not as urgent and probably don’t have any serious consequences
For example:
- Paying the utility bill is urgent. If not, you won’t have any running water or electricity for your home, and it will be stuck like that till it’s paid.
- Washing dishes is an important task. Having your dishes clean is important but it is not something that needs immediate attention. If you don’t do it, well they might get moldy, your sink could smell and overall isn’t cleanly. But it’s not something that should be urgent
- Checking social media is neither important nor urgent. It’s something that causes people to procrastinate and is not a task you need to dedicate time toward.
Knowing the difference between your tasks is the key to prioritizing your time. It’s your own choice to decide what category they’re in.
A type of model you can use is the priority matrix to help organize your tasks into categories:
- The questions from the chart can help you allocate your tasks
- If you’re really breaking the tasks down and using the chart, make sure to have just 7-8 items in each box
- Always start with the “Do First” and continue with the rest
- Once you’ve finished assigning tasks, start your work
- Start with the “Do First” tasks and move continue with your schedule
One key take away from this section is that to be successful at time management, you need motivation. Self-motivation is the MOST important part of time management, and I’m not saying this because I did research and found it. I’m talking from personal experience. It’s always difficult to start something. Whether it’s a homework assignment, research paper, or cleaning your room, it can be a challenge to begin something.
The best piece of advice I can give is to think that you want to better yourself, even if the task is little it will make some kind of change in your life that can help you. Try to set goals for yourself. It can be simple as finishing your tasks quickly so you can reward yourself with taking a nap.