Time management, aiming for success
Crystal Branden
Common to the beginning of the year, students begrudgingly return to their studies. Though the interest is there, the habit to adopt the inevitable routine of studying and doing homework is not.
I am one of those people; I enjoy the break from education despite my love for what I study.
In the first few weeks, students have to adjust to doing class work yet again. Contrary to their fun-filled summer, the school year brings many things, but students lose the excessive amount of free time they get during summer break.
Like always, I begin the school year wasting my time doing things that can wait. With the number of highly distracting websites and services that have risen over the years, such as Netflix and Facebook, getting homework finished is always a struggle. Despite telling myself I am just going to go online to look up a term for an assignment, I always find myself an hour later scrolling through my newsfeeds.
This is where time management and self-control need to show their faces. We all know that getting homework done and studying to do well should be our number one priority, but knowing it is a priority is different than making it a priority. If students want to have a balance of work and fun during the school year, they have to figure out how to make room for projects, assignments, studying, relaxing, socializing, eating, going to go to sleep and waking up, etc. A lot of things have to be sorted out to be able to actually accomplish managing your time.
I am one of those people who have a difficult time practicing what they preach. The time I schedule to study is a very loose timeframe with wiggle room, and because of that, I usually end up changing my plans to accommodate everything but my studies. I tell myself that I can go hang out with friends for an hour or so and then go study, but when I actually get to completing my work, it is 2 a.m., and getting enough sleep is no longer a possibility.
Do not do this. If you are like me, and find yourself up late because you decided to watch a season of your favorite show on Netflix before you started your homework, consider this and learn from my own mistakes. If you are procrastinating now, at the beginning of the year, it is only the beginning of trouble. If you are staying up late and nodding off in class because of this, think of the consequences when you really start to burn out. We all know as students that sometimes finding a balance is hard, but it is necessary to make the best out of our college experience.
Schedule specific times to do homework and stick to that schedule. Learn to manage your time wisely and reap from the rewards of your own success. Treat your schedule like an obligation. If you plan on studying at 4 p.m. and a friend asks if you want to hang out then, remember your prior commitment to yourself.
Do not let yourself down – as students, college is a commitment that requires active participation, time management, and determination that is just as important as socializing, networking, and simply enjoying your time on campus.