Time always seems to be chasing me or I'm chasing it. I don't know which way it should really go, but either way I never seem to have enough hours in the day! I always have five billion things on my to-do-list and somehow I still forget things. You know that feeling when you're going on a trip and you feel like you're forgetting something? Yeah, that's me.
Not only am I a little forgetful sometimes, I also have a lot on my plate. (My plate should probably be a Dixie ultra-plate because they're supposed to be the sturdiest kind.) First of all, I have 18 hours in my schedule along with all the homework that goes with that. I also have three instruments to practice daily which is crazy hard on some days. I have a job back at home that I have to go to on some weekends, a boyfriend that goes to school in Anderson (yes, boyfriends are great but you do have to fit them into your schedule) and friends at school and home. Even by just listing all these things, I get nervous about not being able to keep them all straight. My absolute biggest problem is just that, keeping everything straight! I'm not the most unorganized person in the world, but I know for sure I'm not the most organized either. One thing I have found useful during college so far is to write something down the second I think of it. This way I have a nice organized list that can await me while I'm finishing what I'm currently doing and I get the satisfaction of striking through it when I finish it.
Some other smaller factors that probably contribute to keeping me from doing my work are simply not planning enough time to do something and socializing. It's probably all three put together that get me into trouble. Somehow I always ends up taking 30 minutes on something I only planned to take 15 minutes on. Then my friends start cutting up and laughing down the hall and I can't resist. It kills the little time management I try to do which in turn discourages me from even trying to manage my time. I haven't exactly found a solution to this problem yet so any suggestions would be appreciated. I've tried building in extra time as a cushion and for some reason that never works. And the socializing? I don't really know if there's a solution there for this butterfly.
Another big problem I have with time management is having a tendency to love sleep but at the same time love staying up. (Don't even ask how that works.) I know a lot of people have the same kind of problem so here's my advice. My way to combat this is to set 3 alarms. Some people are like "are you kidding me? Three ALARMS???" And I simply say, yes three alarms with a smile on my face. For instance, if I need to get up at 7:30, I set my my first alarm for 7:15 and then another for 7:25. This way I have ten minutes to be in the sleepy state, you know where your eyes will barely open. Then I have five more minutes to be awake and enjoy my bed, think about what I have to look forward to in the day, and plan either what I'm going to do that day or what I'm going to wear. This method really does help motive me and still gives me that nice slow wake up everyone enjoys.
Hopefully, all of the freshmen can find our own groove of how to manage our time so that we can be the most organized, well rested class Converse has ever seen. Here's to Sweet dreams, Happy Mornings, and Good Managing!
Yes, I know EXACTLY what it feels like to be going on a trip and feeling like you're forgetting something! :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd I love the idea of writing down To Do items immediately. I actually use the Notes App on my phone for this pretty incessantly. I just keep a To Do list and add and delete stuff to it as I remember things I have to do.
As to the butterly habit, that will resolve itself with time--right now everything is still new and takes extra time to figure out.
(And again, really think about that job-back-home thing and see if there's a way around it. It's rather impractical, yes?)
I love the way you wrote this blog entry! It makes it feel so personal, like we are able to see through your eyes. It's also very well-written and easy to relate to! I thought you had very good grammar and punctuation as well!
ReplyDeleteThis was really well written lovely Lydia!! I definitely have to do the same in setting three different alarms, people look at you like it's crazy but it unfortunately works. I have the same problem in not getting my work done when my friends come down the hall, but what I've done to deal with it so far is to just do homework with my friends! We even actually get our work done too since we all know if we don't do it we'll be really far behind. It's nice having "study parties" with people because it makes homework more enjoyable (never thought I'd say that), you have people who are stuck doing the same stuff you're doing, and when you're all done you have your friends there to actually do something fun!
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