Time Management

I know everyone tells you that you need to have great time management skills and I know that you usually just brush the thought right out of your mind. I am here to really tell you how important the skill of time management really is.

First of all, my name is Hannah and I am a sophomore here at Eau Claire. I am a Psychology major with a Women’s Studies minor and I am planning on attending grad school for high school guidance counseling.

Okay, now onto time management. First and foremost, having this skill could make or break your college career. With meetings, appointments, classes, exams, work, volunteering, and just plain fun, students like us can get severely overwhelmed. The number one goal of any student should be to not go crazy every semester. This will come through knowing yourself and your limits as well as trial and error. With that said, let’s move on to some suggestions.

In my experience, I have grown to have a very strong bond with my planner. Yes I said planner. A student and their planner should be as one. One planner with everything scheduled into it. If you are not a planner or a scheduling type of person…BECOME ONE!!!! Some people can effectively keep track of everything in their head, but that is just crazy. Writing down everything, even fun activities, will help to ease your mind when it comes time to schedule another activity.

The other bit of advice that I can give you is to follow the old saying to leave work at work. This should really be applied to all students. If you have a job, leave the work and worries that are involved with it at that job. No use worrying about something until the next time you work. Also don’t try to do work outside of your scheduled work hours. I almost guarantee that it will come back to haunt you. We are too busy as students with meeting with groups, doing homework, and checking Facebook  to worry about work. This is one rule that I have come to live by through many bad experiences. My life is better, my mind is clearer, and I am a lot happier with leaving work at work.

I really hope that this helped and I didn’t sound like I was preaching. I know that you all have heard it a million times, but manage your time…write down everything!!! Also as a final thought, PLEASE never feel bad saying “no” to anyone or anything. Your sanity as a student is your number one priority.