After reading through some of the time management articles the two that really spoke to me were The Psychology of Checklists and Eat the Frogs First Thing in the Morning. Before college, I never really worried about time management because life is so structured in high school. You know exactly where you're going and what you're doing basically every day. On top of that, I didn't have to study very much in high school so I didn't have to plan in learning time. Since coming to school I've learned the error of my ways. I am the kind of person who thrives on structure. Even the thought of going on a vacation without planning makes me want to break out in hives. This type A nature is why checklists really appeal to me. As The Psychology of Checklists explores there is something so satisfying to me about breaking down something hard into manageable tasks and crossing off each task as I complete it. If I go off checklist that's totally fine, but as long as it's there I know I can stay focused for the day.
In addition to a checklist forward management strategy, I realized the morning is so important to my day. I hate morning and am a huge night owl, but I hate doing work after seven or eight at night because I want to have fun. This attitude meant when I first came to school and would sleep until like 11 or 12 I had no time to accomplish anything. This lead me to realize I needed to set a steady time to get up in the morning and get some of my work done. As the Eat the Frogs First Thing in the Morning article points out it's best for me to get the worst part of my day done early during my least favorite part of the day. These two strategies are really how I manage my time effectively in college. Once I get into the swing of the first couple weeks of class hopefully I can get into a routine for completing my work.
In addition to a checklist forward management strategy, I realized the morning is so important to my day. I hate morning and am a huge night owl, but I hate doing work after seven or eight at night because I want to have fun. This attitude meant when I first came to school and would sleep until like 11 or 12 I had no time to accomplish anything. This lead me to realize I needed to set a steady time to get up in the morning and get some of my work done. As the Eat the Frogs First Thing in the Morning article points out it's best for me to get the worst part of my day done early during my least favorite part of the day. These two strategies are really how I manage my time effectively in college. Once I get into the swing of the first couple weeks of class hopefully I can get into a routine for completing my work.
(Pocket Watch from Wikipedia Commons)
Hi Meghan,
ReplyDeleteI'm also a very Type-A person, so I love reading other people's thoughts about their best ways to stay organized and be productive. I'm a huge fan of checklists as well. Getting to cross off something of my to-do list is a huge motivator to me, even though it seems so small! I love being able to look at my list at the end of the day and see everything that I've accomplished. Good luck with the rest of the semester, and I hope our checklists keep us motivated!