Reflection On Time Management: The Importance Of Being On Time

Reading chapter 2: Time management, from Thriving at Trident University was an eye-opening and humbling experience. The information from this chapter was very well laid out and really stimulated my mind. There was a high degree of resonance with the majority of the text that I read from the chapter. I would like to first point out that for a person to become better with time management, it will take patience, effort, practice, dedication, and most importantly a plan. Time management is not a skill that is easily developed overnight. To master this skill a person must learn to become one with themselves, sort of like watching yourself from an out of body experience. You must realize what you do throughout your day then figure out how you can get the most out of your day. Today, we are privileged to have a plethora of tools at our disposal to help us become better time managers (smartphones, digital planners, apps, etc). Utilizing those tools is a great way to keep a person on track, but the biggest challenge for a lot of people is procrastination. Eliminating distractions and aligning your goals with day to day activities will help a person become more enlightened and take full advantage of the time they have.

I agree that taking advantage of technology, such as smartphones, will help me become better at time management. Life as we know it is becoming more stressful. Information we receive is being presented in many different forms, thus requiring us to find a means of capturing it (“20 Ways to save time with your smartphone,” n.d). We are always on the move, so the time spent sitting in front of a computer or managing your desk calendar may be spent traveling, at an appointment, or shopping. Smartphones are designed to help with the management of a fast-paced lifestyle. More than 5 billion people have some sort of mobile device, with at least half of these being smartphones (Silver, 2019). When used correctly you can accomplish a wide array of the task using your smartphone. At the click of an app you have access to calendars, to-do lists, notes, and important contacts. An important key to being an effective time manager is developing and having a to-do list. Personally, I have an iPhone and use the reminders app to plan my to-do list. My smartphone is with me 98% of my day, meaning I have constant access to my to-do list.

Another important aspect regarding time management that jumped out at me was the need for developing a plan. I have never really planned my entire day out and while reading Chapter 2, I came to realize that I spend a ton of time not being productive or practicing self-care. When I think about my days, I can say I was a busy body but at the same time wasn’t being very effective. I do plan my days by creating daily to-do lists, but I realize I was leaving out so much information. According to Carthage Buckley(2018), achieving a stress-free productive life isn’t that hard of a task as long as you plan accordingly. In her book, Buckley outlines several major points to planning for time management but only four stuck out to me. Those four went hand in hand with the text from Chapter 2. First, there is plan your week and your day. This is a strategy to ensure I am aware of and highlighting the major tasks and goals for that week or day. Next, there is conducting a daily review of your plan. Not all plans are perfect, by reviewing my plan daily I have the potential to make needed adjustments where I see fit. Third, was limiting and blocking my time, this will ensure that I am completing a task before starting a new task. Also, this will allow me to challenge myself by assigning an allotted timeframe to complete a task. The final point is knowing what’s next. To limit the amount of wasted time doing an unimportant or unneeded task, you should know what comes next. This may also reduce fatigue because you aren’t focusing on minuscule tasks just to feel busy.

Finally, a subject that plagues a lot of people, particularly me is procrastination. I am notorious for pushing major tasks off to the side and completing the smaller ones. I have no reasoning why I will procrastinate but I don’t agree with any of the myths or psychological causes that were stated in the text from Chapter 2. I will constantly tell myself “I’ll get to it later”, and before long the time has come to turn in a completed product. I have found that distractions tend to lead to my need to want to procrastinate. Can you imagine trying to complete an assignment with a crying child around? That is a stressful situation and a time when I’d much rather not attempt to work because I would have little to no focus. Employing the strategies to overcoming procrastination will help me as I move forward with my studies. I see those strategies as stepping stones leading to successful outcomes in all situations. I must take those strategies and bind them to my very essence, allowing them to guide me.

In conclusion, time is a powerful resource that we all must learn to manage. I have highlighted taking advantage of technology (smartphones), planning, and stopping procrastination as tips to help me with my time management. Trust me there is so much more that can be worked on, but I feel those points embody the others. I know that I will not excel at this skill right away, but through practice I will become more effective when it comes to my time management.