As spring term is getting started, a lot of us are coming off of what seemed to be a very long and exhausting winter term. Entering into spring term, we are all given an opportunity to maintain that flawless winter term GPA for some, try to salvage what is left of our academic dignity. While some of you may have your own tactics or methods to your madness when it comes to organizing your life, I have a few of my own that I live by that keeps me somewhat sane. The first one is to keep a planner. If you are the type of person who likes to know exactly where they need to be at what time, a planner will be your best friend. Going along with that planner, use to do lists or sticky notes. One of my most favorite feelings in the world is checking/crossing something off of a list. Lists are a great way to get everything out on paper that needs to be done and making sure you don’t forget to read that small chapter in your sociology book that the professor decides to have a pop quiz over the next day. My next time management tip may seem a little obtuse, or rather obvious, but wear a watch. Wearing a watch will always keep you on top of things. You will always know what time it is, which hopefully will result in you being on time for anything. Believe it or not, you won’t always have access to your phone, so wearing a watch will never fail you. Unless you’re one of those weird people who actually knows how to read an analog clock. With time management comes prioritizing. Prioritizing is one of the hardest life lessons to learn. Being able to be self aware of what is most important to you is so difficult. As college students we see education as a top priority. Many of us have a lot of other activities we’re involved whether it’s sports, music, Greek life, volunteering, our Netflix subscriptions, whatever. To be able to reach your goals and succeed in areas that are most important to you, those most likely will require a significant amount of time. Our day is like a 24-hour pie chart. If you’re spending 14 hours of the day sleeping, that’s a lot of pie, and you probably won’t get much done because you’ve consumed so much pie. Also, make sure you take care of yourself, health and well being. If you don’t take care of yourself, you’re going to be a heaping mess of stress, and exhaustion. If you’re not physically or mentally healthy, how are you supposed to succeed in other aspects of your life if your own basic human needs aren’t being met? I had a transfer class in the fall with Margaret France and one of the first days she told us to take care of ourselves as if we were our own dog. As strange as it sounds, there is insane truth to that. Hopefully some of these words will resonate with all you first-year college kids or even serve as a friendly reminder for those 2nd, 3rd, or 4th year college veterans going into your 2016 spring term. New term, new time management skills.
