Dealing with the Tough Stuff

         In order to maintain a weekly schedule, discipline is vital! I would highly recommend using either the template I linked to in my previous post "Write" or a dry-erase board. For the simple convenience of being able to edit them. So each week you can write down the essentials and then the other things you need to get done. Now once this schedule is composed, it does you absolutely no good, unless you actually follow it! Yes its hard, but in the long run you will be thankful you did.

          The other major issue here is work ethic. Some people struggle with managing time because they are plain lazy. As someone who struggles with time management, you need to figure out if you truly want to get organized and disciplined and focused enough to really buckle down and follow the schedule you created. You must remember though if you are supposed to be writing a paper, and you are sitting in front of your computer staring at your sources or sneaking onto face-book, without actually writing your paper, you are still wasting valuable time, and at that point you might as well throw your schedule out the window. The goal of this schedule is not necessarily to get you to do the same monotonous thing every day, but it is to help you realize how much time you really do have!

To introduce our next topic- Health. How can your health relate to your time management skills? That is what we will dive into in my next post! See you then!

Interview FAQ

Q. What is the most common time waster for those struggling to manage time effectively?
A. Social Networking, and Television

Q. What in your opinion is the best thing to do to get organized?
A. "Keep a record of how you spend your time for a week. Analyze it. You will be surprised and you will clearly see what you spend too much time on and what you spend too little on. [And] adjust."

Q. What do you suggest for someone struggling to get things done?
A. "Focus on your priorities first thing in the morning. Work on your most time demanding tasks when you have the most energy."

Q. How would you reprimand a persistent procrastinator?
A.  "If you must do it, do it, get it done and stop putting it off."

Q. For those unavoidable time killers that can not be avoided, what should be done?
A. "Carry reading materials and work with you everywhere you go (except vacation!). When you have to kill time waiting at a train crossing or in a traffic jam you can get a lot done."


Answers from, Daniel R. Murphy~ http://ezinearticles.com/?The-10-Most-Common-Time-Wasters-and-How-to-Avoid-Them&id=2252440

Time

Write!

The first thing to do in order to manage your time effectively is grab a pen and paper and start writing every thing you do in a day. Start with the mandatory things of your day, like work, school, practices, and other events that you cannot miss. Then start writing the smaller things out, such as, meals, naps, homework, and you can even put down face-book, and video games! Because with this list we are going to prioritize, and organize! And remember doing these two things are not going to knock out all of the fun things you do, but hopefully will make more time in your day.
           So now that we have a list of events and activities of your day. We need to establish which things are your priority. Obviously,  the mandatory issues which were discussed above, are going to be at the top of your priorities. Other priority events might be, Church, devotions, homework, family time, friend time, the list goes on, but looking at your paper, circle or highlight the things which are most important for yourself and those closest to you.Now that you have your priorities down, you will need to get some type of weekly scheduler. Here is a schedule that you can download as a word template, Weekly Schedule, which you will be able to change every week. If you do not want to mess with a word document, another idea would be to just buy a planner, with daily hour slots, or simply buy a white board, and have a schedule you can always erase and change. Next post we will look at the importance of maintaining a weekly schedule and also introduce the next idea to save you time!