Balancing time

By Kiara Mays| Published March 3, 2017

With the help of Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and countless other social media apps; college students are surrounded by distractions on a daily basis. Students are finding it more difficult to give school the amount of time and attention that it requires.

Many people can agree that they fall victim to the biggest thief of time…procrastination! College students especially can relate to procrastination being a major reason why homework assignments and school related tasks go undone. That reason alone is why time management is key to a successful and enjoyable college experience.

Jean Brown, the speaker of a time management workshop held at the Center for Academic Success (CAS), shared some helpful tips with students in order to combat procrastination as well as other distractions, both internal and external. At the top of her list was the famous Nike slogan: Just Do It.

“Good time management is controlling your time and who [or what] you let into your space,” said Brown.

Before going in depth, Brown made sure to clarify what is meant by internal and external distractions. Things such as: cellphones, laptops, televisions and so forth are all external distractions while inner thoughts and hunger are both considered internal distractions.

Brown also shared that she, herself places her phone on Airplane mode before beginning an important task or assignment and at night before she goes to bed. For those that may be unaware, Airplane mode disables calls, text messages, and apps that use cellular data; for the time that it is enabled.

That way, when it comes time to complete an important project, the phone is not a distraction. In addition to Airplane mode, Brown also suggests that one may want to place their phone into a drawer, so that it is out of sight and out of mind until said assignment is completed.

“If I were to manage my time more wisely, then I wouldn’t be so stressed out all the time,” said Keily Padilla, a sophomore, communication major at Kean. “And when I do try to manage my time, I like to write things down and get the more difficult things out of the way first.”

During the workshop, Brown stressed that writing tasks down and making lists are effective as helpful time management tools. Therefore, she encouraged the students in attendance to try making a list for everyday of the week. Lists not only allow one to visually see what assignments they must complete, but they also make it so that the student is not overwhelmed with too many tasks at once.

“I make a list at the end of everyday and leave it on my desk for the next day,” said Brown. “This way, I have a visual of what important tasks I must complete and I don’t have to waste time thinking about what I have to do.”

All in all, Brown stressed the importance of effective time management because the benefits are more than worth it. Good time management can help people and students especially: meet deadlines, get better grades, feel less stressed–and more in control, a lot more time for family and friends, and meet future goals, just to name a few!

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