Some Time Strategies

Sometimes people will ask me how I manage my time in college and I would never have answer for them and I guess that I still don't have one today. It's not that I don't do anything, because if that was the case, I wouldn't be here. There isn't a strategy that I use but I can thank technology for helping me keep track of all my assignments and work that I have to do. My procrastination has gone down over the years and at this point I know that I have to work on my classes early or things will not go well. This idea of bad things happening because of my procrastination helps me focus and work harder.

I like a few of the tips from the "How to Beat Procrastination" article by Caroline Webb where the main focus is placed on altering your thoughts on the task in order to stay productive. The "visualize how great it will be to get it done" advice makes a lot of sense to me and I feel like I have actually used that advice before without knowing. Dwelling on something can give you a lot of anxiety and I have noticed that once I complete a dreaded task, I can take a sigh of relief. "Identifying the first step" is another tip that I think works really well. Breaking things down allows you to take a step by step approach so that you don't feel overwhelmed and if you needed to, you could pace yourself. My take on it is that completing small tasks will also give little mental boosts and help spur on productivity for later tasks. 

"Eat The Frogs First Thing in The Morning" by Thomas Oppong is an interesting article that I chose to read due to curiosity simply because of its title. But if you actually read the article that odd phrase actually makes sense. Getting what you don't want to do out of the way every morning can easily set yourself on the path to getting more things done as you will already be successful. I also wouldn't want to have the thought of that task hanging over me the whole day. In the frog scenario, if I really had to eat a frog everyday I would get it done in the morning so that I could enjoy the rest of my day and not dread having to eat a frog. Another thing that I liked was the discussion of doing things that you don't need to do or want to do. That sounds like the worst way to spend your time and kills any time for productivity toward relevant projects. At some point you need to limit yourself to make sure that everyone gets the most out of your time. 

A red-eyed tree frog

Wikimedia Commons

The Pomodoro Technique of a period of rest and a period of work is one that I have used at times when I know that I have to work hard in a shorter amount of time. This gives a strict structure that can help me focus when something is urgent. I have seen it mentioned in many places regarding productivity and time management.

Illustration of Pomodoro Technique

Flickr