The following was written by Haley Rietman, The Learning Center’s Program Assistant. 

Haley grew up in San Diego, CA. She also attended college in Southern California at Chapman University where she received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Haley is currently in school at USF pursuing her Masters in Counseling Psychology. Haley hopes that through her work in the Learning Center, she will be able to encourage students to achieve their academic goals, and support them on their journey to individualized success. Haley’s passions include traveling, exercising, and reading and when she has spare time she likes to explore San Francisco.

 

The Importance of Time Management

Have you ever found yourself mindlessly scrolling through the depths of social media only to catch yourself wasting time, and then continue doing it? Or be asked by Netflix “are you still watching?” knowing you have something more productive you could be doing with your time but not wanting to do it?  I know many of us have and I am not excluded from this either. However, I have had a large decrease in my amount of free time in the past month or so due to new commitments. This has allowed me to re-evaluate my priorities and know that I need to stick to only the most important. This is not to say that I don’t indulge in mindless activity sometimes, but I have found creating a schedule to be very important. Although there are numerous methods that can be used to develop a schedule, I have found that I prefer Google calendar.

Similar to the Learning Center’s 7 day study plan, when I started using my google calendar more intently, I was mapping out each and every hour of my day. Now that I have become more used to it, I am able to leave out time blocks for commuting, meals, and tasks that remain consistent for me throughout my week. However, when I was first getting used to my newer schedule, I made sure to keep track of each part of my day so that I was able to form positive habits within my schedule. In a previous blog post, I spoke about my use of prioritization and how Eisenhower’s Matrix/Covey’s Quadrants help me prepare for each day and each task I need to. I have now been able to further that and utilize other methods of preparation to be sure I am accomplishing tasks in all aspects of my life. The formation of this habit has allowed me to feel successful and still feel like I have some time for myself despite balancing a full-time job, two internships, and the commitment to my classes in my graduate program.

If you are feeling like you might be having a hard time prioritizing or managing your time, remember that you are not alone and it is common to feel this way in your college years. The Learning Center provides Academic Skills Coaching and one of the most common requests we receive is to support students with their time management. If this is something you are interested in, visit your student hub and click on “Make an Appointment.” The Learning Center is here to support students no matter their level of confidence in their abilities.