My Time Strategies

Source: Unsplash

Caption: hourglass with the sand almost finished descending

Here are somethings (that I have read and) I believe can be useful for you who's reading because it was for me:

SMART goals can be defined as:

• Specific,
• Measurable,
• Attainable,
• Realistic,
• Time-bound.

SMART goals can be used as a guiding to make your "to do list" and organize your schedule.

When we have a small experience of success our brains release dopamine, the hormone related to the feeling of pleasure (like eating chocolate 🤤). For this reason achieving something, small (checking "wash the dishes") or big (checking "submit the assignment"), gives us so much motivation, even if what we are checking off the list is just a silly thing.

Learn when you work at your best (morning, evening, night), when you do that you are way more productive, if possible, try working when everybody is still asleep.

Allocate your energy well, find the things that need more time/energy and put them at the top of your "to do list".

Timeline your task/due dates in days not in weeks/months/years, in this way the deadline seem to be sooner (for example, "I'll graduate in 3 years" or "I'll graduate in 1.095 days") and you will try to get it done as soon as possible.

"Do the worst things first and save the best for last"

You can lower your IQ when you multi-task according to a Forbes study.

• Thoughts about time management strategies (both for this class and for your semester overall).

I must admit that I have a very messy time management (but it has been messier in the past), sometimes I'm able to do a very amazing schedule and follow it, but other times... it's a complete disaster!

Hopefully I will get better at this as the time passes and maybe I'll become "the world's greatest planner" - Matt Mayberry.

• Were the links useful?

YES!! I have always enjoyed reading about time management and trying to apply them in my daily life. One of the things I hadn't read before was to manage my energy instead of the time, since we will always have 24 hours every single day of our lives, it's better to find the right task to put the energy (consequently, the time).

• Did you learn anything new that you can try this semester?

"Do the worst things first" and "Save the best for last" (both these quote are from here). I have always done the opposite 😰

• Do you already have a time management strategy that works really well for you?

So far, not really. I'm always changing my time management strategy because for the past 4 years (when I started to schedule my days and started studying abroad) every single year (and sometimes semester) have been very different from the past one.

Links I read for this post:

The Psychology of Checklists by Lauren Marchese

Time Management Tips Just For Creatives by Amanda Oliver

Lívia Alencar