Being a Master of Time Rather than a Slave to Deadlines

I don’t know about you, but one of my biggest sources of stress is lack of time. I often feel like there’s too much to do and not enough time to do it all in. And, forget about even finding time to enjoy life! That makes for a very grumpy Dr. M.

So, for this week we’re going to talk about time management. Often the easiest way to relieve stress is to find a way to plan out or week and manage our to do lists. So, I’m going to share with you my system for how I manage my schedule. And, hopefully some of these tricks will help you as well.

Supplies: (alternately you can use electronic versions of these)
· Paper
· A calendar
· Something to write with

First, I make a list of everything I have to do for the week. That means everything! (ie. Assignments, readings, laundry, vacuuming, planning out next week, etc.) Yes, the list is going to be really long. Try not to get intimated or overwhelmed looking at the long list.

Next, I use a calendar to make a schedule for the week. This means that I put in the hours I have to do things (ie. Class times, meetings, etc.). I also put in my sleeping times. Sleep is important to mental health and cognitive functioning. Once all of these are in the calendar, I look for “holes” in my schedule. These are long stretches of time where I don’t have to be anywhere in particular. They can range from 30 minutes to several hours.

Now, looking at both of these lists side-by-side, I try to figure out when I’m actually going to get the different items on my long list done. Then I slowly move everything from my long list into the “holes” in my schedule. This usually means that there are 3-10 things set up on each day. I also usually write these into the calendar using a different color ink/font for each day. That way I only look at the purple items on Mondays and the blue ones on Tuesdays. If you cross each item off as you finish them, the entire page turns black. Once everything is set up, I’m ready for my week.

And, repeat!

Tips:

• Always assume something will take more time than you think it will.
• Plan for fun! Yes – put it times for fun, downtime, social time, etc. in your schedule for the week. That’s just as important as the rest of it is.
• Plan for catastrophes. No, you can’t plan for everything. But, you can plan for printer or internet problems or hiccups. Don’t wait until the last minute to get something done.
• Don’t be afraid of moving things. If you ran out of time today, figure out where to move it later in the week. No one is judging you by your ability to check off a to do list.
• Work around your high’s and low’s. If you have more energy in the mornings, load those times up with more items to check off. If you’re a night owl, plan to get stuff done then. 
• It’s always a good idea to keep a running list of stuff for “Next Week”. That way you don’t have to remember everything at once.
• Make time to plan. It takes time to get everything set up and to keep track of it. So, include that in your schedule/to do list.

-Dr. M

*Picture taken from: Meme Arsenal, https://www.meme-arsenal.com/en/create/meme/1196250