By: Annie
Do you ever feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day? I’ve certainly been feeling that way lately. There are so many different activities and commitments that occupy my time and I haven’t been able to properly manage my time like I would like to.
I decided something needed to be done about it so I began blocking my time off. I usually look at my schedule a week at a time and block off the tasks that I know I need to accomplish each. For example, I know that I work every Tuesday and Thursday. I know that I need to buy groceries at some point, usually on the weekend. I know months ahead of time about appointments for my daughter and I that we need to get to. I’ve even started blocking off time for exercising and cleaning my house.
Once I have all the usual and expected activities I look at the smaller tasks for each day of the week and determine how they will fit into my schedule. My brother is currently in basketball season so I usually go to one or two of his games a week. I have to schedule time every day to bathe my daughter. And then, of course, I have to figure out how studying is going to fit into all of my other activities.
If you remember from before, I generally enjoy studying at night. When I have other activities in the evening, I try to fit my studying in during the morning or early afternoon hours. Generally, I try to guess when my daughter will be napping so I can study without any distractions.
So far, my new routine of blocking off time and scheduling my activities a little more consciously has really paid off. I’ve been getting more studying done and in longer stretches of time. I tend to just do things as I feel like doing them, so scheduling my daily activities and then sticking to that schedule has taught me accountability and time management.
Maybe you have the whole scheduling thing figured out or maybe you are like I was and you just do things as you feel like doing them. Whatever the case may be I hope it’s working for you and if it isn’t, maybe it’s time to try a new technique. You might be surprised and find out how helpful scheduling can be!
I have just turned in my second quiz in a week’s time, which is way more progress than I have been making so I’m pretty proud of myself and my new scheduling system! Happy studies to you all!
At-Home Professions 