Meeting deadlines for work and school can sometimes seem overwhelming. Managing your time may help you to be more organized and meet the deadlines you have. Here are some suggestions for maximizing the time you have available:
Set goals. It may be a good idea to think about what you need and want to do with your time. From this, you can set your goals, which may help you to manage your time more effectively.
Project plan. It may help to write down all the things you need to do to complete the project and list the order in which you can do this.
Use a planner. Writing down appointments, homework, or things you have to do into a planner or electronic calendar may help you to keep track of what’s going on. This way you may avoid things catching you by surprise.
Turn the phone and internet off! If you find that you are being distracted by the phone or the internet, it might help to disconnect them or let the calls go to voicemail on for a while.
Be flexible. Sometimes situations change and you may need to re-adjust your goals or work plan to fit in with the changes.
Talk to someone. It is not uncommon to have lots of things we need to get done and this may make it difficult to manage your time.
Procrastination. When you have something that needs to get done, it can often become easy to find a million other things to do instead. Though it can be tough to break the habit of procrastinating, you will be glad you did in the long run. If you save everything until the last possible second, you are bound to stress out, not produce your finest work, become sleep-deprived, and possibly miss out on something that pops up last minute. Realizing the potential consequences of procrastinating can help you break the habit.
Acknowledgement: This fact sheet was originally developed by youth and staff at ReachOut.com, a website that helps teens get through tough times.
Special Thanks:
Rebekka Meyer, Project Director at FirstPic, Inc., has 13 years of program and administrative experience in youth development, education, and government programs. She has served Boys & Girls Clubs of America affiliates as an employee in Pine Ridge, SD and Lower Brule, SD, as a National Training Associate, and as a nationwide onsite training and technical assistance provider. Additionally, through a partnership with the National Congress of American Indians, she wrote and piloted the T.R.A.I.L. Diabetes Prevention program curriculum for Native American youth. Rebekka is an alumnus of AmeriCorps VISTA and AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps. She holds Bachelors in Political Science from Truman State University in Missouri and a Masters in International Business from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota.
