Time Strategies
For this assignment I read "The Myth of Too Busy" by Tim Grahl. I've heard some of the information in the article before, from studying entrepreneur books and articles. I've heard it said, you're never too busy for something, you're just not willing to make that a priority. I definitely agree with that statement and the article. For some of us, the list of things we have to get done each day is truly long & crazy, but there is always some time we're "wasting". If we want to write, create something, read, learn a new skill, start a new business, etc we do have time in the day if we make it a priority. So many people say they don't have time for self-care, but you do if you put it in the schedule or are willing to cut something else out of the schedule. I know for a fact how easy it is to get sucked into social media. When I catch myself seeing someone in my feed that I wonder "why on Earth is this even here?!" I know it's time to cut that person or group out. I sometimes get interested in something and just start following new people or groups related to that interest, only to find I'm wasting time on stuff I'm not even interested in. That's when the unfollowing happens en masse. I have to keep my feeds limited to people and things I'm truly interested in or I will waste time and feel worse for it at the end. I'm on a kick right now where I don't even want to be on social media other than to make a few posts and check on people (friends & family) I'm truly interested in. I'd rather be reading or I need to devote that time to job searching and coursework.
The other article I read was "The Important Habit of Just Starting" by Jory Mackay. That one I really wanted to read because that is a huge issue for me and I know it. I have seen bits and pieces of the info in that article as well but it was still a good read. For me, I know I can procrastinate things. If I want to start a new hobby or skill I am so bad at researching the heck out of it instead of just starting. It's like I need to be an expert in something before I'll even start, so I don't mess it up. But usually by the time I research the heck out of something, I'm already bored with it or feel like I'll never be "good enough" at it that I never even start. Or I'll get so busy buying supplies for something that I never even start trying the new hobby/skill. Like why do I need to spend hundreds of dollars in supplies on something that I may hate instead of spending just enough to get a taste of it to see if I even like it or not before making a big investment. My mind has always been bad about needing all the right info or supplies before it will let me start. The fear of starting and the procrastination habits are a real & major thing with me.
I have to have everything written out in a planner for it to get done. I need to know exactly what assignments are due and when, what bills are due and when, what appointments I have and when. I also keep track of every dime I spend in that planner so I know if I'm wasting money or if I'm stress-spending, which is a problem for me. If I don't have it in the planner, it's not going to get done.
I tried a bullet journal because it looked like something that could really work for me. The ability to track so many extra things, add journaling and thoughts or memories, the ability to add some art and decoration, that all seemed like a great combination of things I wanted in a planner. The problem was that I went on my typical over-researching and supply buying kick and didn't get started very quickly. Then also, it's recommended by many that you do your planning a week at a time, with a very small monthly area to keep track of future things. Well the very first week I tried a bullet journal, I missed a major assignment due on the next Monday because I hadn't done that next week yet. I was done with bullet journaling right then and went back to my old traditional planner. In order for me to make a bullet journal work with college courses, I had to try to do the whole semester at once, drawing out the weeks by hand, and I sure don't have time for that when I could just use a plain old planner. I've tried other fancy versions of customizable planners and it all comes down to I spend more time decorating my planner and still didn't have the exact style and info I wanted, when I could have been using that time to actually get things done. Maybe that's someone's creative outlet that they want to spend their time on, but for me the result just wasn't worth the effort. I've even tried digital bullet journals and while those work better because I'm much better at tech things, I was still spending more time decorating than doing stuff and that just doesn't work for me. Maybe it will in the future, but now is not that time.
My time management strategy that works for me is simply my old fashioned planner. It has the whole school year in it with a good notes section for miscellaneous stuff I need to keep track of. I put as much as possible of every assignment in each course for the whole semester, right at the beginning. If I don't do that, it's too easy for me to miss something. If things change, I can always revise my planner, but it's a good starting point. I also add to that every recurring bill I have for the semester, amount included if I know it's the same each month. If I don't do those two things, when life gets crazy I miss something important. I also add in important stuff from my daughter's schedule like days off from school and activity schedules if I know those. I have to have as much info as possible in there so I know where and when I can juggle.
The other article I read was "The Important Habit of Just Starting" by Jory Mackay. That one I really wanted to read because that is a huge issue for me and I know it. I have seen bits and pieces of the info in that article as well but it was still a good read. For me, I know I can procrastinate things. If I want to start a new hobby or skill I am so bad at researching the heck out of it instead of just starting. It's like I need to be an expert in something before I'll even start, so I don't mess it up. But usually by the time I research the heck out of something, I'm already bored with it or feel like I'll never be "good enough" at it that I never even start. Or I'll get so busy buying supplies for something that I never even start trying the new hobby/skill. Like why do I need to spend hundreds of dollars in supplies on something that I may hate instead of spending just enough to get a taste of it to see if I even like it or not before making a big investment. My mind has always been bad about needing all the right info or supplies before it will let me start. The fear of starting and the procrastination habits are a real & major thing with me.
I have to have everything written out in a planner for it to get done. I need to know exactly what assignments are due and when, what bills are due and when, what appointments I have and when. I also keep track of every dime I spend in that planner so I know if I'm wasting money or if I'm stress-spending, which is a problem for me. If I don't have it in the planner, it's not going to get done.
I tried a bullet journal because it looked like something that could really work for me. The ability to track so many extra things, add journaling and thoughts or memories, the ability to add some art and decoration, that all seemed like a great combination of things I wanted in a planner. The problem was that I went on my typical over-researching and supply buying kick and didn't get started very quickly. Then also, it's recommended by many that you do your planning a week at a time, with a very small monthly area to keep track of future things. Well the very first week I tried a bullet journal, I missed a major assignment due on the next Monday because I hadn't done that next week yet. I was done with bullet journaling right then and went back to my old traditional planner. In order for me to make a bullet journal work with college courses, I had to try to do the whole semester at once, drawing out the weeks by hand, and I sure don't have time for that when I could just use a plain old planner. I've tried other fancy versions of customizable planners and it all comes down to I spend more time decorating my planner and still didn't have the exact style and info I wanted, when I could have been using that time to actually get things done. Maybe that's someone's creative outlet that they want to spend their time on, but for me the result just wasn't worth the effort. I've even tried digital bullet journals and while those work better because I'm much better at tech things, I was still spending more time decorating than doing stuff and that just doesn't work for me. Maybe it will in the future, but now is not that time.
My time management strategy that works for me is simply my old fashioned planner. It has the whole school year in it with a good notes section for miscellaneous stuff I need to keep track of. I put as much as possible of every assignment in each course for the whole semester, right at the beginning. If I don't do that, it's too easy for me to miss something. If things change, I can always revise my planner, but it's a good starting point. I also add to that every recurring bill I have for the semester, amount included if I know it's the same each month. If I don't do those two things, when life gets crazy I miss something important. I also add in important stuff from my daughter's schedule like days off from school and activity schedules if I know those. I have to have as much info as possible in there so I know where and when I can juggle.
Bullet journal photo from Pinterest
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