Managing your time

CEBU, Philippines - Children, just like adults, have various activities to fit in their time. For small children there may only be school and play to spend entire days in. But older children are loaded with more activities, as they begin to take some responsibilities.

You biggest involvement as children is school. Oftentimes, you are exempted from the chores at home just so that you can focus your whole time in studying your lessons or doing your school assignments. But even with such favor from the rest of the family members, those among you that don’t schedule their tasks properly will still have many important things left undone.

It really helps to be organized and manage your time well. Only with some prior planning and scheduling can you expect to do everything that needs to be done and be able to do them on time. The following steps are a good guide for you in doing your tasks – and meeting deadlines:  

1.List down your tasks. Whether it’s homework to do, an athletic practice to attend, an appointment with the dentist, or whatever, list it down. There’s lesser risk of forgetting to do an important class assignment if it’s written down in a list. Also, you have a quick idea of the bulk of things to do by just glancing at the list, and you’re likely to be prompted to get down and work on them.

2.Prioritize your list. Of course, you cannot work on all the tasks in your list all at the same time. You need to figure out which task to do first, which one next, and so on. Consider the urgency and the importance of each task, when prioritizing. For example, studying your lessons for an exam first thing the next day shall be top priority – put it at number 1 in the list. Doing your homework for a class in the afternoon may be placed at number 2, and calling your classmate regarding the schedule of your weekend sports practice may be placed way down in the list.

3.Allot a time for each task. As you have listed down tasks and organized them in an order of priority, assign a timeframe in which each task is to be accomplished. Following the previous example, you may allot a full hour to studying for the exam early the following morning, maybe 30 minutes to the Math class that follows in the afternoon, another 30 minutes to the English class etc. Assigning particular timeframes for each task gives you an idea of the total amount of time you need to accomplish all tasks, and you can prepare yourself accordingly.

4.Set a schedule. Now that the tasks have been listed and timeframes allotted to each, set the schedule to do them. In doing this, you need to consider certain factors, like noise level in the surroundings, availability of space etc. It is probably not a good idea to study your lessons before dinner when the TV blasts at full volume as Daddy watches the evening news. Neither is it okay to bring your books and notebooks to the dining table just as Mommy is preparing for the family’s meal. 

5.Prepare the things you need for your tasks. As you now have a clear idea of the things you need to do, in what order to do them, and the amount of time it takes to do all, determine what you would need in the process. Maybe you need scratch paper, pencil and eraser? Maybe you need extra cushion on the seat to make you more comfortable the whole time? Get the things you would need ready.

6.Perform your scheduled tasks, each within its allotted time. Since you already have a schedule and had previously figured out the amount of time you would need on each task – follow everything strictly. Begin at the set time, and if you come to the end of the time allotted for a task and you’re still not finished, stop and move to the next task on the list. This way, you are going to cover all tasks you have listed.

7.Evaluate your tasks performance. As you have already covered every task on your list, assess how well you have done each one and overall. Note down your observations; maybe certain adjustments need to be made here and there; for example, in prioritizing, in timing tasks etc.

8.Return to unfinished tasks. Now that everything is covered, it’s time to go back to the unfinished task, if possible, especially if it’s a really important one.

9.Adjust tasks schedule accordingly, if necessary. Based on your observations and assessment of how you did with your list, consider making necessary adjustments to make it go even better next time.

10.Keep improving on your time management. As you go along, try to get better and better in managing your time and properly organizing the things you need to do. Stay determined to do more and more in less and less time.

Training yourself to manage your time well is effort well invested. The skill you learn is going to give you good advantage the rest of your life.