Time Management

Here is a column I wrote about time management. Enjoy! Hopefully it is helpful to you :)

Get good grades. Get enough sleep. Get married. These are things that we, as college students at BYU-Idaho, are constantly being told to do. And we are constantly complaining that we don’t have the time to effectively balance and achieve these things.

Teachers expect two hours of study time for each hour spent in class. What if a student has 15 credit hours a week? That’s 45 hours of studying outside of class a week. No wonder we are told to think of school as a full-time job.

People joke about having to pick two out of three things while in college: grades, sleep, and a social life. They say it’s impossible to be able to do all three.

No, it is not. We can choose all three, as long as we manage our time wisely.

Elder Ian S. Arden, in the November 2011 ensign said “With the demands made of us, we must learn to prioritize our choices to match our goals or risk being exposed to the winds of procrastination and being blown from one time-wasting activity to another.”

Of course I would like to sit and watch a TV show or take a nap after a long day of classes. But of course, the better choice would probably be to finish (or start) that research paper of mine that’s due in the morning.

I will freely admit that I do not manage my time wisely. And I’m sure that most of you will too, or definitely should.

Don’t be lazy. I guarantee you that you won’t get good grades and enough sleep, or especially find your eternal companion if all you’re doing all day is playing video games or wasting time on Facebook.

I am aware of the fact that for some people it isn’t as easy to have a well-balanced life just by managing their time alone. You have to consider health problems, family issues, and other demands or trials. However, we all know that good time management will help make these challenges easier to deal with.

The benefits of managing time wisely compliment each other. Some may complain that if they don’t have time to relax after classes, they won’t have enough energy to do well on their homework. But, if they were to just try a little harder and get their homework done during the day after classes (or between) then their problem would be solved. Not only would they be able to get to bed by a reasonable hour because they didn’t have homework to do, but they would most likely be able to spend some time with friends as well.

This is all common sense. We should all know that managing our time will give us more time to do the things we otherwise wouldn’t have the time for. It will help us balance our lives and will ensure less stressful days.

We can get good grades, a healthy amount of sleep, and have a social life. It is possible to have all three. Just be wise with your time. If you don’t want to put the tiny amount of extra energy it may require, then go ahead and pick two.