Okay to start off this blog post I need to confess two things: firstly, this post was written post-midnight (after a very long shift at work that left me wired and full of writing beans) and secondly, I am a Social Work student (not a writing student.) This means that my posts on this blog may lean towards being short and quite practical, describing my experience as a University student and as a young adult living out of home. I may include essays as well on topics that I find interesting (like the one I was going to present today before two assignments, two shifts at work and a work-experience application prevented me from doing the research for it) but that totally depends on time, and I’m sure most of you would understand that there is just not enough of it!!
Anyway now onto my first blog post! Today I am going to talk a little bit about the issue most relevant to me at the moment: time management and the ways that I have learnt to manage conflicting demands (university, work, family relationships, church events, building new friendships and getting used to living in a totally new place, maintaining the friendships in Perth that are important to me and having time for me) …to name just a few! So here follows some of my (hopefully handy) tips:
1. Get enough sleep: This has been a hard one in the past for me in the past but I am now learning the value of it. Your brain and your body need 7-9 hours’ sleep a night to function well and I can attest to the fact that I definitely work better on the days where I have achieved this. So though I may have nights like tonight where I am awake late, or mornings where I am awake rather early, overall I aim for at least seven hours. Along with this I try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time in order to develop a natural sleeping pattern.
2. Use a weekly/daily planner: I find that in order to keep track of readings, assignment’s, meetings and shifts at work using a planner is invaluable. I have a semester planner that is blu-tacked to the wall and I use that to visually remind myself every day of what assignments are coming up, what week it is (because let’s be honest, it’s hard to keep track of them) and I also write events on it that are important to me personally, so I am aware that they may affect my study. In addition I use a weekly planner to write down almost everything: what I want to accomplish during the week, specific assignments I need to work on, the assigned readings for each unit, shifts I have at work, church events, plans I have with friends, time for exercise and specific time for things that I enjoy doing (reading mostly.) I loosely plan my days around this: making sure I have both time for the things I need to do and a bit of free time for things that come up.
3. Exercise: Well I never thought that I would put this in writing but exercise is actually super important! I’ll be the first to say that it’s pretty hard to find time to exercise and it’s not always fun, but it does help to give you more energy to do the things you love and I find it gives me more confidence and helps to raise my mood.
4. Learn to prioritise and say no: My last tip is about learning what your priorities are and then making sure that this is reflected in the way you spend your time. For me this year my main priority is Uni, which has to then be reflected in my weekly planner. Secondly at this stage participating in my new church and going to the gym with a friend is important to me so that then goes into my schedule as well – these are my two main priorities. Around these I then factor in other things (time with friends and family, work, University events.) With these priorities in mind I can be assured that I am spending my time wisely.
Sometimes in order to make sure that my time is spent in the way that I want it to I have to say no to requests that I get from work or invitations from friends. This is really hard for me as I am by nature a people pleaser and I hate to let anyone down, but I have to keep in mind that I have a right to look after myself. If I start saying yes to too many things I start to get stressed, overwhelmed and unable to think clearly which isn’t good for me. In the words of my boss last night “Dannielle, we understand that Uni is your priority this year and that’s okay with us, you are allowed to say no if I ask you to stay back…we don’t want you to get stressed, it isn't healthy.”
So this is just a few of the things that help to keep me somewhat sane and to manage the most precious resource that we have, time. We only have so much of it and it’s up to us to make sure that we are using it wisely and not feel like we are wasting it. Of course I can’t say that I follow this perfectly every day or that I don’t waste a lot of time as well…I have a weakness for Pinterest and having many television and/or sleeping marathons but that’s okay, relaxing is good for you as well and essential in the life of a young adult.
However if I do keep this in mind the majority of the time it helps me to aim for the life I want to lead, a healthy, happy one full of the things that I enjoy and one that will help me achieve the many dreams that I have.
I hope this helps you a little bit as well, or at least gives you something to think about.
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